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The capital of the USA, best-known for being home to the three branches of its government, is a contrasting, surprising and cosmopolitan city. Monumental buildings line the wide and spacious streets, and the plethora of museums illustrate the rich and complicated history of the country. With a flourishing bar and restaurant scene waiting to be discovered, and many green spaces and charming neighbourhoods, Washington D.C is a worthwhile stop.

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History

Washington, D.C., is a city born of politics, by politics, and for politics. It wasn't the first national capital: Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Annapolis, Trenton, and even New York City all tried their hand at hosting the national government. For a time, it seemed like Philadelphia would stake a claim as home to the federal government. However, Congress soured on the "Cradle of Liberty" after disaffected American soldiers, with the tacit sanction of the Pennsylvania government, chased the legislators out of the city to Princeton. That incident made clear that the nation's capital would need to be independent from the then-powerful state governments and that the southern states would refuse to accept a northern capital.

Three of the nation's founding fathers, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton, agreed in 1790 to a compromise location for a new national capital on largely uninhabited land along the Potomac River in the Mid-Atlantic. The exact location was left up to George Washington, who carved a diamond-shaped federal district out of land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, which happened to be near his plantation at Mount Vernon. The new territory also included two existing settlements: Georgetown, on the Maryland side of the Potomac, and Alexandria, Virginia, at the district's southern tip.

The French-born architect Pierre L'Enfant was charged with planning a new federal city on the north side of the Potomac, next to Georgetown. L'Enfant's plan, modeled after some of the leading cities in Europe, envisioned large parks and wide streets, including a grand boulevard connecting the "President's House" to the Capitol building. However, L'Enfant was an eccentric and fought bitterly with the commissioners appointed to supervise the capital's construction. President Washington eventually dismissed L'Enfant, but the problems didn't end there. Issues with financing and a lack of skilled craftsmen slowed the construction of the city. The commissioners relied on African slaves lent from nearby plantations to complete construction. The federal government finally moved to the new capital in 1800, which by then had been named Washington in honor of its founder, though he still preferred to call it the "Federal City."

British forces invaded the city during the War of 1812, burning and gutting the Capitol Building, Treasury, and White House, although they were all rebuilt shortly thereafter. Things didn't get much better for the new national capital. When he founded the city, President Washington thought that a flourishing trade would help support the capital, but the idea was short-lived. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal was built in 1831 to bypass the treacherous rapids of the Potomac River and move goods from the western territories along the Ohio River all the way to Georgetown, where they could then be loaded onto ships. However, the canal was unable to compete with the more efficient Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which was completed around the same time as the canal. Alexandria suffered disproportionately, since the government's plans favored the port at Georgetown and all government buildings were, by law, built within the City of Washington. The economic stagnation, combined with fears that the federal government would ban Alexandria's thriving slave trade (and it eventually did), caused Congress to return all the District's land that had been donated by Virginia. The 1846 "retrocession", as it is now known, spoiled the city's fine diamond shape, leaving under federal control only the land that had been donated by Maryland.

Washington's compromise location on the border of North and South proved precarious during the Civil War. Caught between Confederate Virginia on one side of the Potomac, and southern sympathizers in surrounding Maryland, President Abraham Lincoln established a network of forts surrounding the capital, which were put to the test in the Battle of Fort Stevens, a minor diversionary attack in July 1864. As the center of war operations for the Union, government workers, soldiers, and runaway slaves flooded into the city. Despite the city's growth, Washington still had dirt roads and lacked basic sanitation. After the war, some members of Congress suggested moving the capital further west, but President Ulysses S. Grant refused to consider such a proposal.

