We wrapped up one of our crazier weekends in the town of Alexandria, which is ranked as one of the top five small cities in America. It’s literally a 30-minute drive south from DC, located right along the Potomac River. If you don’t feel like driving, you can also take a ferry ride from DC to Alexandria for a fantastic experience. Old Town Alexandria is great and is jam-packed with boutiques, restaurants and bars. If you do drive and need to find parking, we recommend the Market Square garage (underneath the Market Square on King Street and N Fairfax Street). It was $2.50/hour with a maximum fee of $5 after 5:00 P.M., so you can enjoy the evening without worrying about racking up a bill each hour.
The Market Square Garage is under this fountain: park here!
The Market Square Garage is under this fountain: park here!
King Steet
King Street is the main drag of Old Town. We walked up and down each side of the street for about 20 minutes to take in all the brick and cobblestone. You likely can’t go wrong with wherever you end up on this street. It also pours into their town waterfront space which is a nice area!
King Street
Cute downtown strip.
The Potomac River Waterfront at the end of King Street
King Street
Cute downtown strip.
The Potomac River Waterfront at the end of King Street
The Spite House
Named as the narrowest house in America, this dinky home is only 7 feet wide! That’s essentially my wingspan… It’s about 2-3 blocks north off King Street, so it’ll be worth the slight detour to see if you’d live there.
A house about the width of Adam’s wingspan…
Nicecream
Of course, Megan smelled out the sweets on King Street and we came across a nitrogen ice cream shop, called Nicecream, that we had to hit up. It’s a solid place, but nothing particularly special. Using nitrogen to freeze the cream instantly always captures the flavors well though!
Nicecream Nitrogen Ice Cream
The Light Horse Bar
Almost right across the street from Nicecream sits this 2-level old-style music bar and restaurant, complete with a couple shuffleboards upstairs for some competitive entertainment. We got to talking with one of the bartenders who explained it’s usually packed on Friday and Saturday nights when they have live performances. The downstairs in The Light Horse has a charming, classy vibe, whereas the upstairs has a laid-back sports vibe.
The Light Horse Bar upstairs on a calm night.
Port City Brewery
Traveling west out of Old Town, you can come across one of the top ranked micro-breweries in America, Port City. It has a warehouse vibe with two medium sized bars, offering a food truck outside. The bartender also told us we could bring in any outside food too. But we just grabbed a flight and went on our way. The environment here is nothing to write home about, but we enjoyed the Mexican Dark Lager and Porter.
Port City Brewery
There is obviously a ton more to do in this quiet town just outside of DC than we could fit into one evening, but this will get you started! As one of the oldest towns in Virginia (established in 1749), Alexandria should definitely be on your short list of places to visit when in the area.
Established in 1749