Until the Metrorail services are extended to serve Dulles airport, the most immediate and sensible option for those travelling to the city is an authorised Washington Flyer Taxicab costing around $50.

www.mwaa.com

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Its best to walk but if the heat is overpowering, there are old-fashioned trolley buses roaming around the city that will take you around the monuments and into Georgetown.

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Stretches from one end of the city to the other, widening as you travel northwards. It is full of forest paths, streams, woods and meadows. Deer roam through the undergrowth and the occasional coyote has been spotted.

Upper Northwest; Tel: 1-202 895 6070; Open: Park dawn-dusk daily, Nature Center & Planetarium 9am-5pm Wed-Sun (closed some holidays); www.nps.gov/rocr/

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Get some political memorabilia like a Kennedy badge or a Nixon poster from the 1960s, or a Clinton-Gore sticker from 1992. There’s a shop that sells the stuff in Union Station, which is worth a few hours in itself.

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All the T-shirts claiming the wearer is from the FBI or CIA or on a witness protection scheme.

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Friday’s Weekend section in the Washington Post, or the weekly City Paper.

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Get them broiled not fried at any number of places. The Daily Grill on 18 and M is as good as any.

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One of the traditional great hotels of Washington. It’s where visiting dignatories tend to stay, and where Monica Lewinsky holed up during the Clinton impeachment saga.

1127 Connecticut Ave, NW, between L & M Streets; Tel: 1-800 228 9290/ 1-202 347 3000; Farragut North Metro; marriott.com/renaissancehotels/default.mi

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It is hidden down a small driveway off Georgetown’s bustling M Street. Perfect if you want to make Georgetown your base. It is best known for hosting Citronelle, one of Washington’s most famous restaurants.

3000 M Street, NW; Tel: 1-202 726 5000; Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro; www.georgetowncollection.com/

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For a standback view of the whole city, cross the Potomac river and climb the hill at the national military cemetery. On the way you can pay your respects at JFK���s memorial.

Tel: 1-703 695 3250/ 1-703 979 0690; Arlington Cemetery Metro; Open: 8am-7pm daily Apr-Sept, 8am-5pm daily Oct-Mar; Admission: free; www.arlingtoncemetery.net/

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Do the Washington power thing and eat a traditional aged steak among the political power players. The walls are decorated with caricatures of all the famous politicos who have dined there over the ages.

Address: 1225 19th Street, NW; Tel: 1-202 293 9091; Nearest Metro: Dupont Circle; Open: Lunch from 11.45am-3pm, dinner 3pm-10.30pm Mon-Fri, 5.30pm-10.30pm Sat, 5.30pm-9.30pm Sun.

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It’s downtown and near the social centre of Dupont Circle, but it also on a quiet street and has preserved an old-world bookish feel that is rare in America. It has a pleasant lounge with an open fire in winters that feels like the common room of some old college, and a very decent restaurant. A room is about $100.

1739 N Street, NW, at Connecticut Avenue; Tel: 1-202 785 1277; Dupont Circle Metro; www.tabardinn.com/home.htm

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It’s very Clintonian era, but no one has a written a decent Bush period novel yet.

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Great authentic Mexican food at very low prices.

1792 Columbia Road, NW; Tel: 1-202 332 1011; Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro; Open: 10am-10pm Sun-Thurs, 10am-11pm Fri-Sat

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My local restaurant. Usually very good modern American cuisine, with Bison steaks, lots of fish and outside tables to watch Adams Morgan folk walk by.

1819 Columbia Road, NW; Tel: 1-202 797 1819; Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro; Open: 5.30-10pm Tues, 5.30-11pm Wed-Sat, 11:30am-2.30pm and 5:30-10pm Sun

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It has to be All the President’s Men, even after all these years. It makes you wonder why they do not make any decent political thrillers any more. Surely there’s lots of good material.

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Join up with the C&O Canal in Georgetown and within a hundred yards you’ll forget you’re in a city. The canal goes north-west for miles, as you follow the towpath under a canopy of trees.

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Take the kids to the Air and Space Museum and take in an IMAX movie there.

Sixth Street & Independence Avenue, SW, The Mall & Tidal Basin; Tel: 1-202 357 2700; L’Enfant Plaza Metro; Open: Sept-May 10am-5.30pm daily; Admission: Museum free, Planetarium $8; www.nasm.si.edu/

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The best ribs in town, served with cornbread salads and lashings of freshly-made lemonade are to be found at Rocklands. Steer clear of the optional hot sauces unless you have a mouth made of asbestos.

Rocklands, 2418 Wisconsin Avenue, Glover Park; Tel: 1-202 333 2558; Open: 11.30am-11.30pm Mon-Fri, 11am-10pm Sat, 11am-9pm Sun

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A lively market off the beaten track. You can stroll around and admire the fish and then sit on the wharf eating clam chowder and spiced prawns.

Maine Avenue west of 9th Street, SW; Tel: 1-202 484 2722; Open: daily 7.30am-8pm

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