One Week Without a Car: DC, Alexandria, Baltimore and Annapolis

Why a car actually gets in the way here

Most one-week itineraries around Washington eventually point you toward Skyline Drive or the Atlantic coast, and at that point a car becomes non-negotiable. This week does the opposite: it stays close, and that closeness is exactly what makes it the rare seven-day trip you can run entirely on rails, buses and your own feet.

Washington, D.C. is a walking-and-Metro city at its core — traffic is heavy, parking is scarce and expensive, and none of that matters if you never need a windshield. This itinerary is the natural extension of a shorter two-day museums-and-memorials trip: it keeps several full days for the federal core before branching out, so nothing here repeats that shorter plan, it simply grows past it.

The structure: four days planted in DC itself, then three single, clean transit hops — Alexandria by Metro, Baltimore by train, Annapolis by regional bus — each one a full day trip and back, no overnight bags required beyond your DC hotel.

Day 1: The National Mall and its free core

Start at the eastern end near Capitol Hill and walk west. The National Mall runs about two miles end to end, and that distance alone fills a day once you factor in even a couple of memorial stops and a museum. Budget a slow morning for the Capitol grounds, then work through the free, 24-hour outdoor memorials in the afternoon — the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the WWII Memorial. Rangers staff them during daytime hours only, so plan detailed questions before evening.

Pick one Smithsonian museum for the afternoon. General admission across the Smithsonian is free with no ticket required, but two exceptions — the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Air and Space Museum — need a free timed-entry pass reserved online at nmaahc.si.edu, either in advance or released same-day each morning — slots vanish within minutes of release, and there’s no walk-up entry. If either is on your list, reserve before you leave the hotel. For a first pass through the collection logic of the Mall, our Smithsonian museums guide and National Mall walking guide both lay out realistic sequencing.

Day 2: Monuments, the Tidal Basin and the White House area

Devote today to the White House Visitor Center area and the Tidal Basin. The White House itself has no walk-up option — a tour requires a request through a Member of Congress (or an embassy for non-US citizens), submitted 21 to 90 days ahead — so unless that’s already arranged, the free self-guided Visitor Center nearby is the realistic plan. Walk the Tidal Basin loop past the Jefferson and MLK Memorials; if you’re visiting in spring, note that cherry blossom peak bloom is a forecast updated weekly by the Park Service, not a fixed date, so build flexibility rather than anchoring the whole trip to one calendar day.

End the day with an evening look at the monuments lit up after dark — a fitting close to the federal-core half of the week, and a good moment to add a guided evening tour if you’d rather have context than wander alone.

Day 3: Capitol tour, Georgetown and the waterfront

Book ahead for a free guided U.S. Capitol tour through the Visitor Center — reservations open roughly 90 days out, and this is a walk-through of the building itself, not the same thing as watching Congress in session, which needs a separate gallery pass from a congressional office. Spend the tour slot in the morning, then take the Metro or a short bus hop to Georgetown for the afternoon. Georgetown isn’t on the Metro directly, but it’s an easy bus or a manageable walk from a nearby station.

Finish along the Potomac waterfront at The Wharf, where restaurants and a boardwalk give you a car-free evening with a river view. If you’d rather see the water from the water, a short cruise or evening tour is one of the easiest add-ons this city offers without a vehicle — a good use of the evening DC excursion if you want the city narrated after sunset.

Day 4: A second museum day, at your own pace

Four days in the federal core sounds generous, but the Smithsonian alone is a dozen separate buildings, and this is the day to let the pace slow down. Revisit the pass system if you skipped the National Air and Space Museum or NMAAHC earlier in the week — same-day passes for the latter are typically released online around 8:15am, so an early check from your hotel room can still land you a slot. Round out the afternoon with a neighborhood away from the Mall, or simply rest before three travel days start tomorrow. For a broader look at how DC’s museums fit together across a longer stay, the Washington DC museums and galleries guide is worth a skim tonight.

Day 5: Old Town Alexandria by Metro

This is the easiest of the three excursions. Alexandria sits directly on the WMATA Metro system — no train transfer, no separate ticket logic, just a SmarTrip tap in DC and a tap out at a station in Old Town. Fares are distance-based and calculated on tap-out, typically a few dollars each way, with a flat late-evening and weekend cap around $2.50.

Old Town rewards an unhurried day: cobblestone streets down to the river, colonial-era architecture, and a working waterfront that never needed a highway to feel connected to Washington. A guided walk through the town’s founding history is a good anchor for the day — a walking tour tracing George Washington’s ties to the town covers the history a casual stroll would miss, and if you’re staying into the evening, an after-dark ghost walk through the old riverfront streets is a low-effort way to see the town lit up before heading back to the Metro.

Note that Mount Vernon, nearby, is a paid, ticketed estate and not reachable directly by Metro — it needs its own bus or tour connection, so treat it as a separate trip rather than folding it into this Metro day. For the full transit rundown, see the Alexandria day trip guide and the general getting around DC by Metro guide.

