I love Washington DC. We usually take Amtrak from NYC, which is about a 3 hour ride. We stay at the Tabbard Inn in Dupont Circle area which has a terrific restaurant, bar, and live jazz music now and again. It's a bit of a funky place. I love the giant bathtubs. The Inn provides a free continental type breakfast, or you can order whatever you want from the menu. Dupont Circle has a mix of people, but it's very convenient in terms of jumping on the metro, or finding a good restaurant and shopping, movies. We're from NY so the citiness doesn't bother me so much.

The Mall area is a quick metro ride away (and I do think the Washington DC metro is one of the easiest I've ever used). The cascade area for eating is very nice and convenient.

A weekend always goes so fast there. Best, Marge in NY