After nearly six years in Arlington, my significant other and I are moving several states away. Before we packed the last box, we started asking the question every departing local eventually asks:
Did we make the most of living here?
So we wrote down everything we had experienced across Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland. What began as a personal inventory became a surprisingly useful DMV bucket list—and when I shared it with r/nova, the community added even more ideas.
This is not a rigid itinerary or a ranking. It is a farewell tour built from six years of museums, trails, monuments, games, day trips, bakeries, and meals. Whether you are new to the area, hosting visitors, or preparing to leave like us, I hope it helps you notice just how much is within reach.
The short version: Walk the monuments after dark, watch a plane roar over Gravelly Point, spend a day in the free museums, get out on the Potomac, hike west of the Beltway, eat something you cannot easily find elsewhere, and save room for ice cream.
Virginia: views, trails, history, and easy escapes
Northern Virginia is at its best when you move between the Potomac waterfront, small historic towns, and the foothills to the west.
A plane departs Reagan National above Gravelly Point. Photo by Carl Lindberg, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5.
Along the Potomac
Mount Vernon and the Mount Vernon Trail: George Washington's estate makes the history tangible; the paved trail turns the riverfront into a long, scenic ride or run back toward Arlington.
Gravelly Point: Spread out a blanket and wait for arriving or departing planes to pass startlingly close overhead. It is simple, free, and one of the area's most memorable experiences.
Old Town Alexandria: Wander King Street without a plan, explore the side streets, and finish at the waterfront. It works equally well as an afternoon stroll or a full date night.
Great Falls: The Virginia overlooks deliver the drama quickly, while the surrounding trails make it easy to extend the visit. Seeing the Potomac squeeze through the rocky gorge never gets old.
Pohick Bay and Fountainhead Regional Parks: Pohick is an easy place to get onto the water; Fountainhead offers wooded trails, paddling, and a quick sense of escape without driving all the way to the mountains.
Arlington essentials
Arlington National Cemetery: Give it more time than a rushed stop at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The scale, hills, and quiet make this one of the most moving places in the region.
US Marine Corps War Memorial and the Netherlands Carillon: The famous flag-raising sculpture, open lawn, carillon, and skyline view make this an excellent sunset combination.
The old Rosslyn observation deck: The View of DC once offered a remarkable panorama from Central Place Tower. It has since closed to the public, so this one survives on our list with a respectful “RIP.”
History and aviation
Manassas National Battlefield Park: Walk the fields rather than only stopping at the visitor center. The open landscape helps the history register in a way a display case cannot.
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: The National Air and Space Museum's enormous companion facility near Dulles is worth the trip for the Space Shuttle Discovery alone—then you notice the Concorde, the SR-71, and hangars full of aircraft.
Harpers Ferry: Technically in West Virginia, but too close and too good to omit. Historic streets, river views, and trail access make it one of the best all-purpose day trips from Northern Virginia.
Head west
Shenandoah National Park. Photo by the National Park Service, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Sky Meadows State Park: A rewarding option when you want mountain scenery and Appalachian Trail access without committing to the longer drive into Shenandoah.
Shenandoah National Park: Skyline Drive is the easy introduction, but the real reward is getting onto a trail. We used the park as a gateway to many hikes westward, in every season.
Leesburg: A walkable historic center, nearby wineries and breweries, and easy access to western Loudoun make it a flexible day trip.
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens: A slower outing, in the best way. Walk the gardens in bloom or return in winter for the seasonal lights.
Charlottesville: Farther afield, but manageable for a long day or weekend. The Downtown Mall, nearby vineyards, Blue Ridge setting, and layers of history justify the drive.
Washington, DC: use the access while you have it
DC can be easy to postpone precisely because it is nearby. We learned to treat the city's museums, performances, sports, and public spaces as the extraordinary local amenities they are.
The Tidal Basin during cherry blossom season. Photo by AgnosticPreachersKid, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Museums worth returning to
The Smithsonian museums are free, which means you do not have to “finish” one in a single exhausting visit. We made time for the National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of American History, National Air and Space Museum, and National Postal Museum. Each rewards repeat visits and a willingness to follow whatever catches your attention.
