Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - heading to washington to watch the flames, any advice

tripin_billie · 09-28-2022, 04:32 PM

I live in DC and go to all of the Flames games here. Some basics:

- Take metro to the game or get a hotel in walking distance. Parking can be a bear and it's not really like Calgary where everything is car-centric. DC is a walking and metro city. Capital One Arena is literally above the Gallery Place/ Chinatown station which services Red, Green, and Yellow lines. Metro Center is 2 blocks away and gets Red, Blue, Orange, and Silver. All the lines, all in easy proximity. One thing to note, service hasn't really recovered from COVID due to reduced ridership and an issue with the 7000 series train cars. Expect some delays on Metro.

- Neighborhoods to stay in: All of DC north/ west of the Anacostia have basically gentrified like Manhattan. That said, staying close to the Red line is easy advice to give and I would recommend the NW side of the city as it is the nicer, and insanely safe areas. Staying downtown gets you close to all of the museums and sites along the National Mall which is what I would assume you'd want to see if it's your first visit. If you want more of a local feel, pick something like Dupont or Cleveland Park. Nice, easy access to downtown, and lots of restaurants and bars.

- Crime... DC still has a bad rap stemming from the 80s and 90s. There is petty crime, just like any city, but if you're not involved in drug deals, it is remarkably safe. I've lived here, in gentrifying neighborhoods, for 13 years and have experienced 2 package thefts from my porch and that's it. All that said, the area right around Capital One is a popular hangout area for pick pockets and conmen. Keep your your head on and you'll be fine. It's basically like having street smarts around the Stampede grounds.

Food: DC has really become a foody city. It sucked hard when I first moved here, just steak houses and old fancy stuff like that. Now it's got a huge food scene. For the best food, you can get some of it in downtown, but heading to H Street NE or up to U St, 14th St, Dupont, and now the SW Waterfront (the Wharf) is highly recommended. It's Black Friday for the game, so I think there will be a lot of restaurants doing a brunch. Anything run by José Andrés is amazing, and Oyamel is 2 blocks south of the arena and has insanely good food and drinks (pricey though).

Transportation beyond metro: If you are down with it, there are rental bikes (Capital Bikeshare) all over the city. Likewise, we are lousy with scooters too.

Weather: crapshoot - could be like +2 and raining or +20...

That's about the basics. PM me if you want more info.

09-28-2022, 04:32 PM	#18
tripin_billie #1 Goaltender Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: DC Exp:	I live in DC and go to all of the Flames games here. Some basics: - Take metro to the game or get a hotel in walking distance. Parking can be a bear and it's not really like Calgary where everything is car-centric. DC is a walking and metro city. Capital One Arena is literally above the Gallery Place/ Chinatown station which services Red, Green, and Yellow lines. Metro Center is 2 blocks away and gets Red, Blue, Orange, and Silver. All the lines, all in easy proximity. One thing to note, service hasn't really recovered from COVID due to reduced ridership and an issue with the 7000 series train cars. Expect some delays on Metro. - Neighborhoods to stay in: All of DC north/ west of the Anacostia have basically gentrified like Manhattan. That said, staying close to the Red line is easy advice to give and I would recommend the NW side of the city as it is the nicer, and insanely safe areas. Staying downtown gets you close to all of the museums and sites along the National Mall which is what I would assume you'd want to see if it's your first visit. If you want more of a local feel, pick something like Dupont or Cleveland Park. Nice, easy access to downtown, and lots of restaurants and bars. - Crime... DC still has a bad rap stemming from the 80s and 90s. There is petty crime, just like any city, but if you're not involved in drug deals, it is remarkably safe. I've lived here, in gentrifying neighborhoods, for 13 years and have experienced 2 package thefts from my porch and that's it. All that said, the area right around Capital One is a popular hangout area for pick pockets and conmen. Keep your your head on and you'll be fine. It's basically like having street smarts around the Stampede grounds. Food: DC has really become a foody city. It sucked hard when I first moved here, just steak houses and old fancy stuff like that. Now it's got a huge food scene. For the best food, you can get some of it in downtown, but heading to H Street NE or up to U St, 14th St, Dupont, and now the SW Waterfront (the Wharf) is highly recommended. It's Black Friday for the game, so I think there will be a lot of restaurants doing a brunch. Anything run by José Andrés is amazing, and Oyamel is 2 blocks south of the arena and has insanely good food and drinks (pricey though). Transportation beyond metro: If you are down with it, there are rental bikes (Capital Bikeshare) all over the city. Likewise, we are lousy with scooters too. Weather: crapshoot - could be like +2 and raining or +20... That's about the basics. PM me if you want more info.