Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda, Maryland is a popular location for dining and shopping in the DC area. It is located just outside the borders of Washington DC. For further information, see the Guide to Downtown Bethesda. Bethesda is home to the National Institutes of Health. It is also just a short ride on the DC Metrorail (subway) to other popular destinations such as Friendship Heights (shopping and restaurants), Woodley Park/Adams Morgan (reasonably priced ethnic restaurants and the zoo), Dupont Circle (more restaurants and bars).

Bethesda is known throughout the DC area as an excellent place for dining. Here is a Restaurant List with a hand-sketched map of the area. It contains a sampling of restaurants, but there are many more fine restaurants in the area.

Washington, DC

Washington, DC is a popular tourist destination, and there are many things to do here. It would not be possible to list all the major attractions here. A good starting point is the Official Washington DC Tourism home page.

Here are some other useful links:

• The Washington DC page from Trip Advisor, Yahoo Travel, and WorldWeb.com.
• If you've been here before and have seen it all, here are a few recent additions to the list tourist sites:
  • Opened in 2008: The upgraded and newly located Newseum, a museum devoted to news.
  • Opened in 2004: The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.
  • Opened in 2003: The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located near Dulles Airport. This is a companion facility to the very popular Air and Space Museum.
• Restaurant lists and reviews can be found at:
  • Washington Post City Guide
  • Washingtonian.com
  • Washington City Paper

DC Metro System

Most of the major tourist locations around the city are accessible by the Washington DC Metro System. The offical name is "Metrorail", but around here it is just called "the Metro". It is a zoned system, which means that you pay based on the distance traveled and the time of day. Most short-term visitors pay using a stored-value card, which you may purchase from machines on entering the system. If you will be staying for longer time you may want to purchase a SmarTrip card.

Here are some useful links:

• Metro's visitor information.
• For a practical information on the system, please see the following page on How to use the Metro.
• Here is the Metro System Map. (The "Bethesda" station is located on the red line.)
• If you are coming to the system by car, the following information on Metro parking information may be helpful. Note that lots are free over the weekend, but otherwise most of them require payment using a SmarTrip card.