Alexandria

Getting there

by Metro: use the King Street / Old Town exit from the yellow or blue line. Amtrak also gets you there. Details.

by water taxi: cross the river from the Old Wharf in The District, or Georgetown, or National Harbor. Fun Fact: Alexandria is today in Virginia but at one time was a section of DC. Learn more history of Alexandria in a museum atop the Torpedo Factory or at the Tourist Center on King Street.

by car: paid parking is available on streets. Several public parking lots are near the waterfront. Savvy people sometimes park at Trader Joe's.

Orientation:

When you exit the Metro, you will be at the Western End of King Street-- the MAIN DRAG running east to the Waterfront of Alexandria, aka “Old Town.”

To the West: the tallllll Masonic Temple on a hill is where George Washington was buried. It looks quite close but walking there might be a little awkward.
To the East, it's a 25 minute walk (about 1 mile) on potentially crowded sidewalks to get to the Waterfront. But there's a free trolley.

King Street

At the Metro, locate where the buses gather passengers, you will find the King Street Free TROLLEY. From the Metro,all day long it runs East, East, East toward the Waterfront on King Street, circling Market Square before it comes back West-West-West to the Metro... comes every 20 minutes or so. You’ll notice a vast number of restaurants and boutiques the length of your trip on King Street.

Market Square and Historic City Hall

At Market Square you hop off the trolley, and check out the oldest Farmer’s Market in the US. (Runs till noon only on Saturday.) George Washington helped get it started.

Exit the western end of the Farmer’s Market by turning RIGHT on Royal Street and walk a half block to Gadsby’s Tavern (Address: 134 N. Royal Street. Walk inside to the stairway and take a picture with George Washington. (If the tavern is busy, there is a George to pose with at the entrance.) The point is, GEORGE ATE HERE! WITH PATRICK HENRY! AND THOMAS JEFFERSON! Conversations here launched a new nation!

From there, one can go further East to visit Ramsey House on King Street for the Visitor Center. (Public restrooms downstairs.) An hour long video of the history of Alexandria is available downstairs and it has a gift store and flyers for ghost tours.

All along King Street, notice ice cream stops… restaurants you might want to select for dinner…

Art and Waterfront

Explore Alexandria’s Waterfront which runs north and south along the Potomac. When you look North across the river, you are seeing DC and Maryland. The Ferris Wheel marks National Harbor.

On Alexandria Old Town’s boardwalk, notice the centrally located stand to purchase tickets for the water taxi (it’s near Black Hitch and the BANDSTAND.) Walk further EAST along the pier and left/NORTH around the corner to actually BOARD the water taxi (it’s different from the river boat, a river CRUISE boat… it’s the water TAXI and can take you across the Potomac to DC’S “Old Wharf.” One-way tix to/from the Old Wharf are $21.
Enjoy art installations and posters with historical information in the park areas.
If you head South on the Waterfront, you'll get to a great bar called Barca's to enjoy a breezey cocktail right above the water. Continuing well beyond Barca's you will see a bridge. Jones Point is located there.

Torpedo Factory

Duck inside this Waterfront location on the block just north of King Street to see stall after stall of artists' studios. Meet the artists and craftsmen. This is a lovely place to buy postcards and gifts.

You can take a photo of your squad with a torpedo and learn some of the history of the building. Learn how Chinese Brush Stroke painting is done to create a "bamboo" image. Find your favorie painting by Tori Cowles. Go to third floor's Archeological Museum room for a quick sense of local discoveries. Public restrooms are on floor 1.

Happy Hour? Dinner?

See lots of dining options on King Street as you approach the Waterfront-- options for all wallets. Then, the Waterfront boasts great dining options such as Virtue Feed and Grain (pictured), Black Hitch, My Thai and Volas.

Notice the red umbrellas closest to the bandstand on the southern side of Black Hitch. It's a section served by wait staff from “Volas” a few yards from Blackwall Hitch. That boardwalk dining space is public where you can bring food from other vendors OR place your order off of the Vola's menu. Bargain hunters: A Caesar Salad and a beer from Volas costs just $20, and you could always bring a Subway sandwich to those tables to "picnic."

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