Antiques--A few miles north of the city is not too far to go for the good deal or true bonanza you're likely to discover on Antique Row. Some 40 antiques and collectible shops line Howard Avenue in Kensington, Maryland, offering every sort of item in a wide variety of styles, periods, and prices. If you don't drive or catch a cab, you'll have to take the Metro and two buses. From Dupont Circle, board an L2 bus and get a transfer from the driver. Ask him to tell you when you reach the transfer point for the L8 bus. When you reach that juncture, board the L8 bus and ask to be let off at Connecticut and Knowles avenues. Howard Avenue is 1 block north of Knowles.
Art Galleries--Art galleries abound in Washington, but especially proliferate in Dupont Circle and Georgetown, and along Seventh Street downtown.
For a complete listing of local galleries, get your hands on a copy of "Galleries," a monthly guide to major galleries and their shows; the guide is available free at many hotel concierge desks and at many galleries.
Books--Washingtonians are readers, so bookstores constantly pop up throughout the city. An increasingly competitive market means that chain bookstores do a brisk business, even though D.C. can claim more general-interest independent bookstores than any other city. Here are my favorite bookstores in general, used, and special-interest categories. Note: Websites for chain bookstores are for the chain itself, not individual stores.
Cameras & Film Developing--Photography is a big business in this image-conscious tourist town. A wide range of services and supplies, from inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras to deluxe German and Japanese equipment, is available at competitive prices. Some shops offer repair services and have multilingual staff.
Discount Shops--Discount shops in Washington are few and far between. Stores like Wal-Mart and Target are all in the far 'burbs. This list includes the best of the D.C. bunch, followed by a sampling of thrift, secondhand, and consignment stores, where inventory may be eclectic, but the prices are often low.
Children's Clothing--One-of-a-kind children's stores don't do well in downtown Washington. But if your youngster has spilled grape juice all over his favorite outfit and you need a suitable replacement, you can always head to Hecht's or to the nearest Gap Kids: in Georgetown at 1267 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (tel. 202/333-2411) or at 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (tel. 202/429-6862).
Men's Clothing--Local outlets of Banana Republic are at Wisconsin and M streets in Georgetown (tel. 202/333-2554) and F and 13th streets NW (tel. 202/638-2724). Eddie Bauer has a store at 3040 M St. NW (tel. 202/342-2121) in Georgetown.
Women's Clothing--Washington women have many more clothing stores to choose from than men. Stores selling classic designs dominate, including Ann Taylor, at Union Station (tel. 202/371-8010), 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW (tel. 202/659-0120), 600 13th St. NW (tel. 202/737-0325), and Georgetown Park, 3222 M St. NW (tel. 202/338-5290); and Talbots, at 1122 Connecticut Ave. NW (tel. 202/887-6973) and Georgetown Park, 3222 M St. NW (tel. 202/338-3510). Beneath their modest apparel, however, Washington women like to wear racy Victoria's Secret lingerie -- you'll find stores in Union Station (tel. 202/682-0686) and Georgetown Park (tel. 202/965-5457), as well as at Connecticut and L streets NW (tel. 202/293-7530).
See "Men's Clothing" for locations of Banana Republic, Eddie Bauer, Brooks Brothers, and Urban Outfitters, all of which also sell women's clothes.
Hip boutiques and upscale shops proliferate as well.
Gourmet Goodies To Go--Demanding jobs and hectic schedules leave Washingtonians less and less time to prepare their own meals. Or so they say. At any rate, a number of fine-food shops and bakeries are happy to come to the rescue. Even the busiest bureaucrat can find the time to pop into one of these gourmet shops for a movable feast.
Museum Shopping--Just what kinds of gifts can you find in museums, anyway? A couple of Christmases ago, I decided to find out. Shunning the malls, I turned to Washington museums and landmarks for all of my holiday shopping, and brought home a bounty of unique presents that (I'm pretty sure) everyone liked. Here's a little of what I gleaned:
The National Museum of American History store has an outstanding collection of books, CDs, and tapes (CDs from the Ken Burns PBS special on jazz for one of my sisters, a CD of old baseball tunes for my then-6-year-old nephew), but also a lot of junky trinkets. Look to the Library of Congress for beautiful stationery and unusual books (I chose a book on Bach for my aunt, a leather-bound journal for my brother-in-law), but don't buy the jewelry, which is overpriced and unattractive. The Textile Museum shop sells exquisite and one-of-a-kind clothes and accessories (I snagged a silk purse from Japan for one sister and a Turkish tote bag for another), but you can expect to pay a bundle. Overall, the National Building Museum offers the best inventory for its surprising, useful, and cleverly designed housewares and interesting games. Here I bought heavy bookends embossed with a Celtic design for my mom and a museum board game for my niece; I still regret not grabbing the Koziol plastic caterpillar CD rack.
Other things to note: The largest museum shop is at the National Air and Space Museum (3 floors!); and the shop at the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building carries a selection of the most popular items from all of the other Smithsonian shops.
You can check out some of the stores' merchandise online ahead of time: Point your browser to www.smithsonianstore.com (for the Smithsonian shops), www.nbm.org/shop (for the National Building Museum), and www.loc.gov, and click on "Shop," for the Library of Congress. The Textile Museum website lists only its book titles.
Shoes--For men's dress shoes, try Brooks Brothers. There are local outlets of Foot Locker at Union Station (tel. 202/289-8364), 3221 M St. NW (tel. 202/333-7640); and 1934 14th St. NW (tel. 202/319-8934). Nine West sells women's shoes from locations at Union Station (tel. 202/216-9490), 1008 Connecticut Ave. NW (tel. 202/452-9163); and 1227 Wisconsin Ave. NW (tel. 202/337-7256).
Toys--The gift shops at museums and tourist attractions are really your best bets for children's gifts.
