Capital One Arena – Experiences

Capital One Arena is conveniently located in the center of Washington, D.C., making it easy for visitors to experience everything the capital city has to offer. This includes delicious eateries and historic destinations surrounding the venue.

Plenty of the museums and monuments are free, allowing you to splurge on delicious meals and drinks at award-winning restaurants. You can easily spend an entire weekend exploring Washington, D.C., but visitors to the Capital One Arena may not have much time to spare. For this reason, we’ve created a guide to get an overview of the city’s attractions in just one day.

 

Morning

Noon

  • Have lunch at a food truck along the National Mall
  • Visit a few more museums, monuments, and memorials

Night

 

Morning

The best place to get breakfast near Capital One Arena is The Smith. This hip restaurant is part of a chain founded in New York City. The Smith’s origin city inspired their luxurious, old-school decor that reminds visitors of a classic train station. This Smith is located just three minutes from the venue.

Over the years, The Smith has grown into an incredibly popular eatery. Their locations combined serve delicious food to millions of satisfied guests each year.

You’ll be grateful for their huge portions of omelettes, egg scrambles, avocado toast, Eggs Benedict, and more. Countless reviews mention their incredible their mac and cheese, so be sure to give that a try. In addition to food, The Smith can whip up some delicious brunch cocktails with its fully stocked bar.

Before dropping by, make sure to book a reservation, as The Smith fills up quickly.

After a delicious meal, it’s time to explore Washington, D.C. A nine-minute drive from The Smith is the United States Supreme Court Building. This location marks the beginning of the National Mall, which is dotted with sites for visitors to enjoy.

Since it’s the highest court in the country, the Supreme Court is a worthwhile place to visit. The Supreme Court Building was constructed in 1935 and is regularly open to the public.

Once you’ve visited the Supreme Court, the United States Capitol Building is a short walk away. The Capitol Building is home to the United States Congress, where the Senate and the House of Representatives make legislative decisions.

Capital One Arena

The impressive Capitol Building was constructed in 1793 and is a prime example of neoclassical architecture. You can book a tour of the Capitol Building, which is only a five-minute drive away from the Capital One Arena.

Next, you’ll pay a visit to a natural wonderland. A five-minute walk from the Capitol is the United States Botanic Garden, a hidden gem that will transport you to a different world. The garden is free to enter, and separates plants into different biomes allowing them to thrive. It’s worth stopping by on your way down the National Mall, and is only five minutes from Capital One Arena.

After visiting the United States Botanical Garden, head over to the two famous Smithsonian museums. A 15-minute stroll down the beautiful National Mall will bring you to the National Museum of Natural History.

This vast museum has an extensive amount of information and artifacts to share; 126 million specimens, to be exact. Because of this expansive collection, the National Museum of Natural History is one of the most visited museums in the world.

Next door is the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Founded in 1964, this museum educates guests on United States culture through its 1.8 million objects. Among these artifacts you’ll find everything from the original Star-Spangled Banner to Julia Child’s kitchen.

Capital One Arena is walking distance from these museums, which are both free to enter.

 

Noon

After stepping foot inside Julia Child’s kitchen, you may have worked up an appetite. Lucky for you, there are endless affordable options for lunch along the National Mall, all thanks to food trucks! These portable eateries fill the streets of Washington, D.C., providing thousands of satisfying meals for employees and tourists alike.

A simple search will recommend dozens of food trucks to try, which can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ve narrowed it down to some of your best options near the American History and Natural History museums.

The food truck Jumbo Hot Dogs is self-explanatory. Chef Alex DC serves up hallal dishes such as shawarma and kabobs, as well as classic sandwiches. Dhaba Meals on Wheels serves up delicious Indian food. Mexicano Square and Hot Spot Fried Chicken Food Truck both serve up exactly what you’d expect. Lastly, L’Enfant Plaza has a variety of cuisine for those who can’t make up their mind. There you can get Southern-style soul food, barbecue, Thai food, cheesesteaks, and more.

After lunch, it’s time to return to the museums and historic monuments. A six-minute walk from the National Museum of American History is the National Museum of African American History.

This museum opened in 2016 and shows American history through the lens of the African American experience. This establishment has more than 36,000 artifacts along with modern exhibits. Past exhibits have focused on Oprah, African Americans in the armed forces, segregation after slavery, and Martin Luther King Jr.

From here, the Washington Monument is a seven-minute walk away. Two architects and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Washington Monument in 1848 to honor the country’s first president. At 555 feet tall, it was once the tallest structure in the world, until the Eiffel Tower surpassed it in 1889. The Capital One Arena is a 10-minute drive from the Washington Monument, and eight minutes from your next stop.

Capital One Arena

Congress established The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993. It remembers the victims and history of the Holocaust, and encourages visitors to reflect on this dark point in history.

From the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, you can walk around the Washington, D.C., Tidal Basin. Here you can see the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

 

Night

After this in-depth exploration of history, you’re probably ready to relax and enjoy a nice meal. 10 minutes from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and a short walk from Capital One Arena, is Asia Nine.

Asia Nine’s atmosphere is both classy and comfortable, and the perfect place to wrap up your busy day. If you’re a fan of Asian food, this is the restaurant for you. Their menu combines elements of various Asian cuisines, such as Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian, and Vietnamese. Signature dishes include Korean sizzling beef, teriyaki, ramen, and stir-fried noodles.

Capital One Arena

Asia Nine also offers a full range of sushi you won’t find anywhere else. Their signature roll is the Asian Atlantis. This roll combines lobster, avocado, crispy basil, sesame, spicy mayo, and plum sauce.

After enjoying some of the best Asian cuisine in the Chinatown area, take a 10-minute walk over to Lucky Strike Lanes. This lively nightlife destination has 14 bowling lanes, handmade cocktails, and multiple arcade games.

To begin, order shareable dishes like mac and cheese bites, kalua pork nachos, chicken tenders, or cauliflower crust pizza. Many have said that while the food is enjoyable, it’s the handcrafted cocktails that really stand out. One particularly popular cocktail is the Pink Elephant, made of Grey Goose vodka, peach liqueur, various fruit juices, topped with a sugar rim. Another is the Bourbon Sunrise, which combines Maker’s Mark whiskey, orange and lemon juice, and simple syrup.

After following this dense itinerary, any visitor to Washington, D.C, will have seen almost everything. Capital One Arena is located in the perfect spot to get the most out of this trip. Once you’ve eaten at outstanding restaurants and immersed yourself in history, you may very well want to return to the city to experience even more.