Lonely Planet: Washington, DC

by Lonely Planet, Karla Zimmerman, Regis St. Louis

Lonely The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Washington, DC is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Spend hours under the spell of the Smithsonian Institution's many museums, see the monuments and memorials lit up at night, or shop along historic Georgetown's cobbled lanes; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Washington, DC and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet Washington, DC Travel The Perfect Lonely Planet Washington, DC , our most comprehensive guide to Washington, DC is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less traveled. Written and researched by Lonely Planet. About Lonely Since 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel media company with guidebooks to every destination, an award-winning website, mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveler community. Lonely Planet covers must-see spots but also enables curious travelers to get off beaten paths to understand more of the culture of the places in which they find themselves.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Guidebook, American

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 26, 1999

About the author

OUR STORY
A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies and Lonely Planet was born. One hundred million guidebooks later, Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel guide publisher with content to almost every destination on the planet.

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile]

A detailed, really well put-together guide to everything Washington DC. I especially appreciated the restaurant/bar guide.

[Elizabeth A]

Lonely Planet is one of my go-to travel guides, and this one was exactly what I expected. Easy to use, clearly laid out, and I especially liked the updated information section. Came in very handy on a recent trip.

[Daniel Kukwa]

This volume is up to the usual standard I expect from "Lonely Planet". That said, the section on the history of Washington DC seemed slight, compared to other cities covered by the guide book company. Perhaps it simply suffers by comparison to the last American city I experienced via a "Lonely Planet" volume: New York.

[Pete daPixie]

Last year I read the Lonely Planet guide to Amsterdam, and took that book on my trip. I seem to be following in the footsteps of Karla Zimmerman, as she has also written this guide to Washington DC. A Lonely Planet guide to D.C. has been available since 2001, but my 5th Edition is hot off the press in November 2012.
The size and format of these guides are ideal for the tourist. Handy, pocket sized, yet packed with essential information with insider tips on almost every page. Just like the Amsterdam guide, this one also includes day trips outside the city. What up to the minute info cannot be provided in these pages are contained in useful websites whose addresses are provided.
I would always advise a study of these travel guides well in advance of any trip. I always like to know the what, where, when and how much prior to any sojourn. Practical advice and information is vital. For instance, in the case of Washington DC if you would like to visit the White House all foreigners must apply through their embassy (addresses provided) at least three to six months before the visit. It's not advised to go tapping on the window of the Oval Office with "excuse me Barack...hello!"

[Jim Bowen]

The two travel book publishers that I most reliably turn to are Lonely Planet, and Rough Guides. I tend to find that Rough Guides are better for cities, because they're personal I feel, while Lonely Planet are broader in scope.

This said, I really think this is a good book. It is up to date, has removeable maps you can use when out and about, and does seem to give you a sense of what Washington is like, where to go, what to seat, and the best places to eat.


In addition it's not too big, so you can slip it into your pocket pretty easily, so all in all, I would recommend.

[Beth Lind]

Read this to plan our spring break trip. I liked how the neighborhoods were sorted out as sections and discussed in detail.

I think I'm ready! This will be the first time I've been to DC without 6th graders.

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile]

A detailed, really well put-together guide to everything Washington DC. I especially appreciated the restaurant/bar guide

[Nathan Hodgson]

Great guide, really in depth and brings to life the history and key attractions of DC. Really keen to go now.

[Nina]

I technically read the Forbes one. But it was great. I'm excited to see all the sites!

[Ann]

Although this book was published only two years ago, its recommendations of restaurants and activities need an update and a deep edit. Some of its “recommendations” seemed to merely be an opportunity to publish complaints of establishments, rather than a curated list of what the writers would truly recommend to a traveler. Some of the recommendations seem not to have been touched during the last edit as they described “future” construction using dates that fell years in the past of the publish date. Its definitions of neighborhoods should be reconsidered, specifically “Capitol Hill and South DC” (the US Holocaust Memorial Museum is described in pages between the US Capitol and the Library of Congress, which could mislead a traveler to plan for visiting them in the same day, an inefficient use of their limited time). For these reasons, I would not recommend this book be used to plan travel to Washington, DC. It does have a fantastic section called “Understand Washington, DC,” which details the history, architecture, and politics of the city, as well as a fun (albeit scattered) list of books and movies related to its history. If the next version of the book is edited well, it could be considered as competitive with Fodor’s Travel Washington, DC, which is now a more superior travel book for this city.

[Robin]

Once you get used to the navigation quirks of this guide, it's pretty close to ideal. Excellent, clear, accurate maps. Very thorough listings and succinct, helpful tips and explanations. This guide feeds you pithy bits of information in every possible format: pictures, sidebars, features, maps, top-five lists, and narratives -- this can be a strength when you're planning your trip and flipping around trying to decide what inspires you the most, but it can also cause a frustration if you can't remember which of several possible places you read or saw something. Once you learn to work with the structure, you can't really ask for a better guide.

[Sagar Wadgaonkar]

I picked up the Washington DC December 2022 lonely planet yesterday and am extremely disappointed. I am a current DC resident but like picking up the new edition of the DC lonely planet every few years to be a tourist in my own city.

Unfortunately, though they say in bold letters that everything has been checked to ensure the book is up to date, that is simply false. There are multiple restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues that have been closed for 2+ years, yet Lonely Planet still listed them, in some cases even as a top pick.

I think keeping your guidebook up-to-date, especially since this is the 1st edition they've released in four years. Incredibly disappointed.

[Librariel]

I've read through most and very happy I bought it: listings of things to see and do, eat and buy per neighborhood which I found extremely useful. Different ways to access information depending on how you visit a city, and lots of lists. The best city guide I've encountered so far. Sad to say Rough Guides didn't fulfil the requirements: too much flipping back and forth between the sections about neighborhoods, eating and shopping respectively (cfr. New York City and New Orleans). Hope Lonely Planet keeps up the good work!

[Laura]

3.5. It's totally possible that i missed it, but not sure why they excluded accommodation? If it was there, it wasn't in the normal organizing way that Lonely Planet guides are, such as within the neighborhoods. I would have liked that. Otherwise, a comprehensive guide of the millions of things to do in D.C. and I will certainly be taking a look at it closer to when I go in April

[Mind the Book]

Får stark 'reactance arousal' när jag läser om Måsten eller Topp 10-turistdestinationer på resmålet - och går åt andra hållet!

Gillar LP, men hellre deras 400-sidingar om e n stad, eller e n stat, där ingående beskrivning av invånarnas mentalitet eller popkulturella preferenser brukar få stort utrymme.

Guideboken gjorde dock jobbet under ett par timmar i Washington.

[Marguerite MacLean]

I have never read one of these before. I wish I had read them for my last two trips. It is packed full of useful information. Where to eat, shop, even stay. I will buy one again for my 2025 trip, depending on where that is. If you love to travel this is a great resource. If you can't afford to travel, this is a great way to travel from your couch.

[Jennifer Templeton]

Read some of it, but since it is a travel book, I didn't read it from cover to cover. I haven't gone to Washington yet, but will try to review it if I end up going. Lonely Planet covered the history of Washington, D.C. which I liked reading.

[Mary Foxe]

I will post a proper review when I actually visit. :)

[Susan]

The best of the guidebooks on DC. It has a lot of information about history, neighborhoods and restaurants. Good maps too

[Bongobongo]

Detailed explanations, helpful advice, good overview of landmarks and things to do in DC: a good guide all around.

[Jbussen]

After my trip to DC I have to wonder about the use of travel books at all. I borrowed 3 and they were all equally useless.