Yes, a particularly prominent resident has derided DC as a “dirty, crime ridden death trap” where you can see “the filth and the decay and all of the broken buildings.” But here’s the thing: Washington is actually a pretty wonderful place to call home. We have free access to world-renowned museums, the Trust for Public Lands has named the District’s park system the best in the country five years in a row, Metro is lauded as one of the nation’s top transit systems, and you just have to keep turning the pages to appreciate a sliver of what our area has to offer. Whether you find beauty in a plate of Ethiopian tibs or even a Brutalist building, there are plenty of reasons to defend our town.

Fall was the season of celebrity-doppelgänger competitions: Timothée Chalamet showed up at his in New York, The Bear actor Jeremy Allen White was the subject of a Chicago event, and Dubliners donned teeny shorts in homage to Paul Mescal. Washington fulfilled its wonky reputation with a grassroots competition inspired by a figure who is less Hollywood and more Grey Gardens: John F. Kennedy’s only grandson, Jack Schlossberg. The contest drew a swarm of dark-haired clones to Meridian Hill Park (plus crowds seeking a store-brand version of Camelot), eventually crowning Georgetown master’s student Daniel Bonomo (above, far right) as the ultimate look-alike.

Given some of the woes about our dating scene, we were curious how local singles would fare inside the pods, get-ting engaged sight unseen on the Netflix show. Only two couples made it to the altar, but the Washington season delivered what we really wanted: enough delicious drama that we’re willing to forgive the number of Baltimore contestants. Breakups were launched by sexting during a sleep test, disagreement over everything from condoms to the military, a poorly timed nap, hard-to-watch nitpicking, and more. The dramatics even continued past the finale, with one couple announcing their divorce after weathering a paternity scandal.

Washingtonians had a brief 2025 moment of hope this past March when an egg was observed in the nest that the eagles Mr. President and Lady of the United States (a.k.a. Lotus) share near the National Arboretum. While the nest was ultimately unsuccessful, it was a chance to revisit our favorite low-stakes drama. The birds have been a couple since 2021, when Mr. President’s previous partner, First Lady, left him on Valentine’s Day. He and Lotus began to canoodle within 24 hours. Other DC eagles have had similarly messy personal trajectories: In 2019, Liberty, a bald eagle who lived near DC’s police academy, apparently took up with a suitor named Aaron Burrd after her longtime partner, Justice, split. By the following February, neither Liberty nor Aaron could be found. It’s comforting to know that, when it comes to matters of the heart, our most majestic national symbols are just as confused as we are.

The Washington area has a treasure trove of consignment and thrift shops: The Adams Morgan vintage store Miss Pixie’s is an institution, and newcomers are teaming up to make a splash, too. Last year, Libby & My (known for its colorful vintage glassware) and Jungli Vintage (curated pre-owned clothing) collaborated to launch Vintage Vintage Vintage, above, a collective in the Union Market District that features rotating vendors and special events such as a recent bridal showcase.

Another hot trend: clothing swaps. Thrift enthusiasts flock to Happy Daze exchanges, organized by a group of DC online shops such as the Disco Loft. Other places to find events like these include Up­Cycle Creative Reuse Center in Alexandria, which hosted its first “trinket swap” this year, and Instagram accounts like @FindingYourGood, @SwapDC, and @Petite_Punk—which share trading sessions for everything from clothing to art supplies to plants—and @PlushDMV, which highlights size-inclusive swaps.

Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, and Xiao Qi Ji left a bear-shaped hole in our hearts when the giant pandas departed the National Zoo in November 2023. For the first time in 23 years, DC was without its VIPs. (That’s Very Important Pandas, thank you.) But hope returned when newcomers Bao Li—Tian Tian and Mei Xiang’s grandson, a zoo nepo baby—and Qing Bao arrived on the Panda Express just under a year later. The playful animals quickly charmed the city, restoring order with their adorable antics.

