Washington Holidays 2023/24
A quick, free call on 0800 707 6229 or email could bring you Huge Savings on your USA/Washington travel arrangements. Plus, if you’re at the research stage, please let us have any existing proposals & we’ll do a free, no-obligation audit to ensure you’re getting the very best value for your travel spend!
Much like Japan, tourists flock to Washington to admire the cherry blossoms in spring. Many of these cherry trees were actually a ‘gift of friendship’ from Japan to America over a hundred years ago. Each tree will burst with colour and Washington comes alive in the pink.
Washington is famed for its political presence and history, with art galleries, museums and monuments galore. The Smithsonian Institution alone could keep you occupied for weeks. Not for nothing is it known as ‘the nation’s attic’. Comprising over a dozen world-class museums, its exhibits include the Spirit of St. Louis, the plane in which Charles Lindbergh completed the first nonstop solo transatlantic flight in 1927, Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis, which broke the sound barrier in 1947, and even the ruby slippers made famous by Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
At the heart of government lies the US Capitol Building, home to the Senate and House of Representatives, and crowned with the bronze Statue of Freedom. If US politicians are ever unsure of the huge weight of expectation and responsibility on their shoulders, they need only visit the nearby Lincoln Memorial, with the Gettysburg Address engraved on the south chamber, considered by many to be one of the finest speeches ever written, arguably a blueprint for a nation.
Inspiration can also be taken from the Pantheon-inspired Jefferson Memorial, or memorials to more recent American noteworthies such as Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr (who made his era-defining ‘I Have a Dream’ speech from in front of the Lincoln Memorial). Look closely at the Washington Monument, the tallest stone structure in the world, and you will notice that it is constructed from stones of two different colours. Funds ran out and when construction recommenced the builders used marble from a different quarry and of a different colour. It also sways ever so slightly on windy days!
Dining options in Washington are as plentiful as you would expect, and will suit all tastes and budgets. We highly recommend a visit to Union Market, a gourmet food hall offering an eclectic selection of foods from around the world, including bratwursts, Korean-style tacos, savoury dumplings, pristine oysters, shrimp ‘n’ grits and smoked salmon bagels.
