September Top Activities for Travelers and Tourists: Washington DC
/Fall in Washington DC is often the best time to visit - the weather is as nice as spring, but the city is much less crowded. For travelers and tourists coming to DC in September, the team here at Urban Atlas has identify a couple of events and activities that would be worth checking out. This September, the highlights are:
Free Admission to Museums with Museum Day Live!
Saturday, September 23
While Washington DC is blessed with many excellent free museums, there are worthy museums that require paid tickets as well. On Saturday, September 23rd, Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day Live! event allows visitors free access to a number of museums that usually charge. Especially notable museums include the Newseum (usually $25) and the National Building Museum (usually $10).
The Newseum, located closest to the Archives metro stop, is a beautiful tribute to journalism and its history. The museum galleries include one on 9/11 which features the broadcast antennae from the top of the World Trade Center, a gallery on the the Berlin Wall, and one that traces the evolution of electronic communication from the birth of radio, to the technologies of the present and the future. It would likely be one of the most popular museums in Washington if it was free.
Remember that you need to download your free tickets from the Museum Day Live! website.
All DC area museums participating in Museum Day Live!
Snallygaster - The Best Beer Festival in Washington DC
Saturday, September 23, 1 - 6 PM
September kicks off beer festival season, whether it is Oktoberfest in Munich or in Washington. Snallygaster is Washington's best beer festival, and considered by some to be one of the best beer festivals either in the Mid-Atlantic or the country. It features more than 400 beers from across the globe, along with over a 19 food vendors (restaurants and food trucks), as well as two stages with musical performances. However, it's not just big, it's designed well - while there may be lines for the most popular beers, you won't spend your day waiting in lines if you don't want to.
The event is put on by the Neighborhood Restaurant Group, a group the runs the leading craft beer bars in DC (Churchkey and The Sovereign) as well as the Bluejacket Brewery. They are so focused on beer that Greg Engert, the beer director, has been recognized by Food and Wine who named you one of their “Sommeliers of the Year” – the first beer professional to ever have been honored and Imbibe magazine named him their “2014 Beer Person of the Year."
Snallygaster is held at The Yards and is easily accessible from the Navy Yard Metro Station (Green Line). If possible, get an advance ticket. The best deal is for Cyclops, which gets you the admission, 30 tickets for beer or food, and a mug - it costs $38, but gets your $40 dollars worth (and a mug), and even better, you get to skip the line for admission.
H Street Festival
Saturday, September 16, Noon to 7PM, H Street NE from 4th Street NE to 14th Street NE
H Street Northeast is one of Washington, DC's most dynamic hotspots. The area has long been up and coming, especially at it's far eastern end. This is most evident between 11th St and 14th St NE, where there are a number of restaurants and bars that have been around for the past decade, taking advantage of a young neighborhood and cheap rent. However, as Washington DC installed the streetcar on H Street, the neighborhood has been quickly transforming, especially between Union Station on the western end, and 11th St on the eastern.
A great opportunity to experience this neighborhood is the H Street Festival, taking place on the afternoon of the 16th. What started off with 500 people in attendance 12 years ago has blossomed into a three-quarters of a mile long event expecting over 150,000 visitors. From restaurants spreading tables into the street, to additional food vendors as well as a significant focus on DC art, it is a great way to be introduced to a Washington DC neighborhood that is becoming one of the most popular in town.
http://www.hstreetfestival.org/