At the beginning of this month, we decided to take a weekend trip to Washington DC with our toddler, Theo, in tow! We wanted to do a weekend getaway somewhere, but now with a toddler, deciding where might be toddler-friendly sometimes gets a little bit tricky. After some thought, we landed on DC. We figured the metro would make things easy to get around and the abundance of free museums would provide a lot of activities to take Theo to.
We had a really great time, so I figured I would share some parts of our trip as well as recommendations if you are looking to take your toddler(s) to Washington DC!
My in-laws live in Richmond, Virginia, so we decided to drive to Richmond from Charlotte first and then take the Amtrak from Richmond to DC. DC is about a 6 hour drive from Charlotte and an almost 9 hour Amtrak ride (this realization really had us missing the high-speed trains of Italy lol). When we thought-up this trip, we invited my in-laws and they decided that they would join us. So we decided to drive 4 hours to their house in Richmond, spend the night, and then take Amtrak to DC from Richmond. From Richmond, the Amtrak to DC is only 2 hours which is about how long it takes to drive! We figured that taking the Amtrak would be a nice change of pace because we wouldn’t have to worry about DC traffic, the cost of parking in DC, and it would make traveling with a toddler a heck of a lot easier!
I had actually never used Amtrak before, but it was a great experience! We had lots of room and space and having the ability to let Theo walk around and stretch was so much nicer than driving. The Washington DC Central Station is so nice and was only a short walk from our hotel. But it’s also a metro station stop, so if you aren’t staying nearby central station, you could at least use the metro!
We love staying at Hilton properties and this one was so nice! They were able to provide us with a pack-and-play which was one less thing for us to pack and haul through Amtrak. The black-out curtains in the room also made sleep a little easier for Theo and the room was really quiet.
The front desk let us check-in early so we could drop off our stuff but also secured our baggage for free the next day when we checked out since our train didn’t leave until much later after check-out time.
By the time we arrived in DC and dropped off our baggage, it was a bit before lunch time, so we went to the Dubliner for a brunch/early lunch. Picking restaurants that had kids options and also were casual/low-key enough that Theo wouldn’t be a disturbance if he got tired or upset was part of our criteria when finding food for this trip. The Dubliner had really great kid’s food options and plenty of high-chairs. We all really enjoyed what we got and the staff was so helpful with Theo!
By this point, Theo was wiped up and went for a nap in his stroller (side note: we took our Baby Jogger City travel stroller and it was PERFECT for this trip).
Garrett and I have been to DC a few times together over the years, but have never been to the national archives. We prioritized it for this trip and I’m so glad we did! If you are going in the summer, definitely make a reservation, but if you go in the fall like we did, you probably won’t have to wait in too bad of a line.
Seeing the declaration of independence and the constitution was so cool, but they also have some other random exhibits at the national archives about US history that are really interesting. Theo slept through this stop, which was what we hoped for, because we knew that our other stop for the day would be the one that he would really enjoy!
In a perfect world, I would have not looked over the closing time for the national zoo, so that we could have allowed ourselves more times to enjoy the zoo, but we still had a great time and it is a perfect stop if you have a toddler! It’s easily accessible from the Metro and obviously is one of the biggest zoos in the country. Theo loved looking at the animals, especially in the small mammals exhibit because you could get a little bit closer to see them.
I believe through the pandas will still be at the zoo through December of this year, but the line was SO insanely long (I’m talking multiple hours long) that we didn’t see them while we were there. Regardless, this zoo is really nice and well cared for, and perfect for kids!
We stayed at the zoo until closing before venturing back in the direction of our hotel to get cleaned up and then go to dinner. We settled on Elephant & Castle which just so happened to be our second pub of the day! This place is a great place to watch sports, which also makes it just loud enough that a toddler is not disruptive!
The kid’s menu selection was OK– I got a pie sampler of multiple pies and Theo ended up stealing all of my Shepard’s pie instead of eating his burger that we got him lol
Theo got us up a little bit earlier than we would have loved (toddler life though), so we decided to do a sit-down breakfast before hitting up the museums since they were not open yet. We went ahead and checked out of our hotel and had the front desk hold our luggage before heading to Lincoln’s Waffle Shop. This place is quite the dive and right next to the Ford’s Theatre, also known as the theatre where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
I need to really heavily emphasize that this place is a DIVE. But we really enjoyed our time here, plus the breakfast is cheap and quick! I wouldn’t recommend trying to go here on a weekend with infants because it is very tight quarters and there is not room for a stroller. But Theo chilled in the high-chair and DESTROYED some chocolate chip waffles!
After we finished breakfast, we headed to the Natural History Museum and arrived right as it was opening. This was perfect timing because it meant that there was really no line to wait in!
This was a great museum for toddlers because there are lots of animals to identify, live fish, and dinosaur bones. Theo really got to practice his roaring during this visit!
Next we walked past the White House and then made our way to the Renwick Gallery. The Renwick is a contemporary art gallery that features more craft and decor art than a painting per say.
Theo LOVED the Janet Echelman’s 1.8 Renwick because it was a huge open room with color changing lights with plenty of space for him to run in circles and wear himself out before his nap. A lot of the art in this gallery is very colorful, so he was very fascinated by everything here!
And then to our last stop– the American History Museum! y this point, Theo was worn out and taking a stroller nap. Garrett and I visited the American Hisotry Museum last time we were in DC and really enjoyed it. Someone described the American History Museum to us once as America’s Attic because it is a real hodgepodge of items, but a lot of them are so interesting an unique.
One of my favorite exhibits is all of the inauguration dresses that First Ladies have worn, but they have so many interesting items like Abraham Lincoln’s top hat, the flag that inspired the Star Spangled Banner, etc.
Once Theo woke up from his nap, we ended up getting lunch at one of the HUNDREDS of food trucks outside of the museum! And then it was time to go pick up our luggage and head over to Central Station to go home!
Overall, DC is such a great weekend trip to take your toddler because the museums allow for endless entertainment for the whole family and the metro is simple and allows you to forgo a car and car seat! Plus while DC is a big city, it’s not nearly as hectic as NYC or Chicago. We cannot wait for our next trip to DC and are already brainstorming the things we want to visit on our next trip!
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