At a glance
Scan the table to match a trip to your weekend. Travel times come from tourism offices and rail operators, and traffic and schedules change, so check before you go.
| Trip | Getting there | Best for | Start with |
|---|
| Annapolis, MD | Drive: 31 miles, about 44 minutes outside rush hour. By rail: Metro to New Carrollton, then a taxi. | A walkable harbor town | City Dock and Main Street |
| Baltimore, MD | Drive: about 1 hour. Train: Amtrak to Penn Station, or weekday MARC to Camden Station. | Museums and the harbor | National Aquarium |
| Frederick, MD | Drive: about an hour. Train: about 1 hr 40 min on weekday MARC. | Art, history and a creekside park | Carroll Creek Park |
| Harpers Ferry, WV | Drive: about 66 miles from the Beltway, via I-270 and US 340. Weekday MARC runs toward Martinsburg. | Hiking and Civil War history | The park visitor center |
| Charlottesville, VA | About two hours south of DC. Amtrak: just under 3 hours. Virginia Breeze bus: 3 hr 5 min. | Wine country and Monticello | The Downtown Mall |
| Richmond, VA | Amtrak Northeast Regional, or the Virginia Breeze bus (2 hr 15 min). | Murals, museums, river sports | Carytown |
| Williamsburg, VA | 150 miles south of DC, an easy drive on I-64. Direct Amtrak to the downtown station. | Living history | Colonial Williamsburg |
| Philadelphia, PA | Drive: about 3 hours. Train: Amtrak or Acela to 30th Street Station. | Independence Hall and big museums | Independence National Historical Park |
Easy trips, close to DC
Annapolis, MD
A harbor town you can cover on foot, with real history on every block.
- Getting there. It is 31 miles from Union Station, about 44 minutes outside rush hour, on US-50 East to Exit 24A. The city bus runs Monday to Friday only, so plan on driving for a weekend.
- Day one. Start at the top of Main Street and walk down the hill to City Dock. Get a coffee and sit on a bench over the harbor. Then climb to State Circle for the Maryland State House and follow Maryland Avenue, about three blocks of shops, to the United States Naval Academy. It is open to the public with two forms of valid ID, and the USNA Museum is worth the time.
- Day two. Tour the 18th-century Hammond-Harwood House and the William Paca House and Gardens, then browse the galleries in the Arts District on West Street. Finish by crossing the Spa Creek bridge into Eastport for more galleries and waterfront restaurants.
- Where to stay. Downtown, so everything above is a walk away.
Baltimore, MD
The big-city option within easy reach, with enough museums to fill both days even if it rains.
- Getting there. Amtrak stops at Penn Station on the Northeast Corridor, and MARC's Washington line runs to Camden Station, next to the Convention Center. The drive from Washington is about an hour, and MARC to Baltimore is weekday service.
- Day one. Take the harbor first: a Water Taxi around the Inner Harbor, then the National Aquarium for Blacktip Reef and Shark Alley. For dinner, Faidley's Seafood in Lexington Market is known for jumbo lump crab cakes and steamed blue crabs.
- Day two. Pick two museums and give each a real visit. The Baltimore Museum of Art holds the world's largest collection of Henri Matisse. The American Visionary Art Museum shows only self-taught artists. The Walters Art Museum has 36,000 objects across seven millennia. Edgar Allan Poe fans can follow his one-time home, grave and favorite pub.
- Getting around. The free Charm City Circulator has four routes and runs every 15 to 20 minutes. The Banner Route links the Inner Harbor to Fort McHenry, and the Purple Route goes north to the art museum.
Frederick, MD
A small city with a creek running through its downtown, where the train drops you in the middle of it all.
- Getting there. MARC's Brunswick Line serves Frederick on weekdays, about an hour and forty minutes from Union Station, which suits a Friday-evening start. Bikes are allowed on every MARC train. Driving, it is about an hour from Washington: take I-495 to I-270 North.
- Day one. Arrive at the Frederick Transit Center and walk into Downtown. Pick up the Public Art Trail brochure at the Frederick Visitor Center and follow the murals and sculptures. Then spend the evening in Carroll Creek Park, a nearly mile-long linear park that hosts the weekend events.
- Day two. Visit the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, which runs downtown history walking tours on Saturdays and Sundays from April to September. Then go to the Delaplaine Arts Center, in a historic mill beside the creek.
- Worth knowing. Frederick County's transit system is free to ride, and Harpers Ferry is 20 miles away on US 340, which makes a good second-day trip.
Harpers Ferry, WV
The one trip here that is mostly outdoors and mostly history, where two rivers meet in a National Historical Park.
