The best ice cream we’ve found in Washington. Jeni’s is a chain originating in Ohio that prides itself on creative flavors and high quality. You can get a cup or cone, and they also offer flights, permitting you to sample more flavors in smaller portions.

Our favorite pizza spot in DC. The highlight is the Chicago-style deep dish pie. Pi also offers an extensive beer list. Beware that the deep dish pizzas can take a while to prepare, so this isn’t a great option if you’re in a hurry.

Great flatbreads, salads, and mains accompanied by a vast selection of hard-to-find brews in a neat Logan Circle location. Eat downstairs for the full restaurant experience, or try ChurchKey upstairs for the same incredible beer selection and a more limited bar menu.

Washington’s best and most creative tacos are served up at Surfside.

This Dupont restaurant offers tasty dishes, including some house specials that are more interesting than your typical Thai fare.

This hip lower-level offers craft cocktails, draft beers, wines, and more in a unique setting. The bartenders are friendly and the prices are a reasonable.

One of our favorite brunch spots in DC, Leopold’s serves tasty German food in a Georgetown location with a nice outdoor patio.

Fantastic barbecue in the heart of downtown Fredericksburg. Eat inside the historic home that now houses the restaurant, or outside in the garden/patio if the weather is nice.

One of our favorite bars in DC, McClellan’s Retreat is located a few blocks northwest of Dupont Circle. It’s got a welcoming vibe and neat decor with lots of exposed bricks. The cocktails aren’t cheap, but they’re delicious, and all of the bartenders are pros.

This Peruvian restaurant got started in Miami and recently opened a new location in Washington. It serves delicious fare in a hip setting with tasty cocktails.

Washington’s first Georgian restaurant offers a collection of Khachapuri (Georgian cheesy breads) as well as tasty appetizers and entrees. Supra makes it all delicious and interesting.

Our favorite spot for gelato, Pitango offers astoundingly good gelatos sourced locally, with milk from an eastern Pennsylvania farm that produces high-quality dairy in small amounts. While the gelato is certainly a main attraction, the coffee and hot chocolate are delicious as well.

This Navy Yard restaurant offers a menu of creative and delicious small plates to share. The cuisine is accurately described as eclectic, though most of it is new American, often with an Asian twist.

Regularly featured on lists of D.C.’s (and sometimes the country’s) best restaurants, Rasika never disappoints.

This east London-inspired restaurant serves up farm-to-table cuisine, craft cocktails, and beers. But the real highlight is the burger; the best in DC and one of the best in the country.

Celebrity chef Jose Andres’s restaurant offers some of the best Mexican food in DC, along with delicious craft cocktails and fresh tableside guacamole.

Opal creates delicious mid-Atlantic meals featuring fresh local ingredients.

Don’t let its dump looks fool you: this downstairs bar has one of the most extensive beer lists in town. They always have a bunch of interesting taps in addition to a truly overwhelming bottle list.

garden district’s patio is a great spot on a warm Washington evening. They offer a tasty selection of craft beer and ciders alongside delicious sandwiches (think burgers, pulled pork, and fried chicken).

Some of the better Chinese food in DC, Shanghai Lounge offers familiar Chinese dishes in a Georgetown location.

One Eight Distilling makes gin, vodka, and whiskey. You can try all of them at their tasting room, or get a unique cocktail mixed with one of their delicious house-made spirits.

A D.C. legend, Thomas Sweet’s Georgetown location offers great ice cream, fudge, and milkshakes in generous portions.

Open City is one of our favorite brunch spots in DC. It offers all-day breakfast, pizza, burgers, and more.

Celebrity chef Jose Andres’s Peruvian-Asian fusion spot serves up tasty Peruvian dishes with an Asian influence in a Penn Quarter location that’s convenient for the National Mall and many of the Smithsonian museums on the north side of the Mall.

This Swiss restaurant serves a variety of tasty foods, as well as fresh-baked bread on weekends. A great option for weekend brunch.