Outside that core, we explored the International Spy Museum, Smithsonian's National Zoo, United States Botanic Garden, and U.S. National Arboretum. The Arboretum is especially striking when the azaleas bloom, while the Botanic Garden is an excellent winter reset.
The Old Post Office Tower—not to be confused with the Postal Museum—is a wonderfully odd free viewpoint hidden inside the Waldorf Astoria's historic building. It remains one of the city's less obvious ways to look over downtown.
Monuments, landmarks, and seats of government
The National Mall memorial circuit: The Lincoln, Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Korean War Veterans memorials all deserve time, not just a drive-by. Add the Vietnam Veterans and World War II memorials if they are not already on your route.
The Washington Monument: Seeing it from below is one thing; reserving a trip to the top changes your sense of the city's layout.
The U.S. Capitol and White House: Public tours take advance planning, but living nearby makes that planning far easier than it will ever be after moving away.
Washington National Cathedral: Even in a city of imposing architecture, the cathedral feels distinct. Explore the interior, grounds, and hilltop setting rather than treating it as a photo stop.
Cherry blossoms: Yes, peak bloom is crowded. It is also beautiful. Go very early, stay late, or walk through Hains Point for a little more breathing room.
Our favorite twist: revisit the monuments at night. The crowds thin, the stone glows, and familiar landmarks feel unexpectedly dramatic. A sunrise from the Lincoln Memorial—one of the best suggestions from the Reddit thread—is an equally strong finale.
Markets, gardens, and places to wander
Union Market and Eastern Market: These are different experiences, and both are worth doing. Union Market is a modern food-hall stop; Eastern Market is best paired with a longer Capitol Hill walk.
Dumbarton Oaks: The museum and formal gardens feel far removed from the busier parts of Georgetown.
Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens: The former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post combines decorative art, Russian imperial objects, and beautifully designed grounds.
Theodore Roosevelt Island: A shaded, low-key walk in the middle of the Potomac, reached from the Virginia side.
Hains Point: Walk, run, bike, picnic, or use it as a quieter extension of a Tidal Basin outing.
The Wharf: Come for the waterfront, a meal, a show, or a boat connection. It is also an ideal starting point for seeing the monuments from the river.
Shows, games, and nights out
The Kennedy Center: A performance here feels like an occasion. Even without a ticket, the terraces and river views make the building worth exploring.
Capitals hockey at Capital One Arena: Few things turn downtown into a shared living room as quickly as a hockey night.
A Nationals game at Nationals Park: Baseball is only part of the experience; arriving along the river and lingering around Navy Yard complete the outing.
DC United at Audi Field: A more compact stadium and an energetic crowd give soccer matches their own character.
Echostage: Big electronic shows belong here, but the city also shines at smaller rooms such as the 9:30 Club, The Atlantis, Black Cat, Union Stage, and The Anthem.
Passport DC and the spring embassy open houses: For a few weekends each year, embassies invite the public inside for food, music, art, and cultural programs. It is one of those events that could happen only in Washington.
Get onto the water
Kayaking on the Potomac changes the scale of the city. Paddle from one of the local boathouses, take a sunset cruise, or ride a water taxi between waterfront neighborhoods. We also made time for National Harbor, including the Gaylord resort and MGM casino—a polished, very different contrast to the historic core of DC.
Maryland: maritime days and a little more history
Maryland gave us some of the easiest escapes from the DC routine: waterfront streets, crabs on paper-covered tables, breweries, and forts looking back across the Potomac.
Annapolis Harbor. Photo by Bernini123, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Annapolis: Walk the harbor and the narrow historic streets, watch boats move through Ego Alley, and let the day unfold without a packed schedule.
A proper Maryland crab feast: The point is as much the ritual as the food: mallets, Old Bay, brown paper, and no reason to rush.
Baltimore's Inner Harbor: Use the harbor as a starting point, not the entire itinerary. It connects easily to historic ships, museums, Federal Hill, and nearby neighborhoods.
Guinness Open Gate Brewery: The Maryland brewery pairs a familiar name with an unexpectedly expansive taproom and grounds.
Old Ellicott City: Hillside streets, old stone buildings, shops, and the river make it a charming half-day wander.
Fort Washington Park: The fort's position above the Potomac explains its purpose immediately and provides a quieter historic outing than many downtown sites.
