Washington DC Info
Joined: 05 Jan 2007
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 Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 5:35 am Post subject: SHOPPING IN WASHINGTON DC / WASHINGTON DC SHOPPING GUIDE |
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SHOPPING IN WASHINGTON DC
Shoppers looking for a Rodeo Drive, Fifth Avenue, or Champs-Elysees will not find it here. No single street in Washington has achieved shopping celebrity status. Not yet, anyway. Washington's best stores tend to proliferate in scattered areas, from Eighth Street in Southeast Washington to Wisconsin Avenue in Northwest.
The Shopping Scene
Washington-area stores are usually open daily from 10am to 5 or 6pm Monday through Saturday, with one late night (usually Thurs) when hours extend to 9pm. One exception is the downtown Hecht's department store, in the heart of Penn Quarter, which actually stays open later on weekend nights, Friday until 10pm and Saturday until 9pm. Sunday hours for area stores tend to vary, with some stores opting not to open at all and others with shorter hours of noon to 5 or 6pm. Again, there are exceptions: many Georgetown shops stay open Sunday evenings; the malls are open late nightly; and antiques stores and art galleries tend to keep their own hours.
Sales tax on merchandise is 5.75% in the District, 5% in Maryland, and 4.5% in Virginia. Most gift, arts, and crafts stores, including those at the Smithsonian museums, will handle shipping for you; clothes stores generally do not.
If you're a true bargain hunter, scope out the Washington Post website (www.washingtonpost.com) in advance of your trip to see which stores are having sales. Once you get to the Post's home page, click on "Arts and Living" at the top of your screen, then click on "Fashion and Beauty," and then click on "Sales and Bargains," a column that's updated weekly.
Shopping Areas
Union Station
It's a railroad station, a historic landmark, an architectural marvel, a Metro stop, a shopping mall. Yes, the beauteous Union Station offers some fine shopping opportunities, certainly the best on Capitol Hill: more than 100 clothes and specialty shops, and more than 40 eateries.
Penn Quarter
The area bounded east and west by 7th and 14th streets NW, and north and south by New York and Pennsylvania avenues NW, is in a frenzy of development. The latest buzz comes from the opening of a multiuse complex, Gallery Place, at 7th and H streets, in the heart of Chinatown, backing up to the MCI Center and overtop the Chinatown/Gallery Place Metro stop. Gallery Place combines condominiums, offices, a 14-screen theatre, stores that range from Urban Outfitters to Aveda, and several restaurants. Elsewhere in the neighbourhood you'll find a long list of "name" stores: Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, H&M, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers's, and Filene's Basement; and one-of-a-kind places, such as Home Rule and Chapters. Look for the huge Borders bookstore at 14th and F streets NW, in the grand old Garfinckel's Building. Hecht's, at 12th and G streets, continues as the sole department store downtown. Metro: Metro Center.
Adams-Morgan
Centered on 18th Street and Columbia Road NW, Adams-Morgan is a neighbourhood of ethnic eateries and nightclubs interspersed with the odd secondhand bookshop and eclectic collectibles stores. It's a fun area for walking and shopping. Parking is possible during the day but impossible at night. Closest Metro: You have two choices: Woodley Park/Zoo-Adams-Morgan, then walk south on Connecticut Avenue NW until you reach Calvert Street, cross Connecticut Avenue and follow Calvert Street across the Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge until you reach the junction of Columbia Road NW and 18th Street NW. On weekday evenings and all day Saturday, you can catch the no. 98 Adams-Morgan-U Street Link shuttle bus, which departs every 15 minutes from the Woodley Park station and takes you to Adams-Morgan; it only costs 25¢. Second choice: Dupont Circle; exit at Q Street NW and walk up Connecticut Avenue NW to Columbia Road NW.
Connecticut Avenue/Dupont Circle
Running from the mini-Wall Street that is K Street north to S Street, Connecticut Avenue NW is a main thoroughfare, where you'll find traditional clothing at Brooks Brothers, Talbots, and Burberry's; casual duds at The Gap; discount items at Filene's Basement and the Ann Taylor Loft; and haute couture at Rizik's. Closer to Dupont Circle are coffee bars and neighbourhood restaurants, as well as art galleries; funky boutiques; gift, stationery, book, and record shops; and stores with a gay and lesbian slant. Metro: Farragut North at one end, Dupont Circle at the other.
Georgetown
Georgetown is the city's main shopping area. In the heart of the neighbourhood, stores line Wisconsin Avenue and M Street NW, and they also fan out along side streets. You'll find both chain and one-of-a-kind shops, chic as well as thrift. Sidewalks and streets are almost always crowded, and parking can be tough. Weekends, especially, bring out all kinds of yahoos, who are mainly here to drink. Visit Georgetown on a weekday morning, if you can. Weeknights are another good time to visit, for dinner and strolling afterward. Metro: Foggy Bottom, then catch the bright blue Georgetown Metro Connection bus, which runs every 10 minutes, takes only a few minutes to reach Georgetown, and costs 35¢ with a Metrorail transfer, or $1 without a transfer. Metrobuses (the no. 30-series: 30, 32, 34, 36) travel through Georgetown from different parts of the city. Otherwise, consider taking a taxi. If you drive, you'll find parking lots expensive and tickets even more so, so be careful where you plant your car.
Upper Wisconsin Avenue Northwest
In a residential section of town known as Friendship Heights on the D.C. side and Chevy Chase on the Maryland side (7 miles north of Georgetown, straight up Wisconsin Ave.) is a quarter-mile shopping district that extends from Saks Fifth Avenue at one end to Sur La Table at the other. In between are Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, and Hecht's department stores; a bevy of top shops, such as Tiffany's and Versace; two malls, the Mazza Gallerie and the Chevy Chase Pavilion; and several stand-alone staples, such as Banana Republic. The street is too wide and traffic always too snarled to make this a fun place to stroll, although teenagers do love to loiter here. Drive if you want; the Hecht's store parking lot offers 2 hours of free parking with validation. Or take the Metro; the strip is right on the Red Line, with the "Friendship Heights" exits leading directly into each of the malls and into Hecht's.
Old Town Alexandria
Old Town, a Virginia neighbourhood beyond National Airport, is becomingly increasingly like Georgetown, warts (heavy traffic, crowded sidewalks, difficult parking) and all. Old Town extends from the Potomac River in the east to the King Street Metro station in the west, and from about First Street in the north to Green Street in the south, but the best shopping is in the centre, where King and Washington streets intersect. Weekdays are a lot tamer than weekends. It's always a nice place to visit, though; the drive alone is worth the trip. Metro: King Street, then take a blue and gold DASH bus (free weekends, otherwise the fare is $1) to reach the heart of Old Town. |
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