Washington Multi-Sport Road Trips for 2026-2027

Washington DC is one of the best multi-sport road trip cities in North America. With the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland and the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, fans can experience two of the great modern American sports franchises across a single weekend from a downtown hotel base. Whether you're planning an NFL and NHL weekend, an Eagles-Commanders Sunday Night Football broadcast trip, or one of the two same-day NFL and NHL doubleheaders on the 2026-2027 schedule, Washington offers one of the strongest weekend combinations on the entire calendar.

The 2026-2027 schedule produces five standout multi-sport weekends. The headline weekend is November 1, when the Minnesota Wild visit Capital One Arena for a Sunday-afternoon Capitals matinee and the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Northwest Stadium for a Sunday Night Football national broadcast against the Commanders, a same-day NFL and NHL doubleheader combined with the marquee NFC East rivalry primetime game of the fall. Additional standout weekends include the September 25-27 preseason opener (Bruins-Capitals NHL preseason plus Seahawks-Commanders Sunday), the October 9-11 three-game weekend (Rangers-Capitals Friday plus Giants-Commanders Sunday afternoon plus Kraken-Capitals Sunday evening, another same-day doubleheader), the Panthers-Capitals matinee paired with the Rams-Commanders November 7-8 Sunday, and the season-closing Blues-Capitals Saturday plus Falcons-Commanders December 19-20 weekend.

Downtown Washington is the natural base for every itinerary in this guide. The downtown hotel cluster (from the White House area east to Penn Quarter and south to the National Mall) sits within a 10-minute walk of Capital One Arena and connects to Northwest Stadium in Landover via the Metro Blue and Silver lines in about 35 minutes. This is one of the strongest transit setups in the mid-Atlantic: fans can walk to Capitals games from any downtown hotel and take the Metro directly to Morgan Boulevard station at Northwest Stadium on game-day Sunday without renting a car. Throughout this guide, we'll highlight the best multi-sport weekends, recommended downtown hotels, transportation options, and planning tips to help you make the most of the trip.

Why DC Is One of the Best Multi-Sport Road Trip Destinations

The multi-sport case for the capital starts with Capital One Arena's location in the heart of downtown. Capital One Arena (the Capitals and Wizards home, opened in 1997 as the MCI Center, renamed Verizon Center in 2006, and rebranded Capital One Arena in 2017 after the Capital One financial-services company acquired naming rights) sits in the Penn Quarter district at 6th and F Street NW, walkable from every downtown hotel and directly served by the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station on the Red, Yellow, and Green lines. Northwest Stadium (the Commanders home, renamed in August 2024 from FedEx Field after a naming-rights partnership with Northwest Federal Credit Union that runs through the 2031 season) sits in Landover, Maryland, 10 miles east of downtown, served by the Morgan Boulevard Metro station on the Blue and Silver lines. The two-venue combination gives fans an NHL arena walkable from every downtown hotel plus an NFL stadium reachable by a 35-minute direct Metro ride.

The 2026-2027 Commanders home schedule includes some of the most compelling matchups of the season. Home games at Northwest Stadium include the Seahawks September 27 opener, the Giants October 11 NFC East divisional matchup, the Eagles Sunday Night Football national broadcast on November 1 (the marquee NFC East rivalry of the entire fall), the Rams November 8, and the Falcons December 20 season closer. The Commanders reached the NFC Championship Game in the 2024 season behind rookie of the year Jayden Daniels, and the 2026 season carries the highest home-schedule ticket demand the franchise has seen since the three Super Bowl runs of the 1980s and early 1990s. Josh Harris and the Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment ownership group have announced plans for a new stadium at the historic RFK Stadium site in downtown Washington, with an expected opening date of Fall 2030.

