Meskerem, named for the first month of the Ethiopian calendar, goes for an exotic atmosphere, with traditional woven straw-basket tables and camel-leather hassocks. Use your hands to sample beef, poultry, lamb, seafood and vegetarian dishes, served on wholewheat injera (pancake-like bread).

Ironically, you need to head to Chinatown to find the best Texas-style BBQ in DC. Saddle up for piled-high portions of smoked meat and plenty o' slaw on the side - the brisket sandwich is a standout. A very casual eating environment, usually packed at lunch with journalists, office workers and other city folk.

This grill has been a Washington institution since 1944. It has a loyal clientele who swears by the down-home grits, meatloaf and barbecued ribs. It's a greasy spoon in the truest sense and that's part of the charm. Walls are lined with signed photos of singers, actors and politicos who have enjoyed its soul food, as well as Southern memorabilia and kitsch.

Drooling locals have flocked to this Peruvian chicken joint for decades now. If you're in search of tender, juicy, flavour-packed chicken served with succulent dipping sauces, crunchy fries and sloppy 'slaw, you've just hit the jackpot. You can eat in, but the plastic tables are kind of unappealing. Luckily there is a takeaway option.

Pop into this Italian bistro at night when the vibe is rowdy and crowds spill onto Wisconsin (try to score a coveted spot on the outdoor patio or by the big street-side windows). Brick-oven baked pizzas, grilled meats and pastas complement the award-winning wine list. Visit late at night for the cheap pizzas, perfect if you're woozy from a night of drinking.

An advocacy group for lesbians, sponsoring a variety of events over summer.

The DCCC maintains its own visitor information centre in the Ronald Reagan Trade Center. Visitors can get maps, ask questions, take a virtual tour of the city on one of the computer terminals or buy Metro passes.

This is an internet cafe as well as a electronic gizmo store. There's a second location at 1030 19th St NW.

The WCTC provides a wide range of tourist information, from maps and brochures about city sights and online hotel and restaurant reservations, to guides to the city that you can download for free from their website.

Understated luxury is the allure here; rooms have an elegance that comes with a dash of personality - think rich satins accented by tiger-print throw pillows. There's all the expected conveniences making this a good choice for folks on business who want something out of the norm.

The Kimpton Group has pretty much perfected its formula: take an ageing 1960s-style apartment building or hotel and turn it into the kind of destination people talk about. What's essential to this formula - and what keeps it from rapidly becoming self-parody - is that each of the hotels is totally different from the others. So whereas in DC, Kimpton has the Helix for those who want to wear hip on their sleeve and Rouge for those who want a bit of mystery and whimsy in their stay, Madera is a much more refined concept that goes down smooth and delights along the way (much like the eponymous beverage). From a distance the building looks like the sad result of an oversight by urban planners, but up close as you see the stylised entrance of bamboo and wood, you know this is not something out of the cookie-cutter. The restaurant, Firefly, is one of DC's hottest dining and cocktail spots.

Each comfortable suite has a fully equipped kitchen, brass-and-crystal chandeliers and colonial-reproduction furniture. The exterior is a bit imposing at seven storeys, but still manages to embody the Georgetown colonial schtick of bricks and white-painted double-hung windows.

There's nothing especially special about the Monticello. For one thing, you'll look in vain for any of the details that make its namesake in Virginia, an essay in architecture. Still, Thomas Jefferson might pass a comfortable night here were he alive today. He'd no doubt have taken pleasure in the many warm hearths to be found in the cafes and bars of Georgetown; he might even debate a Federalist principle or two. A few rooms in the rear have delightful little patios off the bedrooms, otherwise all have amenities such as lighted mirrors, wet bars and fridges and work desks. Continental breakfast is included, as is parking (a real find in Georgetown). Just remember not to be put off by the humdrum lobby.

'Cead mile failte!' is the motto here which translates from Irish Gaelic to something along the lines of 'A hundred thousand welcomes!' That may be overstating it a bit but you will receive a fine welcome with an Irish lilt to it in this business hotel with an Irish theme.

Located at a side entrance, the hotel's bar, The Dubliner, has long been a popular haunt for over-dressed Capitol Hill workers in search of a pint in upscale surroundings. This posh hotel caters to the same crowd who, beside enjoying the usual comforts one would expect in an upscale hotel, will be pleased to find extra touches like Irish linens gracing the 150 rooms and suites. Although you will find a lot of salmon and pink decor, don't expect the twee charm of an Dublin B&B. The nine-storey building is a classic combination of brick and limestone. Exiting under the chandelier in the lobby, look to the right as you reach the street to see the Capitol, the destination for many of the lobbyist guests.