In 1871, Congress created a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia charged with modernizing the capital. Sewers and gas lines were installed, streets were paved, and the town was transformed into a modern metropolis. However, the high cost of the initiative (and alleged cronyism) ultimately bankrupted the District government and later public works projects could not keep up with the city's growing population. By the early 1900s, L'Enfant's vision of a grand national capital had become marred by slums and randomly placed buildings, including a railroad station on the National Mall. A plan enacted by Congress in 1901 beautified Washington's ceremonial core, re-landscaping the Capitol grounds and the National Mall, clearing slums, and establishing a new city-wide park system, finally developing the city into L'Enfant's intended grand design. The New Deal spending of the 1930s under president Franklin Delano Roosevelt led to the construction of even more federal buildings, memorials, and museums. With the start of World War II, government spending in Washington increased, a trend that has continued over the decades.

In 1957, Washington became the first major city to have a majority African-American population and the population of the city exceeded 800,000. The March on Washington and the I Have A Dream speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 were major events in the civil rights movement. After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, riots broke out at the intersection of 14th St and U St and 1,200 buildings were badly damaged or destroyed. Many businesses were forced to close and thousands of jobs were lost permanently.

The influx of crack cocaine marred the District in the 1970s and 1980s. Government services and the public school system went into disrepair. The expanding suburbs, with excellent schools and lower crime and tax rates, became more desirable places to live for many. The population of the District fell below 600,000, shrinking the tax base. The arrest of Mayor Marion Barry on drug charges in 1990 also hurt the city's reputation. In 1991, D.C. led the country in homicides and many of the buildings destroyed in the 1968 riots still remained in rubble. Several government agencies, including the Patent and Trade Office, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), moved their offices to the suburbs.

A wave of change began in the late 1990s. The construction of the Capital One Arena and the nearby Metrorail station in 1997 led people to return to the East End for the first time in years. Further revitalization efforts in the late 1990s, supported by President Bill Clinton and Mayor Anthony Williams, led to D.C. becoming one of the fastest improving cities in the U.S. and the population again began to climb.

People

D.C.'s culture is in no small part defined by a divide between black and white, native and transient, as well as cultural diversity from around the world.

According to census data, the population of D.C. is approximately 700,000 and is 47% black, 45% white, and 8% Hispanic and 14% are foreign-born.

African-American heritage

As a result of its large black population, D.C. has long been a national center of African-American, notably Ethiopian-American culture. Known as the "Chocolate City" due to its black heritage, it was the first black-majority city in the country, and until the 1920s (when it was surpassed by New York) D.C. was home to the largest black population of any city. The famous U Street in Shaw was known as Black Broadway, with native Washingtonian Duke Ellington performing in the jazz clubs on this street. The District was long an attractive destination for African Americans leaving the South, as it was both nearby and viewed as a bastion of tolerance and progressiveness in race relations. It was the home of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and the first of the formerly-segregated U.S. cities to integrate its public schools in 1954. D.C. is also home to Howard University in Shaw, one of the nation's most important historically black colleges. The persisting influence of African American culture upon D.C.'s identity is obvious in the popular consciousness, the city's government, local sports, high culture and, above all, the local intellectual and philosophical movements.

Compared to other American cities, relatively few residents are home-town natives, rather than transplants from elsewhere. According to data published by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2011, only 37.3% of D.C. residents were born in D.C. The transient population is overwhelmingly professional, young, white, affluent, and highly educated, drawn to the city for its government-related work and booming economy. This is in stark contrast to the local African-American population, which has deep roots in the community, leading to socioeconomic diversity—some areas of the city rank among the nation's poorest, most alienated, and underprivileged, plagued with serious problems in the public schools and violent housing projects.

The sometimes uncomfortable blend of the semi-transient professional population and permanent residents is often the source of controversy, especially as D.C. has been experiencing a wave of neighborhood rebuilding and gentrification. Young professionals with tight budgets and distaste for long daily commutes have relocated into poorer neighborhoods in search of low rent and easy access to city amenities. But while there is inevitably some conflict around neighborhood change, these changes have also created D.C.'s most diverse, culturally vibrant, and exciting neighborhoods—just walk up U St or 18th St in Shaw or Adams Morgan, and you'll see that it's not a vain hope that the city's various cultures can come together to create something greater.

