Things to Do in NoVA and DC Over Break (and Beyond!)

If you’re from the DMV area or planning a visit, consider trying these things over your Thanksgiving break (and beyond)! Ranging from cheap to pricey, these activities are sure to give you plenty of options to keep you entertained and exploring the nation’s capital and its surrounding areas in your time away from JMU. 

Things to do in DC

MUSEUMS

• My favorites:
  • National Gallery of Art
    • My absolute favorite museum in DC has to be the National Gallery of Art. I just love how big it is, you can never *really* get tired of it! I also love the gift shop–my favorite purchase is the postcards. All of them range from $1-$5 and make perfect wall decor without breaking the bank. 
• American History Museum
  • I love the new(ish) American Pop Culture exhibit. My favorite item is the iconic blue dress from Crazy Rich Asians! 
• Natural History Museum
  • If you’ve ever seen the second Night At the Museum, you might recognize the giant elephant in the center of the museum! 
• National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum
  • This museum is attached to the American Art Museum and tends to be quieter. It’s also right next to Capital One Arena, so you can walk through it to kill time before a game or concert. The portraits of celebrities are fun to walk through and see how many you can recognize!

There’s also…

• The National Archives
  • If you feel like channeling your inner National Treasure, consider a visit to the Archives!
• The FBI Museum
  • This one has a stricter set of rules in order to go as it is located in the FBI headquarters. Ways to book a visit can be found here. Some parts of the museum are super eerie, including items taken from members of the FBI’s Most Wanted List and a fake room to show how hard hidden cameras are to detect. 
• If these don’t fit your vibe, here is a full list of Smithsonian and private museums (P.S. all Smithsonian museums are free)!  

• Botanical Gardens
  • Perfect in the spring and summer, the Botanical Gardens has gorgeous views of the Capitol building and feels like a seclusion from the bustle of the Hill. Check the website for additional info. The gardens include different climates and their native plants. The Mediterranean room was my favorite, but the entire building is picturesque, making it a perfect stop to lighten up your feed during the winter months!

• The Zoo
  • Now that the giant Pandas are back, the National Zoo is a great stop to visit the (adorable) DC icons! The zoo is accessible by metro and car and additional info can be found here. 

• A Hockey Game
  • In the fall and winter, consider going to a Capitals home game. Even if you’re not the most avid sports fan (I’m not either!), hockey games are fast paced and energetic and sure to keep you entertained! The Washington Capitals also have many games at which they give away freebies with tickets, as well as college spirit nights. The JMU spirit night is scheduled for Jan. 14 against the Anaheim Ducks, and a ticket includes a JMU-themed Capitals beanie!

• A Baseball Game
  • Baseball is not *as* fast paced as hockey, but the Nationals have incorporated fun elements into their games. This past summer, the Nationals incorporated a concert series where once a month from May-September, an artist performed a concert directly after the game that was included in the price of the ticket. I went to the Carly Rae Jepsen concert in July, and singing Call Me Maybe live was everything my 2012 self ever wanted!

• Concerts
  • If you love concerts (I know I do!), check out a concert at Capital One Arena or The Anthem. I’ve been to two shows at The Anthem (Wallows in 2021 and Hozier in 2023!) and the venue is clean, safe, and easy to navigate. Getting to and from can be a little stressful as there is limited parking on-site and Metro shuts off earlier during weeknights, but it is definitely doable. Just be aware of Metro’s hours on weekdays/weekends and plan accordingly.
    • Upcoming shows at CapOne are limited due to hockey season, but shows at The Anthem include people like Zayn, Suki Waterhouse (I would totally be there if it weren’t for classes!), and AURORA. 

• Georgetown/Waterfront
  • Offering lots of shopping, Georgetown is a perfect area to walk around and spend an afternoon in. I enjoy walking down to the waterfront and onto the path that takes you past the Watergate and Kennedy Center! My favorite restaurant in Georgetown is Pizza Paradiso, and I always make a stop at Levain Bakery for dessert (I always get the dark chocolate peanut butter cookie!) The full offering of shops in Georgetown can be found here. P.S. to all book lovers: Barnes and Noble is back and better than ever. Georgetown has reinstalled a three-story (yes, three stories!) B&N in its old home.
  • Kennedy Center
    • Whether to see a show or check out the museum, the Kennedy Center has a wraparound balcony that has spectacular views of Georgetown and DC! I went to Mamma Mia! at the Kennedy Center in August and really enjoyed the experience. Plus, the Kennedy Center is lit in rainbow lights during winter for the Kennedy Center Honors, so it’s especially pretty during this time of year. In case you were wondering, this year’s honorees are Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval, and the Grateful Dead.

Things to do in nova

• Old Town Alexandria
  • My favorite restaurant in Old Town is Mia’s, and I love to take the water taxi from Georgetown to Old Town in the warmer months. The water taxi provides a scenic tour of the Potomac and many notable sites of DC like the airport and the military base in Anacostia, the Lincoln Memorial, Kennedy Center, and more. The shops on King Street offer a wide variety of shopping, and a full list can be found here.

• The Mosaic District (Fairfax)
  • Mosaic is great for seeing some of the shops found in Georgetown without going to Georgetown. They also have a Jinya, which is great ramen and comfort food during the winter months. My go-to order is the Flying Vegan Harvest Bowl and the Impossible Bao Bun appetizer!  

• Historic Downtown Leesburg
  • In the spring and summer, Downtown Leesburg has the Flower and Garden Festival and the Food and Wine Festival. A shorter trip, Leesburg still provides that cute and old charm. Downtown Leesburg also has two small museums, the Marshall House (Dodona Manor), which was the home of President Harry Truman’s Secretary of State and Defense, and the Loudoun Museum, which showcases the history of Loudoun County! 

• Tysons Corner Mall
  • There’s two malls:
    • Tyson’s Galleria is luxury shopping and higher end food. A full list of stores can be found here. 
    • Tyson’s Corner Center is your typical mall! A full list of stores can be found here. I love going to Tyson’s to shop around, because it has a lot of my favorite stores like Athleta, Nordstrom, and Aerie, but also places I can’t find everywhere like Miniso and Uniqlo. My friends and I usually go by metro, which makes parking and driving less stressful. If you stop by Tyson’s, check out the Nordstrom Cafe and order the Truffle Fries, which are a hot commodity amongst my friends and I when we go! 

• Middleburg
  • With old-timey charm and historic locations, Middleburg is great if you’re looking for a picturesque escape from DC or NoVA. For example, Middleburg is home to The Red Fox Inn and Tavern, which opened in 1728, and has hosted guests like JFK, Elizabeth Taylor, and Tom Cruise. 
  • And, I bet you don’t think there’s a Virginia Film Festival, but every fall, is the Middleburg Film Festival. This brings members of the film industry to Virginia every year, like Emma Stone in 2016 to promote La La Land and Cailee Spaeny in 2023 to promote Priscilla!

• If You’re More Outdoorsy…
  •  Wolf Trap National Park and Great Falls National Park offer nature trails year round in Northern Virginia (and you can visit Great Falls in Maryland, too!) Wolf Trap also offers a variety of affordable entertainment in spring through late summer. My favorite annual show they offer is ABBA: The Concert, a tribute band (one of the few to be authorized by ABBA!). It’s a super fun show and people dress up, making it a great experience. 

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