- Getting there. Park at the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park visitor center, 171 Shoreline Drive, on US 340, and take the shuttle bus into Lower Town. Lower Town parking is limited. The park gives the drive from the Beltway as about 66 miles: I-495 to I-270 North, then US 340 South from Frederick. Many navigation apps send you to the town or to park headquarters, so enter the visitor center address. Weekday MARC trains run between Union Station and Martinsburg, so confirm the stops before relying on the train.
- Day one. Walk Lower Town: the John Brown Museum, John Brown's Fort and the Industry Museum, then the story of Storer College and the Niagara Movement. A few exhibits, including the Civil War Museum, are closed for repairs, so check the park's page before you go.
- Day two. Go outside. Walk to The Point, where the Shenandoah and Potomac meet, climb the 1810 Stone Steps to Jefferson Rock, or cross the pedestrian bridge to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath. The park has over 20 miles of trails, from easy riverside strolls to eight-mile mountain-top hikes.
- Worth knowing. The park also includes Camp Hill, Bolivar Heights and Murphy Farm, outside the Lower Town crowd.
Farther trips, worth the extra miles
Charlottesville, VA
The easiest wine-country weekend from DC, because the train drops you a short walk from town.
- Getting there. Charlottesville is about two hours south of Washington. Amtrak runs several times a day from DC, and the ride is just under 3 hours. The Virginia Breeze bus takes 3 hours 5 minutes. Visit Charlottesville's sample itinerary starts with a 10 a.m. arrival.
- Day one. Walk from the station to The Draftsman Hotel at 1106 W Main Street, about 7 minutes, and drop your bags even if the room is not ready. Then head to the Downtown Mall. Of roughly 200 pedestrian malls built in the US last century, only about 30 remain, and this is one.
- Day two. Tour Thomas Jefferson's 1769 home at Monticello, 1050 Monticello Loop, in the morning. You can hike up the Saunders-Monticello trail if the weather is right. Spend the rest of the day on the Monticello Wine Trail with a local touring company, so no one has to drive.
- Worth knowing. Monticello and the wineries sit outside town, so you need a tour, a driver or a car for them.
Richmond, VA
A city of murals, museums and a whitewater river, where one weekend can be half city and half outdoors.
- Getting there. Amtrak's Northeast Regional serves both Washington and Richmond, and the Virginia Breeze bus covers the route in 2 hours 15 minutes.
- Day one. Spend the day in Carytown: breakfast at the Galaxy Diner or Can Can, records at Plan 9, then the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, where you can see Rumors of War. End at The Byrd, a historic movie theater.
- Day two. Head for the James River. Rent a kayak or a whitewater raft for the class IV rapids, bike Belle Isle, or ride the Virginia Capital Trail to Rocketts Landing and have dinner with a view of the water. On the drive downtown, look for the 100-plus street murals.
- Worth knowing. The Virginia Capital Trail runs all the way to Williamsburg, if you ever want to turn this into a longer trip.
Williamsburg, VA
History you take part in, not just read about, across three different sites.
- Getting there. Williamsburg is 150 miles south of Washington, an easy drive on I-64, and Amtrak runs direct from DC to the downtown station. The station is staffed with free same-day and overnight parking. The ticket office is open from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
- Day one. Spend it in Colonial Williamsburg. Visit the Capitol, where you might be chosen to play Patrick Henry in the 5th Virginia Convention. Behind the Peyton Randolph House, the Patriots at Play area has more than 100 animals, including rare breeds. You can also fire a replica musket or throw an ax at the range.
- Day two. Head out to the other two corners of the historic triangle. At Jamestown Settlement you can climb aboard the Susan Constant. At the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown nearly every exhibit is interactive, including a touch-table Battle Game.
- Worth knowing. These are three separate sites, so plan how you will get between them.
Philadelphia, PA
The biggest history lineup on this list, so decide in advance what you will skip.
- Getting there. Visit Philadelphia says the drive from Washington is about three hours. Amtrak's Northeast Regional and the high-speed Acela both stop at 30th Street Station, minutes from Center City hotels and attractions.
- Day one. Go straight to Independence National Historical Park, which includes Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Nearby are the Betsy Ross House, the National Constitution Center and the Museum of the American Revolution.
- Day two. Choose a museum day: the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Barnes Foundation, The Franklin Institute, or the African American Museum. If you would rather be outside, Wissahickon Valley Park is in the city, and Valley Forge National Historical Park is outside it.
- Worth knowing. Longwood Gardens is another option if you want a landscaped garden day.