International influence

D.C., and particularly the metro area beyond the city limits, is impressively international. In the immediate metro area a whopping one third of the population is foreign born. The biggest immigrant group is from Central America, mostly from El Salvador. Latino culture finds its home in the city in Columbia Heights—where you'll find all the various cultures of the city intermingling. D.C. also has a big African immigrant population, with an exceptionally large Ethiopian community (the second largest in the world after Addis Ababa), which has bestowed the city with a love for Ethiopian food, and which finds its urban center in D.C.'s own Little Ethiopia. The international culture extends well beyond the immigrant communities, though, to the big foreign professional population, as well as the brain drain of Americans from all around the country looking for work in the international relations field—D.C. is, simply put, the nation's most international town.

Local politics

Local politics, and local anger at the relations between the city and the national government, are perhaps the glue that binds all Washingtonians together. The District of Columbia is under the ultimate control of the U.S. Congress. District residents are able to elect a Mayor as well as representatives to the D.C. Council, although Congress retains the right to overturn laws passed by the city. The city lacks representation in Congress since the residents of D.C. are not in one of the states of the union, although they have been granted electoral college votes for presidential elections since 1961. District license plates bear the Revolutionary War slogan "Taxation Without Representation" as a contemporary reference to their lack of voting rights. The District is strongly progressive, having voted overwhelmingly (>70%) for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1964.

Climate

D.C.'s climate has a bad reputation; there is a popular myth that the city was intentionally built on a swamp to keep the federal bureaucracy small (by making the place too unpleasant for civil servants to live in). In truth, what is now the National Mall had been mudflats, but there was no swamp, and in the early 1800s, most of the city's land was used to grow tobacco, corn and apples.

The weather is actually quite pleasant during the spring and fall. It's hard to beat spring in D.C. The northerly subtropical climate results in cool breezes, moderate temperatures, lush growth, flowers, budding trees, and, of course, the cherry blossoms. The most beautiful time of spring usually falls from April to mid-May. Domestic tourists know this, though, and you can expect the cherry blossom walk around the Tidal Basin to see (pedestrian) traffic jams that put the Beltway to shame, although truly savvy tourists can escape the crowds but still enjoy the cherry blossoms at the National Arboretum in Near Northeast. Fall rivals spring for perfect temperatures. It's also a lovely time for a walk in Rock Creek Park, where the dense forest bursts with multicolored confetti. Winter is a great time to visit, as museums are nearly empty and theaters are all in season. Winter temperatures are relatively mild, with very sporadic snow. However, it's very hot and very humid during the summer, due to the miserable, impenetrable humidity. On a hot day in D.C. in July or August, you will sweat like a dog, the kids will complain incessantly, and you'll want to spend as much time indoors as possible. It is not the best time to visit.

It's worth considering the political climate as well. Before heading to D.C., research which events will coincide with your visit. Major international conferences, political events (elections/inaugurations) or protests often prompt road closures and additional security checks, and also send lodging prices through the roof. There are also several weeks during the year, as well as most of August, when Congress is on recess. During these weeks, there are fewer official visitors, elected officials, and staff members; the Metro becomes less crowded and there are overall fewer people in the city.

Literature

Washingtonians are avid readers, and not just of the news—each Metro car at rush hour is a veritable library. Nonetheless, there is only a little "D.C. literature" to speak of. The handful of notable works focused on DC as a city/metro area include: Dinaw Mengestu's The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears is set in a gentrifying Shaw during the 1990s, where the protagonist, an Ethiopian refugee, and his other African immigrant friends struggle to find their identities as they're caught between the past and the present, their old and new countries, and their changing neighborhood. Edward P. Jones' Lost In the City is a collection of short stories revolving around African-American life in D.C.'s outlying neighborhoods. Jones' intimate writing style has been compared to that of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. George Pelecanos' Sweet Forever. Pelecanos is one of D.C.'s rarest authors—one who knows the city beyond the politics, in and out, and uses it extensively and effectively as the backdrop for some amazing mysteries. In this one, detective Nick Stefanos investigates a drug-related murder on 1980s U St, leading him into a maze of basketball, dirty cops, the beginnings of the local crack empire, underground music, a thoroughly corrupt mayor's office, and all-around grit in a dangerous city.