Everyone needs a pair of reverse-mirrored sunglasses once in a while, whether you're being followed or you just want to check out the hottie behind you in the elevator. Other Bond-gear that might come in handy includes concealed video and listening devices (now play nice), disguise kits, micro-cameras and recorder pens. Very Get Smart.

Second Story is up to its eyeballs in dusty used tomes. It also offers LPs, CDs and Asian antiques. It's a good place to stop on your way to a local cafe, and an impromptu pick-up scene flourishes among its shelves. It's such a beloved institution that Defense Secretary William Cohen wrote a cheesy poem in its honour ('Hieroglyphics heaped/in deep layers of ink').

In one of DC's best museum shops. It stocks handmade textiles, hand-dyed silks, glasswork, woodwork and unique jewellery, much of it quite affordable. Its excellent choice of books includes how-to manuals on jewellery- and fabric-making, ceramics, glassblowing and cabinetry, many appropriate for kids.

Despite the mixed crowd of young students and older professionals, ain't nobody getting dressed up here. The decor is Day of the Dead meets Night of the Living Dead: blinking lights, monster comics laminated onto the tables and voodoo critters on the walls. Dance on weekends and drink all week. Two additional clubs are upstairs: Chaos and Cosmo Lounge.

This cocktail lounge is at the top of Washington's hot list and strict licensing ensures no clientele under 25. As a result the crowd here is more mellow and less worried about the scene than at some of DC's hip spots. Upstairs has couches, sculptures and a couple of bars. Downstairs is minimalist and dimly lit. Dress to impress and arrive early.

Established in 1835 and renovated in 1984, the National is Washington's oldest continually operating theatre. This is where you would catch Les Misérables or Rent. Half-price tickets are available for students and seniors. Monday nights at the National are good value as they often feature free performances.

Lounge lizards lurk at this upscale cocktail bar whose wise motto is 'to drink is human, to lounge divine'. Red pool tables and plush leather chairs transport sharply dressed martini-sippers to 1950s retroland. Order one Frank-style and get into the swing.

This underground beer paradise has 900 varieties listed on a brick-heavy menu. Shandies, stouts, darks, lights, lagers and creams make up the selection which claims to be the world's largest. Its subterranean red-brick warren is usually choked with college-age folks propped around big circular tables. It also offers accommodation, which could prove handy.

The inspirational Lincoln Memorial embodies the American ideal of freedom, tolerance and charity. It is a powerful symbol and the giant seated Abraham Lincoln statue confers a strange resonating ambience.

The memorial is much more than a monument to the 16th US president. Completed in 1922, it quickly became a symbol of America's commitment to civil rights. From its steps in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr preached, 'I have a dream...' Designed to resemble a Greek temple, the monument's 36 columns represent the 36 states in Lincoln's union. The hands of the 19ft statue read A and L in American Sign Language to honor Lincoln's support for the Gallaudet College for the Deaf.

The Memorial closes the west end of the picture-postcard view down the Mall from the US Capitol and the Washington Monument. It is a temple to the man who saved the nation that he called 'the last best hope on Earth'. This is best expressed through his elegant words that run along the north and south wall of the chamber, including his masterpiece, the famous Gettysburg Address.

One of the brightest stars in the Washington cultural firmament, the National Gallery's enormous collection spans the Middle Ages to the present and boasts works by most of the heavy-hitters, including Vemeer, Titian, Raphael, Rembrandt, Goya, Matisse, Picasso, Pollock and Calder.

Founded in the 1930s by financier Andrew Mellon, it opened for business in 1941 and quickly attracted gifts from other American connoisseurs, such as Samuel Kress, to form one of the best collections in the country.

After outgrowing the original neoclassical West Building, the National Gallery expanded into the modern East Building in 1978. That's where you'll find modern art - from the early 20th century to the present day; older art - from the Middle Ages through late impressionism - resides in the West Building.

This is one of the few places in North America where one can see large numbers of European paintings from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, produced in Germany and the Low Countries, as well as France, England and Italy. This is home, too, to one of the best selections of early American paintings, from Gilbert Stuart's familiar portraits of Washington and Jefferson to Rembrandt Peale's portrait of his brother Rubens.

The modern work on display ranges from the Matisse cutouts in the tower to paintings by Pollock, Johns and Rauschenberg to wonderful Calder mobiles. Both buildings also house temporary exhibits on anything from Goya's images of women to prints from Gemini GEL (the country's best print studio) in Los Angeles.

