Inauguration Day as a tourist - worth it?

May 5, 2008 6:19 AM

Planning on visiting the US from the UK early next year, and thought it'd be interesting to try to coincide visiting Washington DC with Inauguration Day (whoever gets elected). Is this a good idea?

More specifically, will I need to book way in advance for accommodation? I assume that the parade is just open to the public, but are there other public events to see throughout the day? Is it a good time to be a tourist in the city, or will everywhere be closed/full?

It'll be my first time in Washington, and, indeed, my first time visiting the US.

posted by TheTelf to travel & transportation (9 comments total)

You might be surprised at exactly how little you would be able to see. There is a parade, but seats in the bleachers have not been open to the public in the recent past, and instead have required tickets distributed by the political party that won the presidency. Standing room is very limited, and is only in spots that the bleachers do not fit. The president tends to drive past these places in a closed and armored limo, so there isn't much to see.

There are a variety of inauguration balls and parties, but again you need to receive tickets to these, and for that you generally need to be a donor. Once there they are often just a huge mass of people waiting in line for the cash bar. The new president might make a short appearance, but he or she is shuttling around from party to party and doesn't stay long at any one place. I live in DC, and I don't bother to go to any of the events regardless of the political party because they kind of suck. I don't know about the accommodation situation, but I imagine you would want to book well ahead of the general election in November, and that it would probably fill up after that. One good thing is that Restaurant Week is around inauguration time, so there would be some good eating.

The weather is also somewhat crappy that time of year. If you can wait until April or May it would be much nicer. I would try and come during the Cherry Blossom Festival instead. Just stay long enough you aren't there on the weekend.
posted by procrastination at 6:33 AM on May 5

Washington DC is a lot of fun because there is so much free stuff to do. However, January is pretty unpleasant. And, as Procrastination mentions, it gets a little chaotic at that time.
posted by k8t at 6:40 AM on May 5

Really, you might see the small dot that would be the president's head if you were to go down to the capitol to try to hear his or her inaugural address. But, you might have an easier time navigating the city in January than say in April at the height of cherry blossoms. I say, why not.
posted by chickaboo at 6:47 AM on May 5

Yeah, the weather is crap (cold, windy, rain/sleet/wintry mix), and there isn't really much to see re: the actual inauguration, because you won't be able to get close to anything. You can try, but you will be kept very far away from the main event.

I have done this before for the second Clinton inauguration -- you will be standing for hours, you will be very cold, you will be stepped on repeatedly, and you will see/hear virtually nothing. And that was before September 11th. All other inaugural events (mainly the various balls) require tickets, and those require connections (and/or donations).

As for the rest of DC, January is low season, tourist-wise, except for the relative uptick due to inaugural attendees. Some attractions may have reduced hours compared to the summer, but everything will be open.

First week of April for the Cherry Blossoms is much better, weather-wise, if you can stand the crowds. May is even better, if you can stand the student groups. So really, it just depends on what you dislike more -- crap weather or crowds.
posted by somanyamys at 7:08 AM on May 5

I would vote 'no.'

The weather will suck, it'll be crowded, you won't be able to see anything, and the traffic/transport situation will be a horror.

Hell, I live here and I'm thinking seriously of leaving for Inauguration. At the very least I will be going nowhere near the Metro or the District that weekend.

I guess if you really wanted to see the parade, you could do it; but man -- you'd have to really want to see that parade, because it's probably the only thing you'd be able to see or do that weekend. Everything else is going to take twice as long and be three times as crowded as normal. And more expensive.

In case I sound overly cynical (and I am, admittedly), let me be sure to say that I think there's a ton of really cool stuff to see in DC, and you should definitely come. However, I think if you come during Inauguration, you'll lose the opportunity to see a lot of neat stuff in order to stand in a crowd and probably not see anything. Seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity to me.

Inauguration is pretty much designed to be a televised event these days, anyway -- all those people standing around are basically just a backdrop (and, perhaps, a little nod to lost authenticity). But the whole thing is put together with the expectation that most people will view it from their living rooms, with V.O. commentary by various talking heads, the usual works. I suspect that if you go and stand there in person you'll just be disappointed.
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:59 AM on May 5

I'm going to say yes, with all the caveats noted above. Why? Because this is going to be the first inauguration in living memory where people will be showing up, in essence, to run the outgoing president out of town. That has a degree of I-was-there history attached to it.
posted by holgate at 8:17 AM on May 5

My memory reaches back to 2000, holgate, when I'm pretty sure the Bush folks showed up with no love for the Clintons (or Gores) and an awesome sense of entitlement. What are you saying, exactly? I gather you're not giving McCain odds, though.

TheTelf: you might contact your MP's office to see if they, via the embassy, can help you get into an event or two. At least, it's the kind of thing that US Reps do for their constituents domestically. I don't know how far the special relationship goes in these matters, however, particularly such a long time before the events and when the election hasn't even been held yet.
posted by mumkin at 8:43 AM on May 5

I worked at one of the downtown hotels in 2000. We charged about triple for a room over inauguration, and required a one week minimum stay and full deposit paid in advance. That may influence your decision.
posted by saffry at 2:22 PM on May 5

Thanks for the advice guys - I'll talk it over with the others I'm travelling with, and we'll decide what we're going to do.
posted by TheTelf at 2:51 PM on May 13