Capital One Arena is one of the great modern American sports venues. The 20,356-seat building opened in 1997 as the MCI Center and has served as the home of the Capitals, Wizards, Georgetown men's basketball, and the historic Washington Mystics of the WNBA. The Capitals won the 2018 Stanley Cup with Alex Ovechkin as playoff MVP, and Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goal-scoring record in April 2025. The 2026-2027 Capitals home schedule includes the Rangers, Kraken, Wild, Panthers, and Blues across the featured weekends, plus divisional rivals throughout the year. The arena also hosts the Wizards NBA schedule and dozens of major concerts, making the downtown venue one of the most active sports-and-entertainment buildings in America.

The city itself is one of the great American cultural destinations. The Smithsonian museums (the 20 free museums along the National Mall covering American history, natural history, air and space, and African American history and culture), the National Mall itself (the 2-mile grand green space from the Lincoln Memorial east to the U.S. Capitol Building), the White House and Lafayette Square, the National Archives (the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights on display), Georgetown (the historic 18th-century waterfront neighborhood), Ben's Chili Bowl (the 1958 U Street chili institution with the Half-Smoke sausage), Old Ebbitt Grill (the 1856 historic saloon across from the Treasury Department), and José Andrés's Zaytinya, Jaleo, and minibar restaurants all give visitors an American history and food experience that no other sports city can match.

Best Washington Multi-Sport Weekends for 2026-2027

The 2026-2027 schedule features five standout weekends where fans can combine a Washington Commanders home game at Northwest Stadium with a Washington Capitals home game at Capital One Arena. These are the easiest and most rewarding Commanders and Capitals combinations, Capitals and Commanders pairings, and football and hockey trips for visitors planning a Washington sports weekend from a downtown hotel base.

All five itineraries work as a two, three, or four-night stay at a downtown hotel, with walking access to Capital One Arena and Washington Metro Blue and Silver Line access to Northwest Stadium in Landover.

September 25-27, 2026 (The Preseason Opener and Seahawks Weekend)

NHL Preseason Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals + Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders

The season-opening multi-sport weekend on the 2026-2027 Washington calendar and one of the earliest dual-sport pairings we book. On Friday, September 25, the Boston Bruins visit Capital One Arena for an NHL preseason game as the Capitals ramp up for the regular season. On Sunday, September 27, the Seattle Seahawks travel to Northwest Stadium for the Sunday-afternoon Commanders home game.

Weekend Schedule

• Friday, September 25 (NHL Preseason)
  • Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals
  • Capital One Arena, Penn Quarter
  • Evening game (10-minute walk from downtown hotels)
• Sunday, September 27
  • Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders
  • Northwest Stadium, Landover, Maryland
  • Afternoon game (35-minute Metro ride from downtown)

Why This Weekend Is Worth the Trip

Bruins-Capitals as an NHL preseason exhibition draws one of the strongest early-season crowds at Capital One Arena. Boston has one of the top Original Six visiting-fan contingents in the NHL, and the Friday-night preseason format opens Saturday for a full day of Smithsonian museums, National Mall walking tours, or a Georgetown afternoon. Seahawks-Commanders on Sunday is a cross-conference matchup with the Seattle Seahawks traveling to the East Coast for one of the more competitive early-season games on both schedules.

Base yourself at a downtown hotel Thursday through Monday morning, walk 10 minutes to Capital One Arena on Friday evening for the Bruins preseason game, spend Saturday at the National Mall (the Air and Space Museum, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Washington Monument), and take the Metro Blue or Silver Line 35 minutes east to Morgan Boulevard station on Sunday afternoon for the Seahawks-Commanders game. No rental car is needed for the trip.

Recommended Package

Our Bruins Preseason and Seahawks-Commanders Washington Multi-Sport Road Trip Package includes Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals NHL preseason tickets, Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders Sunday-afternoon tickets, a downtown hotel for three nights, and pre-arranged Metro transit passes for the Northwest Stadium commute. Book your Bruins Preseason and Seahawks Package.

