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Washington DC
Alone

Name: Washington DC Alone
Price: 6.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Jennifer Brandt

A solo travel guide for women 50 and over
By Jennifer Brandt

Forty minutes with three paintings at the National Gallery can make a fine visit. Then ride the Metro to Dupont Circle for a neighborhood walk, rather than facing the Mall's two miles in summer heat.

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Ebook · Updated Q4 2026

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Where you might stay

BudgetHampton Inn Washington-Downtown-Convention Centerbreakfast included and useful without a car
Mid-rangeCanopy by Hilton Washington DC Embassy Rowworkspace and Italian dining on site

Two places to eat alone

JaleoCounter and bar seating suit several small plates alone.
RasikaA bar serves small plates for an easy solo meal.

SAMPLE

A Museum City, Plainly

It also means crowds, particularly at the handful of sights everyone already knows about: the National Museum of Natural History’s dinosaur hall, the National Air and Space Museum, and the stretch of Mall in front of the Capitol during cherry blossom season. Arrive at opening, or come back late in the afternoon, when the tour buses have moved on. The chapters ahead give the specific timing for each major sight.
Free does not always mean walk-in: several of the most sought-after buildings need a timed pass, and the planning chapter names which ones and how to book them.
Free admission also removes the obligation to finish. A visitor can go into one gallery, leave when her attention goes, and come back on Thursday for another. Plenty of Washingtonians never see a Smithsonian museum end to end; they go for an hour, the way other people go to a park.

A free excerpt from Washington DC Alone.

PRACTICAL SAMPLE

Dining Alone

For a sit-down table, eat early, before the rush. Weeknight dinners are generally easier for a solo table than a Friday or Saturday at a destination restaurant. Downtown rooms built around the office trade are busiest between six and eight and often empty by nine, while the neighborhood rooms in Dupont, Shaw and on Capitol Hill run later and steadier. Ask for a table for one, or for the counter, and expect it to be handled as routine.
Breakfast and lunch present no difficulty anywhere in the city. Cafés near the Mall and in every neighborhood hold solo diners with a book or a laptop at every hour, and the museum cafés (unglamorous but perfectly serviceable) solve the middle of a long gallery day without a walk.

A free excerpt from Washington DC Alone.

Inside this book

Washington DC Awaits
A City Shaped by History
Planning: Seasons, Getting Here, Timed Passes
The Solo Woman’s Washington
Neighborhoods and Where to Stay
Days in Washington

View the chapter contents

Washington DC Awaits
A City Shaped by History
Planning: Seasons, Getting Here, Timed Passes
The Solo Woman’s Washington
Neighborhoods and Where to Stay
Days in Washington
Art, Culture & Creativity
The Pleasures of the Table
Evening & After Dark
Retail Therapy
Beyond the City: Day Trips
Talking to Washington
Practical Matters

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