Crowds can get intense at the bustling Eastern Market. © Daniel Lobo on Creative Commons
This residential and densely populated historic neighborhood is located east of the Capitol Building. It has some of the most unique row house architecture in the city.
Getting there: Capitol Hill is a large neighborhood and there are several Metro stop options: Capitol South and Eastern Market on the Blue and Orange lines as well as Union Station on the Red line. Regarding parking, I’ve never had a problem finding street parking a few blocks from where I’m going.
Hot Spots:
- Ted’s Bulletin – Homemade pop tarts. ‘Nough said.
- Banana Café & Piano Bar – A fun, tropical feel even in the dead of winter.
- Grandville Moore’s – Great service, great beer and great mussels.
- Café 8 – An intimate Turkish restaurant.
- Capitol Hill Arts Workshop – Take a class in anything from ceramics to knitting to movie making.
- Good Stuff Eatery – Spike Mendelsohn makes amazing shakes, burgers and fries.
- The Chesapeake Room – For when you’re feeling a little fancy.
- Atlas Performing Arts Center – The only community-based performing arts center in Washington.
Events:
- Eastern Market – Going to this large, fresh food public market is, in my opinion, the perfect Sunday afternoon. It’s got a nice neighborhood vibe and you can find lots of locally grown food. A fire severely damaged the market’s building in 2007, but it reopened in 2009.
- The Flea Market – If you go to Eastern Market, make sure to stop at the Flea Market, which hosts 100 exhibitors.
Fun Fact:
According to Wikipedia, about a third of all Members of Congress live on Capitol Hill when they’re in DC.