October 9-11, 2026 (The Three-Game Weekend and Same-Day Doubleheader)

Rangers-Capitals Friday + Giants-Commanders Sunday afternoon + Kraken-Capitals Sunday evening

The three-game weekend on the 2026-2027 Washington multi-sport calendar and one of the rarest scheduling combinations we book at Elite Sports Tours. Three professional sporting events across three days, including a rare same-day NFL and NHL doubleheader on Sunday, October 11 (the Giants at Northwest Stadium in the afternoon followed by the Kraken at Capital One Arena in the evening).

Weekend Schedule

• Friday, October 9
  • New York Rangers at Washington Capitals
  • Capital One Arena, Penn Quarter
  • Evening game (10-minute walk from downtown hotels)
• Sunday, October 11 (Same-Day Doubleheader)
  • New York Giants at Washington Commanders
  • Northwest Stadium, Landover, Maryland
  • Afternoon game (35-minute Metro ride from downtown)
• Sunday, October 11 (Same-Day Doubleheader)
  • Seattle Kraken at Washington Capitals
  • Capital One Arena, Penn Quarter
  • Early-evening game (10-minute walk from downtown hotels)

Why This Weekend Is Worth the Trip

A same-day NFL and NHL doubleheader in a single American city is one of the rarest scheduling experiences on the professional sports calendar, and October 11 offers exactly that for Washington visitors. The Giants-Commanders afternoon game at Northwest Stadium ends by early evening, giving fans two to three hours to take the Metro Blue or Silver line back to the Gallery Place-Chinatown station in downtown Washington, walk 5 minutes to Capital One Arena, and take their seats for the Kraken-Capitals puck drop.

Rangers-Capitals on Friday adds a marquee Metropolitan Division rivalry to the weekend, with the New York Rangers historic Original Six franchise producing one of the strongest visiting-fan contingents in the NHL. Giants-Commanders is one of the classic NFC East rivalries and always produces heavy visiting-fan turnout from the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area. Kraken-Capitals adds a Western Conference visit that gives fans a rare look at the expansion Seattle Kraken. Three games in three days at two venues accessible from the same downtown hotel base.

Recommended Package

Our Three-Game Washington Multi-Sport Road Trip Package includes New York Rangers at Washington Capitals Friday tickets, New York Giants at Washington Commanders Sunday-afternoon tickets, Seattle Kraken at Washington Capitals Sunday-evening tickets, a downtown hotel for four nights, and pre-arranged Metro transit passes for the Northwest Stadium commute. This is one of the highest-demand weekends of the entire 2026-2027 season; book three to four months in advance. Book your Three-Game Weekend Package.

November 1, 2026 (The Eagles Sunday Night Football and Wild Doubleheader Weekend)

Minnesota Wild at Washington Capitals + Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders (Sunday Night Football)

The standout weekend of the entire 2026-2027 multi-sport calendar and one of the two highest-demand tickets on the entire Commanders home schedule. On Sunday, November 1, the Minnesota Wild visit Capital One Arena for a Sunday-afternoon Capitals matinee, and the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Northwest Stadium for a Sunday Night Football national broadcast against the Commanders, the marquee NFC East rivalry game of the entire 2026 season.

Weekend Schedule

• Sunday, November 1 (Same-Day Doubleheader)
  • Minnesota Wild at Washington Capitals
  • Capital One Arena, Penn Quarter
  • Afternoon matinee (10-minute walk from downtown hotels)
• Sunday, November 1 (Sunday Night Football)
  • Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders
  • Northwest Stadium, Landover, Maryland
  • Primetime national broadcast (35-minute Metro ride from downtown)

Why This Weekend Is Worth the Trip

Eagles-Commanders on Sunday Night Football is the biggest ticket on the entire 2026 Commanders home schedule. Philadelphia and Washington have played twice a season in the NFC East since 1961, the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX in February 2025 against the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Sunday Night Football primetime window turns Northwest Stadium into the loudest environment of the entire home schedule. The Eagles visiting-fan contingent typically fills 15 to 20 percent of the seats at any Commanders home game, and the national-broadcast spotlight amplifies the rivalry to one of the marquee NFL moments of the fall.