Our DMV food-and-drink memory map
Food may be what we miss most. The region's strength is not one signature dish; it is the ability to move among Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Filipino, Italian, Palestinian, Korean, and American cooking in the span of a few Metro stops or a short drive.
Here are the places that became part of our six years:
Pizza and Italian: Stracci Pizza, Sfoglina, Filomena, and The Italian Store.
Casual Northern Virginia favorites: Pho 75, Hot Lola's, Galaxy Hut, and Silver Diner.
DC and neighborhood staples: Purple Patch, Busboys and Poets, Falafel Inc, Yellow, Call Your Mother, Habesha Market, and Founding Farmers.
Bakeries and sweets: Levain Bakery, Georgetown Cupcake, Blue Bottle, and Jeni's Ice Cream.
Beer: Port City Brewing Company and Aslin Beer Company in Northern Virginia and DC.
This is a memory list, not an attempt to name every “best” restaurant. Businesses change, menus evolve, and locations close, so check current details before making a special trip.
What the Reddit thread told us to eat next
The strongest community theme was to lean into food that is unusually good—or unusually easy to find—in the DMV:
Korean food and Korean barbecue in Annandale, plus Vietnamese food at Eden Center.
Peruvian chicken, Ethiopian food, and Bolivian salteñas.
A meal at one of José Andrés's DC restaurants.
L'Auberge Chez François or 2941 for a farewell dinner in Northern Virginia.
The Dabney, Albi, or St. Anselm for a celebratory DC meal.
A burger and Ozzie rolls at a Great American Restaurants location.
Ben's Chili Bowl for the history and ritual of the original U Street location.
The practical advice was even better: return to the restaurants you will miss. A final meal does not have to be the most acclaimed one. It has to taste like your time here.
The best ideas we had missed
The Reddit comments turned our retrospective into a new shortlist. If we had only a few open weekends left, these would rise to the top:
See Great Falls from Maryland and hike the Billy Goat Trail. The canal, boardwalks, and rocky trail provide a completely different experience from the Virginia overlooks. Check current trail conditions before going.
Visit the National Portrait Gallery and Renwick Gallery. Both are manageable without devoting an entire day, and both expand the usual Smithsonian rotation.
Walk Huntley Meadows Park. Its wetland boardwalk offers an easy wildlife escape surprisingly close to Alexandria.
Spend an afternoon in Occoquan or Middleburg. Both reward an unhurried walk; choose Occoquan for the river and compact historic district, or Middleburg for horse-country scenery and nearby vineyards.
Hike Old Rag or visit Bears Den Overlook. Old Rag is the bigger physical commitment and may require advance planning; Bears Den supplies a quicker Appalachian Trail payoff.
Visit the National Museum of the Marine Corps and the National Museum of the United States Army. These free Virginia museums were two conspicuous gaps in our history list.
See the National Archives and Library of Congress. When else can you casually visit the country's founding documents and one of its most spectacular interiors?
Ride the C&O Canal Towpath. One ambitious suggestion was to take the train to Harpers Ferry, stay overnight, and bike roughly 60 mostly traffic-free miles back to Georgetown.
Go farther east to Assateague or Chincoteague. The wild horses, beaches, and island pace require more driving, but they feel worlds away from the Beltway.
Do one final, ridiculous Beltway lap. This was offered partly as a joke. After six years in Northern Virginia traffic, perhaps it is the most authentic farewell of all.
What six years in the DMV taught us
It is impossible to finish this region. There will always be another museum wing, trail, restaurant, performance, historic town, or overlook that you somehow missed.
That is not a failure of planning. It is the gift of living here.
Our list started as a way to check for omissions before moving. Instead, it became a record of how full these six years had been: planes over Gravelly Point, late innings by the Anacostia, quiet walks through gardens, mountain overlooks, crowded cherry blossoms, and far too many good meals to name.
If you live in the DMV, choose one thing from this list that you keep saying you will do “someday.” Put it on the calendar. Proximity is a privilege, but only if you use it.
And if you are leaving, do not spend your final weeks trying to complete everything. Revisit the places that already feel like yours.
This guide grew from my original r/nova farewell post and the generous recommendations that followed. Attraction hours, reservation systems, trail access, and restaurant locations change; check official sites before making a special trip.