The city's culture has always been overshadowed by national politics, and those looking for local flavor will mostly find political works: political chronicles, political histories, political hot air, political historical fiction, and of course political thrillers, including: Henry Adams' Democracy is President John Quincy Adams' grandson's satirical send-up of the moral morass that is politics. (Things haven't changed in the 120 years since he wrote it.) Almost certainly President Rutherford B Hayes' least favorite book, this remains a great read two centuries later. Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol sold one million copies on the first day it was published, so it's fair to assume that this 2009 book by the author of the Da Vinci Code could become the most famous D.C. work of fiction of all time. It's a mad chase of arcane conspiracies around D.C.'s Masonic Temple, National Cathedral, Smithsonian, Washington Monument, and every darkest nook and narrowest cranny of the Capitol Building. John Grisham's The Pelican Brief. Intrigue, corruption, and homicide on the Supreme Court, and some good chases around the capital city in one of Grisham's most famous thrillers. Republicans may get an unfair portrayal, but this is a good page turner. Ron Suskin's Hope in the Unseen and The One Percent Doctrine are both political, but about very different sides of Washington. The former chronicles the experiences of Cedric Jennings from his nightmarish Ballou High School in Anacostia to the Ivy League. The One Percent Doctrine, on the other hand, is an inside look at the run up to the Iraq War, predicated on the infamous one-percent doctrine coined in the wake of 9/11 by then-Vice President Dick Cheney. Gore Vidal's Lincoln. America's legendary master of political historical fiction turns his pen on the Lincoln Oval Office, bringing the administration's central figures to life in a way that no biography could. Vidal is famous for his lack of charity to beloved national figures, but even his sharp pen can't quite tarnish the nation's greatest. Bob Woodward's All the President's Men is perhaps the nation's single most famous political chronicle: the story of the investigative journalism that unearthed the Watergate Scandal and led to the impeachment and political demise of President Richard Nixon. Woodward remains a huge influence in Washington, particularly due to his eminently readable insider accounts of the workings of the Bush Administration. Bush at War and Plan of Attack stand out. The first is a chronicle of the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent decision to invade Afghanistan, and the second addresses the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.

In addition to the above, a trip to D.C. is a good time to pick up a presidential biography or two. Favorites include: Arthur Schlesinger's A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House is the most famous account of the JFK presidency. Biased, certainly, but it's hard to beat an account by a Harvard historian turned special advisor who was there in the Oval Office to see every decision being made. Stephen Oates' Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King isn't closely associated with the city, but this is a great inspirational read to keep in mind on the Mall, thinking of his I Have a Dream speech. Lou Cannon's Ronald Reagan: the Role of a Lifetime is one of the few mature Reagan biographies that is neither a tribute nor an attack, written about his years in office by the inner-circle chronicler who knew him best. Frank Friedel's Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny. FDR's presidency was so influential, and just plain long, that it's difficult to find good one-volume biographies—look no further than this definitive work. Joseph Ellis' His Excellency: George Washington. A Washington biography is an obvious reading choice on a trip to his namesake city, as his story is the story of the founding of both the nation and the capital (and his estate is an easy day trip outside the city). Ellis' account is very travel-friendly—accessible, humanist, and mercifully short.