The Wild-Capitals afternoon matinee opens the day with an early NHL game that ends by early evening, giving fans two to three hours to take the Washington Metro Blue or Silver line east to Morgan Boulevard station for the Sunday Night Football primetime broadcast. Two professional sporting events on the same calendar day, at two venues connected by the Washington Metro, capped by the marquee NFC East primetime broadcast of the season. Base yourself at a downtown hotel Friday through Monday morning, and treat the weekend as a full four-night trip.

Recommended Package

Our Eagles Sunday Night Football and Wild Doubleheader Washington Multi-Sport Road Trip Package includes Minnesota Wild at Washington Capitals Sunday-matinee tickets, Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders Sunday Night Football tickets, a downtown hotel for four nights, and pre-arranged Metro transit passes for the Northwest Stadium commute. This is the highest-demand weekend of the entire 2026 season; book four to five months in advance. Book your Eagles Sunday Night Football Weekend Package.

November 7-8, 2026 (Panthers-Capitals and Rams-Commanders Weekend)

Florida Panthers at Washington Capitals + Los Angeles Rams at Washington Commanders

The mid-November multi-sport weekend on the calendar and the strongest defending-champion visit of the fall Capitals home schedule. On Saturday, November 7, the Florida Panthers travel to Capital One Arena for a Saturday-afternoon Capitals matinee. On Sunday, November 8, the Los Angeles Rams travel to Northwest Stadium for the Sunday-afternoon Commanders home game.

Weekend Schedule

• Saturday, November 7
  • Florida Panthers at Washington Capitals
  • Capital One Arena, Penn Quarter
  • Afternoon matinee (10-minute walk from downtown hotels)
• Sunday, November 8
  • Los Angeles Rams at Washington Commanders
  • Northwest Stadium, Landover, Maryland
  • Afternoon game (35-minute Metro ride from downtown)

Why This Weekend Is Worth the Trip

Panthers-Capitals is the marquee visit of the fall Capitals schedule. The Florida Panthers won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025 (defeating the Edmonton Oilers in both Finals, with Sam Bennett winning the 2025 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP), and every defending champion visit to any NHL arena draws heightened demand. The Saturday-afternoon matinee format opens the game for fans who arrive Friday evening and stay through Sunday afternoon, and the early-window start gives visitors plenty of time for a Saturday-evening Georgetown dinner or a downtown restaurant reservation.

Rams-Commanders on Sunday is a rematch of the 2024 NFC Wild Card playoff meeting between the two franchises (a Commanders victory that launched the Jayden Daniels playoff run to the NFC Championship Game). Every Rams away game against the Commanders produces playoff-tinged intensity, and the Sean McVay Rams travel with one of the strongest visiting-fan contingents in the NFL. Base yourself at a downtown hotel Friday through Monday morning.

Recommended Package

Our Panthers-Capitals and Rams-Commanders Washington Multi-Sport Road Trip Package includes Florida Panthers at Washington Capitals Saturday-matinee tickets, Los Angeles Rams at Washington Commanders Sunday-afternoon tickets, a downtown hotel for three nights, and pre-arranged Metro transit passes for the Northwest Stadium commute. Book your Panthers and Rams Weekend Package.

December 19-20, 2026 (Blues-Capitals and Falcons-Commanders Season Closer)

St. Louis Blues at Washington Capitals + Atlanta Falcons at Washington Commanders

The season-closing multi-sport weekend of the 2026-2027 Washington calendar and the last regular-season Commanders home game for many trip planners. On Saturday, December 19, the St. Louis Blues travel to Capital One Arena for a Capitals home game. On Sunday, December 20, the Atlanta Falcons travel to Northwest Stadium for the Commanders home game.

