It’s been a mild winter here in Washington, DC, home to the offices of Callahan & Associates. This week, as CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference kicks off, the weather forecast looks just as temperate. So, after a full day of listening, learning, and networking, you may well need a dose of fresh mid-Atlantic air to warm your spirit and re-energize your brain.
You’ll need to eat, of course. But if you’re looking for bars and restaurants to stretch that per diem, scroll to the bottom. In this guide, we collected five places for you to visit if you’re looking to stretch your legs. Distances are from the Washington Convention Center.
Apple Carnegie Library
The fancy name hides that, yes, we’re suggesting you walk across the street from the convention center to visit this Apple store. In May 2019, the tech giant completed extensive historic restorations on this Beaux-Arts style building, once home to DC’s Central Public Library and initially funded by Andrew Carnegie. Yes, it’s an Apple store, but it’s also quite a bit more.
Walking Distance: Two minutes.
Apple Carnegie Library
CityCenterDC
This oft-Instagrammed destination is home to more than 35 retailers and restaurants and includes a wide plaza for your tired brain and feet to kick back and soak up the sunshine.
Walking Distance: Four minutes.
National Portrait Gallery
One of the best things about DC? All the free museums. The National Portrait Gallery, part of the Smithsonian Institution, was founded in 1968 and houses the nation’s only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House. These include the recent portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama, which you’ll want to see.
Walking Distance: Eight minutes.
Ford’s Theatre
Surely you’ve heard of Ford’s Theatre, famous as the site where President Lincoln was shot in 1865. Ominous beginnings for the theatre, which had opened only two years prior, but the show, as they say, went on. A series of renovations and refurbishments concluded in 2009 it still hosts nightly shows and a related Center for Education and Leadership opened in 2012. As an added point of interest, the FBI headquarters building is just around the corner.
Walking Distance: 10 minutes.
Washington Monument
One of the sites that makes DC famous, if you find yourself walking with no destination in mind you could do much worse than to find yourself on the National Mall staring skyward at the 555-foot monument to America’s first president. You’ll have to watch out for dog walkers, bicyclers, and electric scooter riders, but this is one thing every visitor to the nation’s capital should see.
Walking Distance: 30 minutes.
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