Capitol Hill, a large commercial and residential area stretching from the Capitol building east to the Anacostia River, is one of Washington's most open, beautiful, and family friendly neighborhoods. While the districts's eastern quadrants often receives a bad rap in the guidebooks and among its snobbish citizens, the tree filled area contains among its gems: the Library of Congress and Supreme Court, the elegant Marine Barracks and Navy Yard, the Nationals baseball stadium, and Eastern Market. The area also has a number of large parks spread throughout, including Stanton Park, Lincoln Park, the Congressional Cemetery, Garfield Park, and the riverfront Yards park.
In terms of retail and restaurants, the areas best destination stretches along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Library of Congress to the Eastern Market metro stop. Along here are a great number of restaurants, ranging from budget to luxury and American to Pakistani, and bars, often filled at happy hour with Congressional staffers. The two blocks of 7th street north of the metro include numerous shaded sidewalk cafes and restaurants, along with the Eastern Market itself, a beautiful indoor hall built in 1873 and filled with prepared foods, deli items, fruit and vegetable stands, and meat and seafood vendors. South of the metro along 8th street is Barracks Row, home to three more blocks of restaurants (including a number of fast food options) and shops, as well as the Marine Barracks itself, built in 1801.
Commercial highlights in this area include Capitol Hill Books (657 C St. SE) and its three stories of over-stuffed bookshelves, the coffee-shop by day, bistro by night Pound the Hill Cafe (621 Pennsylvania Ave. SE), and the cheap and delicious Tortilla Cafe (210 7th St. SE). If you want an upscale meal, the Belgian style steakhouse Belga, located on Barracks Row, is excellent. While there are certainly bars and restaurants open at night, most area establishments close down around midnight or earlier, and the area is not the party spot that can be found in other DC locations.
Of course, if you are visiting the area on a Saturday or Sunday, the outdoor flea market and farmers market at Eastern market will be the best bet, with both after booth of food, goods, clothes, and gifts to peruse. On the 2nd saturday morning of every month, the Southeast library, adjacent to the Eastern Market metro stop, hosts a $1 book sale as well, generously stocked with fiction and non-fiction, both new and old.
Although the neighborhood is much larger than its commercial core, the rest of the area is largely residential, dotted with some corner stores, restaurants, and dry cleaners. However its leafy blocks of rowhouses and schools are more than pleasant to walk around. Some hidden gems, if you feel like finding them, are the Pretzel Bakery (340 15th St. SE), Mangialardo and Sons Deli (1317 Pennsylvania Ave. SE), Riverby Books (417 East Capitol), and the skate park at Garfield Park. Near the Potomac Avenue metro stop are also both a Safeway and Harris-Teeter grocery store if you need them.
The souther portions of Capitol Hill, known as Navy Yard, is also a quickly developing area. South of the freeway and stretching from the Navy Yard itself to the Nationals Stadium, numerous luxury high rises and condos have gone up in the area in the last five years. However the commercial and retail is trailing behind, although not very far. The recently built Yards Park along the riverfront between 1st and 5th street is beautiful and worth a visit. Baseball tickets can also be found for under $20 and sometimes under $10, and the Nationals play over 80 home games a year. Plans are also underway for a large brewery and brewpub, Bluejacket, to open in the area sometime in 2013.
In Northeast Capitol Hill, the H Street Corridor, also known as the Atlas District, is quickly becoming a nightlife mecca, with a number of music venues, danceclubs, and hip restaurants. If you want to see a band go to the Rock and Roll Hotel, if you want to dance with sweaty young people go to Little Miss Whiskeys, and if you want to sit on a patio and drink liters of German beer go to the Biergarten Haus. Numerous other options abound.
Overall, Capitol Hill is a wonderful area to visit during the day, and if you are considering moving to D.C., a great area to rent (or buy) in.
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