Some of the best Mexican food in town, reasonably priced, and in a convenient location. Make sure you try the queso fundido.

Set in a renovated 18th-century granary, Virtue Feed & Grain serves tasty pub food and offers a full bar near Alexandria’s Waterfront Park.

This cafe/restaurant/bar offers delicious baked goods as well as tasty dinner fare (with a full bar). A great option if you’re in DC’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood.

Paradiso offers delicious wood-fired pizzas in a casual setting, along with an extensive beer list. They have locations in Dupont Circle, Georgetown, and Alexandria.

Crimson is a southern restaurant and whiskey bar. The restaurant is good, but not exceptional, but we love the downstairs whiskey bar for its extensive whiskey list, creative cocktails, and bar bites.

Via Sophia isn’t one of the better restaurants in Washington, D.C. The food is fine, but nothing particularly interesting, and the bar doesn’t offer much to draw your attention.

We’re not entranced with this Mediterranean restaurant. The food is fine, but it’s not worth the high prices or the hype.

The national air and space museum is a necessary stop for anyone interested in aircraft of space travel. It’s got incredible exhibits detailing the history of aviation and space exploration, including real vehicles, replicas, and a moon rock you can touch. This is probably the best collection on the history of air and space travel anywhere.

An overwhelmingly large collection of exhibits and artifacts chronicling American history, including technology, transportation, art, culture, and much more. You could probably spend several full days here. A must-see for any history buff.

A fun, interactive museum exploring the history and techniques of espionage. Great for adults and kids alike, the museum has informative exhibits as well as activities that teach you what it’s like to be a spy.

An art museum in a beautiful Washington townhouse, the Philips collection has an impressive permanent collection and typically good rotating exhibitions. Be sure to see Renior’s Luncheon of the Boating Party, as well as works by El Greco, Matisse, van Gogh, O’Keeffe, and more.

The United States National Arboretum is a large outdoor area in northeastern Washington. It has wide open areas with picnic spots and the National Capitol Columns. There’s also a large collection of bonsai trees, an herb garden, and a number of other collections.

The National Portrait Gallery’s focuses on portraits of famous Americans. Its most popular attraction is presidential portrait gallery, which has an entry for every U.S. president. While it’s technically an art museum the National Portrait Gallery is also a history and biographical museum—you’ll learn a lot about the people whose portraits hang in the gallery and the times in which they lived.

Marjorie Post, heir to the General Foods fortune, bought this stunning mansion in 1955 and soon decided it should be a museum open to the public. She filled the house with beautiful furniture and art from 18th and 19th century France and Russia. She landscaped the estate’s 25 acres with beautiful gardens and woodland paths.

A United States military cemetery spanning 624 acres just outside of Washington, D.C., Arlington National Cemetery was established in 1864 and is the final resting place for over 400,000 American servicemen and women. The cemetery is a beautiful and moving place.

Alexandria’s historic district offers cobbled streets, charming townhouses, beautiful waterfront, delicious restaurants, and fun bars. There are also a number of historical sites to visit.

The National Zoo is great for adults and children alike. The sprawling park houses thousands of animals from all over the world, including the famous giant pandas.

A living plant museum, the national botanic garden shows rare plants from all over the world. It also houses a butterfly garden.

The home and office of the President of the United States and his or her highest-level staff, the White House is one of the most famous mansions in the world. While you should definitely stroll by and see it from the outside, we think you should skip the tour.

Washington, D.C.’s theatre scene can’t compete with New York’s or London’s, but it still offers an opportunity to see a quality show.

The National Archives houses the United States’s most important historical records, including the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Rotating exhibits highlight other important historical documents.

The Renwick Gallery is an art museum focusing on American crafts and decorative arts from the 1800s through the present. The permanent collection is underwhelming; the real draw is the rotating exhibitions, which can be incredibly cool.

The National Postal Museum traces the history of the people, technology, and ideas that make the mail work. It also has a large collection of stamps and exhibits about the people and events that have been featured on them.