Sightseeing

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.
• The Washington DC page from Yahoo Travel.
• The Washington DC page from 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 "College Park/U. of MD" station is located near the top end of the green 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.
• The University's Metro stop is a bit too far to walk from the University. The Metro station is accessible from the University shuttle-bus service. See the link labeled "104 College Park Metro" for the latest schedule. Note: As of this posting, the shuttle schedule is for the 2007-2008 Academic Year. The Summer Schedule has not yet been posted, but will be in effect during the conference.