Weekend Schedule

• Saturday, December 19
  • St. Louis Blues at Washington Capitals
  • Capital One Arena, Penn Quarter
  • Evening game (10-minute walk from downtown hotels)
• Sunday, December 20
  • Atlanta Falcons at Washington Commanders
  • Northwest Stadium, Landover, Maryland
  • Afternoon game (35-minute Metro ride from downtown)

Why This Weekend Is Worth the Trip

The mid-December Saturday-Sunday format is one of the most useful travel structures on the entire multi-sport calendar. Fans arrive Friday, catch the Blues-Capitals Saturday-evening game at Capital One Arena, spend Sunday morning at a Smithsonian museum or a National Mall walking loop, take the Metro Blue or Silver Line to Northwest Stadium for the Falcons-Commanders Sunday-afternoon game, and depart Monday morning. Blues-Capitals is a cross-conference matchup with a Central Division opponent that produces one of the more entertaining hockey nights of December.

Falcons-Commanders is an NFC crossover matchup with playoff-race implications for both teams during the December window. Atlanta and Washington have produced multiple recent close games, and the late-December date puts the game in Week 15 or 16 with heavy playoff-seeding weight. The holiday-season format also works well for gift-trip planners looking to combine the Washington multi-sport experience with a family holiday visit to the nation's capital museums, monuments, and historic sites.

Recommended Package

Our December Blues-Capitals and Falcons-Commanders Washington Multi-Sport Road Trip Package includes St. Louis Blues at Washington Capitals Saturday tickets, Atlanta Falcons at Washington Commanders Sunday-afternoon tickets, a downtown hotel for three nights, and pre-arranged Metro transit passes for the Northwest Stadium commute. Book your December Blues and Falcons Package.

Where to Stay in the Capital

Downtown DC is the best base for a multi-sport road trip. Most visitors should look for hotels in the Penn Quarter district (walkable to Capital One Arena), the White House area, or along Pennsylvania Avenue and K Street. All three zones put you within a 10-minute walk of Capital One Arena and within a 5-minute walk of a Washington Metro station that connects to the Blue or Silver line for the Northwest Stadium commute.

Georgetown (the historic 18th-century neighborhood west of downtown, walking distance to the C&O Canal and the Georgetown Waterfront Park) and the Wharf district (the new Southwest waterfront development along the Washington Channel) both work as alternate bases for fans who want a different neighborhood experience. Neither is directly served by the Washington Metro, so both add a rideshare or DC Circulator bus commute to the downtown venue.

Our recommended Northwest Stadium hotels and Capital One Arena hotels for a multi-sport trip in downtown DC include the Willard InterContinental (the historic 1901 property directly across from the White House at 14th and Pennsylvania), the Hay-Adams Hotel (the historic 1928 property on Lafayette Square with White House views), the Jefferson Hotel (Beaux-Arts historic at 16th and M), the Waldorf Astoria (the historic Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue), the St. Regis Washington (16th Street historic), the JW Marriott Washington DC (1331 Pennsylvania Avenue), the Marriott Marquis Washington DC (Convention Center adjacent), the Grand Hyatt Washington DC (1000 H Street, directly next to Capital One Arena), the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Washington DC (Penn Quarter boutique in the historic Tariff Building), the Renaissance Washington DC Downtown, and the Mandarin Oriental Washington DC (Southwest waterfront luxury). For fans on a value budget, the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, the Yotel Washington DC (Ivy City), and the Pod DC (city-center micro-hotel) offer more reasonable rates within Metro range of both venues.

Looking for hotel recommendations? Explore our complete guide to the Best Hotels Near Capital One Arena.

Should You Stay Near Northwest Stadium?

No. Northwest Stadium sits in Landover, Maryland, 10 miles east of downtown Washington. The immediate area has a few chain hotels for business travelers, but the Landover neighborhood is not a walkable destination. Almost every visitor to a Commanders and Capitals multi-sport weekend should stay in downtown DC and treat Northwest Stadium as a 35-minute Metro ride on game-day Sunday.

