Getting Around Town

The Bloomingdale Inn is proud to offer you a personal driver for your visit. Your driver will pick you up at Inn and take you anywhere downtown for $12.00. Your driver is also available to take you on tours of the sites, tell you about the history, and wait while you enjoy your tour for a flat rate of $30.00 per hour. Talk with the Innkeeper to make arrangements, or

call Joseph Ghafari at 202-297-0880
to book your car.

Within D.C., it is best to take a taxi or the Metro (subway), or to explore on foot. Taxis are plentiful and operate on a zone-fare system and do not have meters (zone maps are displayed in each cab), and the Metro runs every day. Here are some things you should know about the layout of the city:

• Washington is divided into four quadrants — Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast — with the Capitol at the center. All street addresses will include the appropriate quadrant (e.g., 16th St., NW).
• East-west streets are parallel to the Mall and are lettered A through W (no J street). Beyond W, streets are alphabetized first by two-syllable, then by three-syllable names.
• North-south streets are numbered from 1 into the 50s.
• Diagonal avenues are named for states.

Metro

The Metrorail rapid transit system is fast, convenient and wheelchair-accessible. Stations are identified by bronze pillars topped with the letter “M,” and colored bands designate the lines that serve a particular station.

To ride the system, you must purchase a fare card in the station. Change machines accept nickels, dimes, quarters and $1, $5 and $20 bills. Fares are based on the time of day and distance traveled.

What if You Really Need a Car While in D.C.?

Consider Zip Cars. This new hourly automobile rental service offered at various Metro stations throughout Washington, DC -- gas, parking, and insurance are always included. Check out one of our nearby “zip cars” by selecting "find cars near an address" and put in our address and zip code: 2417 First Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.

Other transportation

• Amtrak - Catch the Next Wave in Train Travel
• BWI Airport
• Greyhound Lines, Inc.
• Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
• SuperShuttle International - Washington DC Information Page
• The RideGuide
• Tourist map
• Washington Flyer
• Union Station - Washington, D.C.