Fun. We missed those museums. Have to go back, lol. DH *thinks* he is done.
Yes it is a lot of walking. I had to do a lot of taxi's because I was not up to walking the miles between sites.
We went when my son was 9, he loved it! We drove from CT, and stayed in National Harbor, which we loved. We did Air and Space downtown, as well as Udvar-Hazy (which I highly recommend!). Natural History. Spy Museum (son's favorite). Newseum (my favorite, son loved it as well). Capitol tour. Saw the White House, and the monuments. We got him a 'passport' (National Parks one) and he loved getting it stamped everywhere.
We skipped the Holocaust Museum. We felt ds could handle it, however, my paternal grandmother and great grandmothers were survivors, and this is a very emotionally charged topic for me. I have been before, and I was concerned he wouldn't be yet able to handle MY emotion. We decided a separate weekend trip just for this would be best.
And note that at Newseum there are some very graphic portrayals of some of the most horrific things of the past few decades. It's an AMAZING museum, but brings forth lots of discussion, so just be prepared for that.
We had a car with us. We tried the shuttle to the Metro, and taking the Metro in but my dh wasn't a fan of all the waiting. So after the first couple days we drove in, using Parking Panda to find a garage affordable for each day near what we were doing. That worked great, dh was happier. I would have been fine with the Metro, though the shuttle waiting was a bit of a PITA. If you're staying in the city this isn't an issue.
$100 for cabs? Someone way overpaid for getting around DC.
I think it is a great age to visit DC. Especially if he has interests that align with some of the sites you can visit.
My mother tried to run me over with her scooter. I guess I was moving too slowly...Ha. My husband also thinks we are done but there's so much left to do. So many places, so little $$$$. We took my father and his wife to Washington two springs ago and it was amazing for them to finally see so much and they were blown away. Newseum should be near the top of everyone's list, IMO.
My father is in his 80's and we've taken him to China, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Boston, LA, Toronto, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Las Vegas, etc. We are taking them to London and Edinburgh in May for two weeks. God help us because it ain't easy travelling with old folks set in their ways, exact times eating schedules, etc. On top of that, my husband and I eat entirely plant based, and they think they will die of protein deficiency from one meal of no meat so finding food for all of us in the same restaurant is quite a headache. And of course every meal must be a sit down, three course meal. No drive throughs for the Royals. Sorry, that was off topic but I swear after our last trip with them two years ago I was done. Never again I said. I'm a sucker for my father.
My mother tried to run me over with her scooter. I guess I was moving too slowly...
I solved the food issue by ordering room service for the 2 days we were alone. The waiter was suitably charmed by her squeals of glee every time he removed a metal cover to plate the food and I tipped him well for his performance.
We skipped the Holocaust Museum for the same reason. I didn't think my kids could handle it even though they've learned so much about the Holocaust in school and at home. They were extremely sensitive kids at that age and after some of the reviews I thought it might be too much. I don't regret that decision.
On the other hand, they were perfectly fine with the Newseum.