The reason is the trip itself. Every featured itinerary combines an NFL game at Northwest Stadium with an NHL game at Capital One Arena, and every weekend also includes at least one Smithsonian museum morning, one National Mall walking loop, one Georgetown afternoon, or one downtown restaurant dinner at a José Andrés restaurant or Old Ebbitt Grill. Staying downtown puts you within walking distance of Capital One Arena, the White House, the National Mall, the Smithsonian museums, the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and the historic downtown restaurant scene. Staying near Northwest Stadium would cut you off from every downtown experience that the weekend is built around.

For most visitors, the easiest option is a downtown hotel and the Metro Blue or Silver line to Morgan Boulevard station on the NFL game day. The Metro ride takes about 35 minutes each way from any downtown station (Metro Center, Gallery Place-Chinatown, or Federal Triangle), with expanded round-trip service on Commanders game days. Elite Sports Tours also runs coordinated shuttle service from the downtown hotel cluster to Northwest Stadium as an alternate option, and this option is included in most Washington sports travel packages. Rideshare (Uber and Lyft) from downtown to the stadium runs $25 to $40 each way with surge pricing on game days; parking at Northwest Stadium runs $50 to $80 depending on the lot and game, so the Metro is by far the most efficient option for downtown-based fans.

Looking for hotel recommendations? Explore our hotel guide: Best Hotels Near Northwest Stadium.

Getting Around During Your Multi-Sport Road Trip

The capital is one of the strongest transit-served multi-sport cities in North America because of the Metro system. Fans staying downtown can walk to Capital One Arena (Penn Quarter is a 10-minute walk from most downtown hotels, and the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station sits directly next to the arena) and take the Blue or Silver Line east to Morgan Boulevard station for the Northwest Stadium commute. No rental car is needed for the multi-sport trip itself.

The Metro Blue and Silver lines both run from Metro Center or Federal Triangle stations in downtown Washington east through the Stadium-Armory station (historic RFK Stadium site) and out to Morgan Boulevard station in Landover. The ride takes about 35 minutes each way, and one-way fares run $2.25 to $6.00 depending on peak-hour pricing. Game-day service is expanded on Commanders home Sundays, with additional trains added to reduce wait times. The Blue Line also connects to Reagan National Airport, and the Silver Line connects to Dulles International Airport.

If you are flying into the DMV, Reagan National Airport (DCA) is 10 to 15 minutes south of downtown by car via the George Washington Parkway or 20 minutes on the Metro Blue or Yellow line directly to Metro Center or L'Enfant Plaza. Dulles International Airport (IAD) is 30 to 45 minutes west of downtown by car or 50 minutes on the Metro Silver Line. Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) is 45 minutes northeast of downtown by car or 45 minutes on the MARC Penn Line commuter rail to Union Station.

Related Guides:

• How to Get to Northwest Stadium
• How to Get to Capital One Arena

Between Games: What to Do on Your Sports Weekend

The reason a DC sports weekend works so well is that the trip is not just the games. A weekend here that skips the Smithsonian museums, the National Mall, and a Ben's Chili Bowl stop is a wasted trip. Here is what our team recommends between the Commanders and Capitals games.

The National Mall and Lincoln Memorial. The 2-mile National Mall runs from the Lincoln Memorial at the west end east past the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Reflecting Pool to the U.S. Capitol Building at the east end. This is the definitive DC historic walking loop, and a two-hour Saturday-morning or Sunday-morning walk covers the classic photo stops: the Lincoln Memorial statue and Gettysburg Address wall, the Washington Monument obelisk, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial black-granite wall, and the Capitol Building west front. Free to enter every monument, and the walk pairs particularly well with a Smithsonian museum stop.