Film

There is no end to the list of films set in D.C., as the nation's capital provides the essential backdrop to just about every political thriller and practically every alien invasion or other disaster movie set in the U.S. There are a proud few, though, that stand out either for their creation of national myths or for having actually captured something of the real culture of the city. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 1939) is the defining American myth of the ability of political idealism to stand up for the people against entrenched political interests and corruption, and, just maybe, to win. Nary a cynic remains tearless through Jimmy Stewart's defining performance. The More the Merrier (George Stevens, 1943): A goofy romantic comedy, widely hailed as one of the best of its kind, set in WWII-era D.C., amidst the acute housing shortage faced by war workers, soldiers and other travelers during WWII. The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise, 1951): This classic black-and-white sci-fi film, in which aliens land on the National Mall to deliver a message about nuclear weapons and peace, holds a special place in Washingtonians' hearts because it involves not only high-powered scientists and military leaders, but also ordinary Washingtonians (one of the main characters is a single mother and a secretary in the Department of Labor). The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973) is a rare film in that it is both unmistakably Washingtonian and entirely unrelated to politics. It's best remembered for terrifying audiences with a story uncomfortably plausible to those raised in the Catholic Church. Formidable evil forces and equally formidable Jesuits collide in the struggle for the soul of a young girl living in Georgetown, in a tale where the modern humanist world quivers in the face of the ancient and the mystical. All the President's Men (Alan J. Pakula, 1976): An unflattering and historically accurate portrayal of the events surrounding the Watergate scandal and the subsequent investigation by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. No Way Out (Roger Donaldson, 1987): Set in the post-Watergate Washington, Kevin Costner plays a Soviet mole at the Pentagon who becomes involved in a political murder and its coverup. The movie features the Pentagon and an exciting scene in the Metrorail system. A Few Good Men (Rob Reiner, 1992): A dynamic Navy JAG attorney blends two D.C. professions often overlooked beneath the glow of the Capitol Dome. As LT Daniel Kaffee, Tom Cruise realizes that his Naval service is more than just a resume bullet as he defends two Marines charged with murder. From the Navy Yard to a seedy New York Avenue motel to the leafy streets of gentrified Adams Morgan, this film gives Washington, D.C. an honest portrayal. More importantly, the story is a window into the idealism of many young D.C. transplants who move to town in search of a chance to change lives for the better. In the Line of Fire (Wolfgang Petersen, 1993): How do you make a D.C. political thriller stand out among all the rest? Simple: Clint Eastwood is the Secret Service agent, and John Malkovich is the psychopathic assassin. If you intend to watch, you should also plan to add the legendary Old Ebbitt Grille in the West End to your dining itinerary. The Nine Lives of Marion Barry (2009) is an HBO documentary that takes a look at Washington during its boom-and-bust period under the city's most infamous local politician, four-term mayor Marion Barry. The film provides a balanced and unique insight that is necessary to truly understand America's capital, including the areas dismissed by most visitors to the city.

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The charming city of Annapolis is the thriving capital of Maryland, offering a lovely collection of historic buildings and cobblestone streets that make it well worth the visit. Annapolis also boasts a rich maritime heritage, and there are a number of excellent museums where you can soak up its rich history. Stroll along the bustling waterfront, marvel at 17th and 18th century architecture of the downtown district and enjoy the countless local restaurants, cafes and bars on offer in this lovely city.

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Annapolis was a thriving, wealthy town in the 1600s and 1700s. Many of the houses and other buildings from the 1800s still remain, leaving a thriving, vibrant historic district with shops and restaurants along the waterfront. Brick-lined streets and quaint shops add to the feel. Tourism from the surrounding Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metro area is a major part of the town's life, as is a thriving boat business. One could easily spend a day walking around the town's downtown harbor area shopping and eating. There is also a lively nighttime scene.

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Williamsburg is a city in southeast Virginia. Settled in 1632, it was the capital of Virginia from 1699 to 1779 and in 1926, John D. Rockefeller Jr commissioned a restoration project to bring Williamsburg back to its former colonial glory. During this period, 700 modern homes were demolished, colonial buildings were renovated, and more than 400 buildings were reconstructed on their original foundations. Today, the Colonial Williamsburg district in the center of town is a popular tourist center and people visit in droves to immerse themselves in the nation's colonial history.