Washington, District of Columbia

Washington, DC is not the place to go if you're looking for the great outdoors, though the Botanic Garden and the National Cherry Blossom Festival in early spring are lovely and, for the lover of flora, not to be missed.

What is clear about Washington, DC is that it has some of the most monumental architecture and best museums around. Wander the National Mall and see the icons of America's past, present, and future: the Capitol Building, the White House, several of the Smithsonian Institution museums, the National Gallery of Art, the Washington Monument, the Vietnam Veteran's memorial, Holocaust Memorial Museum, the reflecting pool – the list goes on.

For the young and young at heart, there's the Capital Children's Museum, where you can discover the origins of hot chocolate and other interesting bits of trivia.

For the crime buff – or the X-Files buff – you can tour the J. Edgar Hoover Building for FBI tours and see the crime lab, history exhibit, and a live firearms demonstration. (And don't forget the International Spy Museum!)

For the connoisseur of arts, there is a lot to do: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, located in the riverfront neighborhood of Foggy Bottom (who said the capital was stuffy?); Ford's Theatre (site of Lincoln's demise and a showcase of contemporary American theatre); the National Symphony Orchestra; the Washington Ballet; the Washington Opera.

And, for people like me, and other devotees of the Bard, there's the Folger Shakespeare Library, a private, independent research library with one of the world's best collections of Shakespeare and Renaissance materials, which houses a theatre that presents plays, concerts, and poetry readings.

But it's not all monuments in DC. The state has many colorful neighborhoods, such as Adams Morgan, with ethnic restaurants, boutiques, and specialty stores; Chinatown, with the world's largest single-span Chinese arch; and Georgetown, once a bustling colonial port now a charming historic neighborhood featuring specialty stores, nightclubs, and a variety of restaurants. (Speaking of restaurants, Lord of the Rings fans may want to cross the bridge to Alexandria, VA to dine at Bilbo Baggins!)

In Washington, DC, located midway along the eastern seaboard between Maryland and Virginia, you can experience the four seasons – with somewhat short, subdued winters and with more rain than snow.

The population is 572,059 in DC proper (an area of 67 square miles or 174 square kilometers) and 4,796,183 for the entire metro area (which includes seven Maryland counties, five Virginia counties, and five Virginia cities). After the federal government, DC's primary industry – not surprisingly – is tourism. While living in DC, you may not go to all these tourist sites daily, but you certainly will have no end of places to bring out of town guests.

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