The Smithsonian museums. The 20 free Smithsonian museums along the National Mall cover everything from American history to natural history to air and space to African American history and culture. The National Museum of Natural History (the Hope Diamond, the T. rex, the ocean-hall giant squid), the National Air and Space Museum (the Wright Brothers Flyer, Apollo 11 command module, Space Shuttle Discovery at the Udvar-Hazy Center annex), the National Museum of African American History and Culture (the Emmett Till exhibit, the Harriet Tubman collection, the Michael Jordan artifacts), the National Museum of American History (Julia Child's kitchen, the original Star-Spangled Banner flag), and the National Portrait Gallery (Kehinde Wiley's Obama portrait) are the standard stops. Free admission at all Smithsonian museums (though the African American History and Culture museum requires timed-entry passes).

The White House and Lafayette Square. The White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is walkable from most downtown Washington hotels (the Willard InterContinental sits directly across the street, and the Hay-Adams sits directly on Lafayette Square with White House views). Public White House tours require a request through your U.S. Senator or Representative six months in advance, but the exterior view from Lafayette Square (the historic park directly north of the White House) is free and works well as a between-games stop. The Old Executive Office Building next door is worth a photo stop, and the Ellipse south of the White House offers the classic south-facade view.

Georgetown and the C&O Canal. Georgetown (the historic 18th-century neighborhood west of downtown, along the Potomac River) preserves the original 1751 street grid with cobblestone alleys, Federal-era rowhouses, and a waterfront district anchored by the Georgetown Waterfront Park and the Washington Harbour restaurant complex. The C&O Canal (the historic 19th-century canal running west from Georgetown) is a great half-mile walking loop, and Georgetown University sits at the west end of the neighborhood. A Saturday-afternoon Georgetown walking loop pairs particularly well with a Sunday Commanders game.

Ben's Chili Bowl and U Street. Ben's Chili Bowl (established 1958 at 1213 U Street NW, one of the great American historic restaurant institutions) is the definitive Washington food stop. The signature dish is the Half-Smoke sausage smothered in chili, cheese, and onions, and the restaurant survived the 1968 riots, hosted President Obama's visits, and displays a wall of photographs from every celebrity Washington political and cultural figure of the last 60 years. The U Street corridor around Ben's includes historic jazz clubs (the Howard Theatre, Bohemian Caverns) and modern restaurants (Duke's Grocery, Compass Rose). Ideal Saturday-afternoon or late-night stop.

The DC restaurant scene. Old Ebbitt Grill (the 1856 saloon across from the Treasury Department at 675 15th Street NW, the oldest saloon in DC and one of the great American historic restaurants) is the definitive downtown lunch or dinner stop. José Andrés's Zaytinya (Mediterranean), Jaleo (Spanish tapas), minibar (two-Michelin-starred tasting menu), and China Chilcano (Peruvian-Chinese) all sit within walking distance of Capital One Arena in Penn Quarter. Le Diplomate (the French bistro at 1601 14th Street), Blue Duck Tavern (the Park Hyatt farm-to-table), the Dabney (the Blagden Alley wood-fire kitchen), and Fiola Mare (the Georgetown waterfront seafood) round out the top-tier picks.

The National Archives and Library of Congress. The National Archives (700 Pennsylvania Avenue, walking distance from Capital One Arena) displays the original Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights in the Rotunda for public viewing. Free admission, and a 45-minute visit works well as a between-games stop. The Library of Congress (the Thomas Jefferson Building on First Street SE, next to the U.S. Capitol) is one of the great American architectural masterpieces, with the Main Reading Room and the Gutenberg Bible on display in the historic marble halls. Both are free to enter.

Union Station and Capitol Hill. Union Station (the historic 1908 Daniel Burnham railroad station at 40 Massachusetts Avenue NE) is a Beaux-Arts architectural masterpiece and works well as a starting point for a Capitol Hill walking loop. The U.S. Capitol Building (public tours available with advance reservation), the Supreme Court Building, and the Eastern Market (the historic 1873 public market at 7th and North Carolina SE) all sit within a 15-minute walk of Union Station. A Saturday-morning Capitol Hill loop pairs well with a Sunday Commanders game.