Day 6: Baltimore by MARC or Amtrak

Baltimore is the day this itinerary earns its “beyond the Mall” billing. It’s not on the Metro system at all — the connection is a MARC commuter train or an Amtrak train from Union Station, both landing at Penn Station in Baltimore in well under an hour. MARC is the budget option and runs a limited weekday-focused schedule; Amtrak runs more consistently but costs more, so check which is running the day you travel rather than assuming either by default.

Once there, the Inner Harbor is walkable from Penn Station via the city’s own light rail or a short taxi/rideshare hop, and the harbor promenade itself is free even though its aquarium, science center and historic ships are each separately ticketed.

If a guided orientation appeals more than wandering cold, a guided walking tour around the Johns Hopkins University campus is an easy way to see a different side of the city beyond the harbor before catching a return train. The Baltimore day trip guide and train and bus day trips from Washington DC guide both cover the practical scheduling in more depth.

Day 7: Annapolis by regional bus

Annapolis is the one leg of this week that isn’t a direct rail hop — there’s no Metro line and no dedicated commuter train to the Maryland capital. The realistic car-free option is a regional bus connection from the DC area (commonly run via Metro to a connecting bus, or a direct regional coach service, depending on what’s operating that season); check current timetables before you go rather than relying on a fixed schedule here, since routes and frequencies shift year to year.

Once in Annapolis, the historic district and City Dock are entirely walkable, and the town’s colonial-era streets are compact enough that a single day covers the highlights without rushing. A guided walk is a good way to close out a week that’s been mostly self-navigated — a walking tour through the historic capital streets works well if your visit lands in the winter season, and the Annapolis day trip guide lays out the transit options in more detail. Head back into DC in the early evening, tired, but having covered four distinct places without ever touching a rental counter.

Why this works and where it stops working

The common thread across all three excursions is that each has its own transit answer, and none of them is “drive.” Alexandria is a Metro extension of the city. Baltimore is a train city, reached the way commuters reach it every weekday. Annapolis is the outlier requiring a bit more planning, but it’s a bus connection, not a highway requirement. Compare that to the itineraries that genuinely need a car — Skyline Drive and the Shenandoah loop, or the Atlantic coast run to Virginia Beach and Ocean City — where the driving distance itself is the point and there’s no transit substitute. This week deliberately stays inside the zone where trains and buses already do the work.

Washington DC one-week transit at a glance

Leg	Mode	Approx. travel time	Notes
DC to Alexandria	WMATA Metro	20-30 minutes	Direct, SmarTrip tap-in/tap-out fare
DC to Baltimore	MARC or Amtrak train	35-60 minutes	MARC cheaper, limited weekday schedule; Amtrak more frequent
DC to Annapolis	Regional bus	Varies by route	No direct rail; check current timetable before travel
Within DC	Metro + walking	—	Car is a handicap downtown: scarce, costly parking

FAQ: Doing Washington DC and its region for a week without a car

Do you need a car for any part of this itinerary?

No. Every leg — the DC core, Alexandria, Baltimore and Annapolis — has a public transit or rail option, and driving downtown actually works against you given scarce, expensive parking and traffic.

How does Alexandria’s Metro connection work?

Alexandria sits directly on the WMATA Metro system. You tap a SmarTrip card in DC and tap out at a station in Old Town; the fare is calculated by distance on exit, typically a few dollars each way.

Is Baltimore easy to reach without a car?

Yes, via MARC commuter train or Amtrak from Union Station, both arriving at Baltimore’s Penn Station in under an hour. MARC is cheaper but runs a more limited, weekday-focused schedule than Amtrak.

What’s the best way to get to Annapolis without driving?

A regional bus connection from the DC area, since there’s no Metro line or dedicated train to Annapolis. Check current timetables before traveling, as routes and frequency can change.

Can you skip a day in the federal core to add more excursion time?

You can, but four days in DC itself matches the density of what’s actually free and walkable there — the Mall alone is about two miles end to end before any museum stop, so trimming it risks rushing the parts that don’t need transit planning at all.

Do the Smithsonian museums need advance booking?

Most don’t — general admission is free with no ticket. The two exceptions, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Air and Space Museum, require a free timed-entry pass reserved online, either weeks ahead or released same-day each morning.

Is Mount Vernon included in the Alexandria day?

No. Mount Vernon is a separate, paid estate not directly served by the Metro; reaching it from Alexandria needs its own bus or tour connection, so it’s better treated as its own trip rather than folded into a Metro-based Old Town day.

What if the cherry blossoms are part of the plan?

Treat peak bloom as a forecast, not a fixed date — the National Park Service issues and updates an estimate through late winter and early spring, with the historical range running from mid-March to mid-April. Build flexibility into whichever days you spend in the Tidal Basin area rather than locking the whole week to one date months in advance.