Political centre of the US government and geographic centre of DC itself, the United States Capitol sits atop a hill overlooking the National Mall. The building is accessible by guided tours, which visit the dramatic Rotunda, Statuary Hall and the old Supreme Court chamber. The tour ends downstairs in the Crypt, which has exhibits on the Capitol's history.

Three years after Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton decided that Washington should house the nation's capital in 1790, construction began on the grand Capitol that was to grace the hill east of the Potomac. By the turn of the century, the movers, shakers and lawmakers began to move in. The British nearly burned it to the ground in 1814, which demoralised the Americans almost enough to provoke the abandonment of the whole DC experiment. However, some last-minute resolve saw the Capitol rebuilt from 1817 to 1819. The House and Senate wings were added in 1857, the nine-million-pound iron dome in 1863 and the east face in the 1950s, making the current icon over twice as large as the original building. The Capitol is the epicentre of the city as well as being its most prominent landmark; Washington's major avenues intersect at an imaginary point under the dome. If you want to watch Congress in session, you'll have to get a pass for the visitors' gallery from your Congressional Representative (if you have one) or the Sergeant-at-Arms (if you don't).

The dramatic Capitol Rotunda is decorated with a fresco painted by Italian immigrant Constantino Brumidi. Called The Apotheosis of Washington, it shows George Washington being welcomed into heaven by 13 angels representing the original 13 states (and apparently modelled on 13 local prostitutes). The hallways are decorated with more murals, showing the nation's heroes and their deeds - the most recent is a portrait of the dead Challenger astronauts. Statuary Hall is filled with stone men - theoretically two distinguished citizens from each state, but in reality a few less than that, as the floor wasn't strong enough to bear the weight of so much marble.

Every US president since John Adams has lived in this 132-room mansion at America's most famous address. Its stature has grown through the years: no longer a mere residence, it's now the central icon of the American presidency.

The Presidential Palace - as it was once known - has changed a great deal over history (and with its changing residents). It was not originally white, for example. After the British burnt the building in the War of 1812, it was restored and painted. It was Teddy Roosevelt who later gave official sanction to the executive mansion's popular name.

Presidents have customised the property over time: Grant put in a personal zoo; FDR added a pool; Truman a balcony; Bush Snr a horseshoe-throwing lane; and Clinton a jogging track. Some residents never leave: it's said that Eleanor Roosevelt and Harry Truman both sighted Lincoln's ghost in Abe's old study.

Back before Herbert Hoover's era, presidents used to open the doors at noon each day to shake visitors' hands. Alas, no longer. Daily tours are limited to groups of 10 and must be booked well in advance.

You can get your fill of White House history and factoids at the White House visitors center at 1450 Pennsylvania Ave South NW in the Chamber of Commerce Building.

The 612 acres and 245,000 graves of this national cemetery are a sombre counterpoint to the soaring monuments to US history just across the Potomac. It's the burial ground for military personnel and their families, the dead of every war the US has fought since the Revolution, and American leaders such as JFK, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Medgar Evers.

At the end of Memorial Dr, the first site you'll see is the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. On the slopes above are the Kennedy gravesites.

Near the eternal flame that marks the grave of John F Kennedy lie gravestones for Robert Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and her two children who died in infancy.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier holds unidentified bodies from WWI, WWII, and the Korean War.

Dedicated in 1982, this sombre arrow of black stone has become an American pilgrimage site. A testament to the sacrifice of soldiers during America's least popular war, the memorial's two walls of polished Indian granite meet in a 10ft apex and are inscribed with the names of the 58,209 soldiers killed in the war, arranged chronologically by date of death.

The most moving remembrances are the notes, medals and mementos left by survivors, family and friends since the memorial was completed in 1982. Opponents to the design insisted that a more traditional sculpture be added; a memorial to the women who served in the war was another later addition.

Brush up on your Sean Connery impersonation and learn about top-secret secrets at DC's hottest attraction. See high-tech gadgetry, notorious spy cases, secret methods and the not-so-pleasant consequences of being an international person of mystery. You can even crawl through the duct-work exhibit and spy on fellow visitors!

Each year, eight million people visit these cavernous halls filled with alighted airplanes and soaring spacecraft (including the Wright Brothers' Flyer, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St Louis and the Apollo 11 command module). The museum's 23 galleries trace the history of aviation and space exploration through interactive displays and historic artefacts.