The nation’s capital is in full swing. The cutting-edge has replaced the sleepy and staid, from galleries and boutiques to restaurants, hotels, and more. http://tandl.me/VB09nR
Travel + Leisure: At this stylish neighborhood addition, a rooftop infinity pool (a rarity for D.C.) raises the hotel luxury bar. Need a last-minute restaurant reservation? Ask your personal concierge.
515 15th St NW (btwn E & F St NW), Washington, D.C.
Hotel · Downtown-Penn Quarter-Chinatown · 104 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: With a sceney rooftop lounge overlooking the White House, the W brand managed to inject nightclub-meets-Wonderland flair into what had been a lackluster hotel.
Travel + Leisure: Enter the lobby of this Tony Chi–designed retreat, and you’ll see photographs of cherry trees printed onto 10-foot-tall glass panels. Upstairs, rooms are decorated with American folk art.
Hotel · Connecticut Avenue - K Street · 34 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: Generations of presidents (Coolidge, Truman, Reagan) and stars such as Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor have checked in to the gray stone mansion, formerly the Carlton Hotel.
Hotel · Southwest Employment Area · 47 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: It’s got a prime location near the Mall; one of the District’s top restaurants, City Zen; and a Presidential Suite in eye-popping black-and-gold chinoiserie.
800 16th St NW (btwn H & I St NW), Washington, D.C.
Hotel · Connecticut Avenue - K Street · 40 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: This Beaux-Arts icon holds pride of place at the White House’s front door. At night, the hotel’s Off the Record bar is the after-work hangout for politicos of all stripes.
Travel + Leisure: A classic men’s haberdashery if ever there was one, this place specializes in the sort of conservatively stylish suits, shirts, ties, and shoes that are the telltale marks of D.C. movers and shakers.
Travel + Leisure: The racks in Marlene Hu Aldaba’s two-story clothing shop are stuffed with of-the-moment brands including Yigal Azrouël and the Row (the Olsen twins’ award-winning line).
Tienda de muebles y artículos para el hogar · Georgetown · 3 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: The hostess-gift go-to for any well-heeled Georgetown guest: expect European artisanal accoutrements, tabletop items, and handmade objets d’art selected by owner Adam Mahr.
Travel + Leisure: This boutique in Cady’s Alley—D.C.’s design strip—is run by fashion insider Nancy Pearlstein, who chooses from a short list of notables including Dries Van Noten, Marni, Jil Sander, and Balenciaga.
1033 31st St NW (btw Waters Alley & South St), Washington, D.C.
Tienda de hombres · Georgetown · 5 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: Stylist Kelly Muccio carries key brands—Rogan and Band of Outsiders among them—at her men’s store, a converted town house complete with a bourbon bar and a showroom for personal-shopping clients.
140 Rock Creek Church Rd NW (at Upshur St NW), Washington, D.C.
Museo histórico · Petworth · 17 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: Now a museum, the hilltop mansion was Honest Abe's summer White House, where he drafted the Emancipation Proclamation and coordinated much of the North’s military deployment during the Civil War.
Travel + Leisure: Designed by Philip Johnson in 1963, this petite gallery is as captivating as the Impressionist and Modernist works it contains (paintings by Cézann, and Braque, plus sculptures by Calder and Rodin).
Travel + Leisure: Inside the Hillwood’s museum and garden are 18th-century Russian and French art and antiques collected by owner Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the General Foods fortune.
Sala de conciertos · U-Street · 104 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: D.C.’s historic music hall on Black Broadway has reopened as a super-club, booking major R&B, jazz, and pop acts. Bonus: chef Marcus Samuelsson oversees the restaurant.
1509 17th St NW (btwn P & Q St NW), Washington, D.C.
Restaurante griego · Northwest Washington · 43 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: A haute Dupont Circle spot that takes Greece as a starting point (slow-roasted baby goat with pita and tzatziki; foie gras and Wagyu-beef-tongue gyro).
Restaurante asiático · Downtown-Penn Quarter-Chinatown · 88 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: Wolfgang Puck's sleek and spacious glass-and-steel dining room in the Newseum plays with pan-Asian flavors, skipping from China to Japan, Korea to India.
Restaurante indio · Penn Quarter · 192 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: D.C.’s elite, from CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to Virginia Senator Mark Warner, flock to this classic Indian restaurant for authentic northern Indian cuisine. Ask the server for guidance, and share everything.
Venta minorista de alimentos y bebidas · Logan Circle - Shaw · 14 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: Chef Daniel O’Brien turns out an ever-changing multicourse menu during the Wednesday-through-Saturday 12-seat dinners at this specialty pop-up market in the Shaw neighborhood.
Restaurante de tapas · Penn Quarter · 256 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: Spanish-born star chef José Andrés jump-started his career in his new home city with tapas restaurant Jaleo. Sample a classic paella or a tortilla with sobrasada, onions, and Mahón cheese.
501 9th St NW (9th St NW between E and F St NW), Washington, D.C.
Bar de cócteles · Penn Quarter · 74 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: If you’re looking for something more daring than José Andrés’s tapas restaurant Jaleo, head to nearby Minibar, where one-bite molecular concoctions take center stage.
Travel + Leisure: A 60-plus-year-old institution known for its no-frills grub. Our favorite: the Chili Half Smoke, a pork-and-beef smoked sausage on a steamed bun with mustard, onions, and Ben’s signature chili sauce.
Travel + Leisure: A clubby speakeasy serving classic cocktails. Order one (or two or three) of the old-fashioned fizzes or sours, plus olives or another light bite from the snack menu.
1612 14th St NW (at Corcoran Street), Washington, D.C.
Marisquería · Logan Circle - Shaw · 125 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: Don’t visit this retro-nautical low-key bar and restaurant without ordering a platter of oysters, accompanied by a light white wine or local microbrew.
1520 14th St NW (at Church St NW), Washington, D.C.
Restaurante español · Logan Circle - Shaw · 159 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: An ode to tapas in a chic, loftlike space. The roasted shishito peppers and the montadito (a Spanish open-faced sandwich) of duck and foie gras are menu highlights.
1337 14th St NW (at Rhode Island Ave NW), Washington, D.C.
Restaurante americano · Logan Circle - Shaw · 104 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: An upstairs/downstairs, beer-focused restaurant and gastropub. At Birch & Barley, order the cavatelli and flounder tartare; at Church Key, Tater Tots and charcuterie.
1337 14th St NW (at Rhode Island Ave NW), Washington, D.C.
Bar de cerveza · Logan Circle - Shaw · 293 tips y reseñas
Travel + Leisure: An upstairs/downstairs, beer-focused restaurant and gastropub. At Birch & Barley, order the cavatelli and flounder tartare; at Church Key, Tater Tots and charcuterie.