Easy In, Easy Out

How do you plan to get to this year’s National Book Festival? As one of the country’s most accessible cities, Washington is surrounded by three major airports, Amtrak and a first-rate transit system, Metro. The Walter E. Washington Convention Center is located between 7th and 9th Streets and N Street and Mt. Vernon Place in downtown D.C., right across from Carnegie Library at Mount Vernon Square.

Locals know that the best way to get to downtown is via Metro. The Convention Center is right on the subway’s Yellow & Green lines (Mount Vernon Square station) and easily accessible via other lines. The Metro website has a useful trip planning function, which includes information on travel via both train and bus.

Also be aware: Metro often does major track maintenance on the weekends, and Labor Day weekend is no exception. They list potential maintenance delays here. If you’re on one of the affected lines, give yourself some extra time coming in.

If you’re coming from out of town, keep in mind that while parking can be had downtown via a series of commercial parking garages (3,000 spaces in a three-block radius available on a first-come, first-served basis), you might be better off parking at one of the large Metro garages at stations outside the city and taking the Metro train in. These lots are free on weekends, and non-workday parking there is generally abundant.

Any way you look at it, it’s always a good idea to plan ahead to make your entire Book Festival experience a pleasant one. We’ll see you soon!