United States
Washington DC
Match
52
- Beach first46
- Culture first60
- Food & nightlife63
- Family trip47
- Nature first49
- Good weather50
- On a budget51
The nine measures
Each scored 0 to 100 against fixed anchors, so a score means the same thing on every page. Open a row for the figures behind it.
Beaches & swimming. Scores 18 out of 100.18
| Score | 18 |
|---|---|
| Swim season months | 3 |
| Beaches 10 km | 1 |
| Coast distance | 34 km |
| Water distance | 34 km |
Sea reaches 21 °C or more in 3 months, 1 beach lies within 10 km, and the water is 34 km away.
Places to eat. Scores 77 out of 100.77
| Score | 77 |
|---|---|
| Restaurants within 2 km of centre | 1,666 |
| Effective number of cuisines within 2 km | 36 |
1666 restaurants within 2 km of the centre, spread across an effective 36 kitchens.
Museums & heritage. Scores 55 out of 100.55
| Score | 55 |
|---|---|
| Museums within 10 km | 83 |
| Museums within 2 km of centre | 55 |
| Share of museums within 2 km % | 66 |
| Unesco sites within 50 km | 0 |
83 museums mapped within 10 km, 66% of them within 2 km of the centre, and 0 whole UNESCO inscriptions within 50 km.
Nightlife. Scores 61 out of 100.61
| Score | 61 |
|---|---|
| Drinking venues within 4 km | 1,029 |
| Drinking venues within 2 km of centre | 593 |
| Share of drinking venues within 2 km % | 58 |
| Nightclubs within 4 km | 54 |
1029 places to drink within 4 km, 54 nightclubs among them, and 58% of the drinking venues within 2 km of the centre.
Nature & day trips. Scores 42 out of 100.42
| Score | 42 |
|---|---|
| Protected land share 50 km % | 10 |
| Landscape blanket share 50 km % | 1 |
| Land share of disc % | 94 |
| Park area within 2 km | 96 hectares |
10% of the 50 km disc around the city is protected land, and there are 96 hectares of park within 2 km of the centre.
Good for families. Scores 38 out of 100.38
| Score | 38 |
|---|---|
| Tourist attractions within 2 km | 7 |
| Park area within 2 km | 96 hectares |
| Theme parks within 30 km | 1 |
7 tourist attractions within 2 km beside 96 hectares of park, and 1 theme park within 30 km.
Sights concentration. Scores 76 out of 100.76
| Score | 76 |
|---|---|
| Notable places within 2 km | 305 |
| Min wikipedia languages | 5 |
305 notable places within 2 km of the centre, counting places with a Wikipedia presence in at least five languages.
Value for money. Scores 43 out of 100.43
| Score | 43 |
|---|---|
| Price level global | 100 |
| Daily budget | — |
National price level of 100 against the United States at 100, scored on a fixed scale from 20, the cheapest countries anyone travels to, to 160, the most expensive.
Year-round weather. Scores 62 out of 100.62
| Score | 62 |
|---|---|
| Monthly daytime high | 7 °C to 31.7 °C |
| Monthly rainfall | 65 mm to 108 mm |
| Dry months | 0 |
Daytime highs run 7-32 °C across the year, with 0 month(s) at 40 mm of rain or less.
When should you go?
The figures behind each month, shaded against this city's own year: the deepest cell is its best month for that measure and the palest its weakest.
Temperature and rainfall are thirty-year climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Washington DC: 1991-2020 normals, Washington National Airport (5 km from centre).
Getting there
| Flying from | Washington DC |
|---|---|
| New YorkJFK, EWR, LGA | 1 h 5 m €233-271 DCA · 5 km |
| AtlantaATL, PDK | 1 h 40 m €267-307 1 stop DCA · 5 km |
| TorontoYYZ, YHM, YTZ | 1 h 20 m €158-333 IAD · 37 km |
| Los AngelesLAX, BUR, SNA, VNY | 5 h 0 m €226-372 1 stop DCA · 5 km |
| CharlotteCLT | 1 h 15 m €187-219 1 stop IAD · 37 km |
| SeattleSEA, BFI | 5 h 5 m €329-399 1 stop DCA · 5 km |
| LondonLHR, LGW, STN, LTN +2 | 7 h 35 m €507-561 1 stop IAD · 37 km |
| San SalvadorSAL, ILS | 4 h 15 m €548-564 IAD · 37 km |
| Abu DhabiAUH | 14 h 5 m no fares IAD · 37 km |
| SeoulICN, GMP | 13 h 50 m no fares IAD · 37 km |
The busiest departure cities for Washington DC, with a place kept for each other part of the world. Busiest means arriving passengers where an official count exists, and where none does, the number of non-stop services flown: official route statistics are published by the European reporting countries and by nobody else, so a table ranked on them alone would offer a reader in New York or Tokyo ten European cities. Flying times are estimated from the distance between airports, and every row is a city flown non-stop. Where the typical offer connects anyway, the stops are shown. Under each figure is the airport the flight lands at and how far that is from the centre, because the nearest airport is not always the one a route is flown to. Typical return fares for 2026-08 to 2026-09, cached market data up to 7 days old. The figure is the middle half of the offers found, so a single price means they agreed and a range means they did not; for a typical route that middle half spans about a quarter of the median, and for the least settled routes rather more than the median itself.
Before you go
| Measure | Washington DC |
|---|---|
| Currency | US Dollar (USD) |
| Sockets | AB120 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Right |
| Time zone | UTC-5, UTC-4 in summer |
| Emergency number | 911 |
| Elevation | 72 m |
| Main airport | Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)5 km from centre103 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 11 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Washington DC |
|---|---|
| City population | 689,545 |
| People per km² | 3,896 |
| Museums within 10 km | 99 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 |
| Distinct cuisines in the centre | 82 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 3 months |
Compare Washington DC with
Every comparison with a written verdict behind it.