Websites
Washington D.C. Convention and Tourism Corporation
This is the essential web address for planning your trip. This site will give you hotel and restaurant suggestions and discounts, a local calendar of events, suggested itineraries, and ways to plan and save money.
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If you can tear yourself away from the news, this website will have you hitting the ground running when you get into town. The site offers a trip planner: Type in the days you will be visiting, and it gives you a listing of what will be taking place while you're there. Other resources include a kids' guide, a weather forecast, tours of the town, Metro maps, restaurant listings, Weekend Best Bets, and an archive.
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The Washingtonian is the city's grumpy regional magazine, sold on newsstands. Its website will give you enough to make it worthwhile to peruse, but it doesn't make money giving out freebies. The various listings and reviews will steer you in the right direction, but be warned, the taste is not middle America.
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It's mainly for the locals, but you might find an event that the other websites missed.
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This is the great website for the capital's alternative newspaper, which is published on Wednesdays and is available free of charge at most coffee shops and bookstores. There are lots of good things here — a lively and opinionated listing of events, interactive search windows, and fun articles.
Washington D.C. Travel at About.com
This is an informative website packed with expert information on events, restaurants, getting around, budgeting and more. There is also a sister site, that, while technically geared towards residents, has tons information useful for those traveling to D.C., Northern Virginia, and Maryland as well -- all you need to make the most of your trip.
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It's aimed at residents and heavily commercial, but some listings are valuable if you visit the historic neighboring town of Alexandria, Virginia.