The day after inauguration, Episcopal Bishop of Washington Mariann Budde stood at the National Cathedral pulpit and did what many wished they could do: She looked directly at the President and called on him to show compassion. “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” she said, advocating specifically for immigrants and transgender children. Budde’s unflinching bravery sparked an international conversation­—and Trump’s fury—proving that speaking truth to power and advocating for the most vulnerable among us matters.

National Building Museum

Periodically, the museum’s Great Hall converts into a yoga studio for a vinyasa session amid the towering Corinthian columns. The class also features a sonic element, with gongs, chimes, and crystal bowls to accompany the poses.

Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington

The Tiffany Gallery is one of this museum’s most stunning spaces, featuring three 1930s-era stained-glass windows. Practice weekly flow or gentle yoga while kaleidoscopic light streams through the panes.

Kreeger Museum

This private collection in Northwest DC offers an outdoor yoga experience in the Sculpture Garden. Students unroll mats by the reflecting pool, hitting warrior poses while surrounded by the “Inventions” series, six fiberglass abstract sculptures.

Our chefs and bartenders have the perfect antidote to DC’s hellish summers: elevated, icy treats that have come a long way from Slurpees. At the Shaw burger shop Mélange, chef Elias Taddesse is whipping up milkshakes concocted with housemade, Ethiopian-inspired ice-cream flavors such as shai (cardamom, cinnamon, and clove) and berbere-spiced chocolate. In Hyattsville, Snow Crane, a recent addition from Rose’s Luxury alum Takeshi Nishikawa, incorporates Okinawan black sugar and cherry leaf into refined Japanese ice creams. And for those craving a frosty indulgence made for adults, the Union Market distillery Cotton & Reed serves slushies such as the Cocomotion, a coconut-pineapple-and-pandan creation spiked with its white rum.

Cancellations, boycotts, and firings have defined this season at the Kennedy Center, and while things are certainly changing at the cultural institution, it’s not a death knell to performing arts in Washington. After all, our vibrant scene was never limited to just the Kennedy Center. You can still catch a production that moves you to tears or laughter at dozens of performance spaces, from the bold Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company to the nonprofit Atlas Performing Arts Center and more. Plus, area venues have absorbed some of the Kennedy Center’s typical programming, including Washington Performing Arts shows taking place at alternate locations such as Strathmore. Regardless of the spectacle happening offstage, there’s still plenty of scripted drama worth your time.

Blagden Alley in Shaw gets plenty of attention as home to two Michelin-starred restaurants: Causa for Peruvian and the Dabney for Mid-Atlantic cooking. But a growing number of great eating and drinking destinations are hidden away in IYKYK alleyways. In Georgetown, My Little Chamomile serves charming homestyle Turkish/Mediterranean plates, while Two Nine offers chirashi bowls as well as Japanese pastries by day and omakase by night. Tucked into a Union Market alley, New York import Minetta Tavern has become a go-to for onion soup and roasted bone marrow. And off H Street, Northeast, Providencia is a one-of-a-kind cocktail bar combining Asian and Latin American flavors—plus a can’t-miss baked-Alaska shaved ice.

Peter Thiel has a home in DC’s tony Woodland Normanstone enclave. Mark Zuckerbergbought a pied-à-terre nearby. Jeff Bezos occasionally visits his mammoth house in Kalorama. Along with Elon Musk—who reportedly slept in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building while he ran DOGE—these tech titans have all spurned local hotels while they cozy up with President Trump. And though their political projects may not be popular with a large swath of the local population, there’s at least one upside: Zuckerberg alone is on the hook for about $100,000 a year in District property taxes for his $23 million shack near Observatory Circle.

Bookworms are spoiled when it comes to local shops, and the scene has only gotten more diverse (and specific) with new openings this past year. Romance readers got a store dedicated to bodice-ripping tales when Friends to Lovers opened in Old Town, making a comeback after a fire devastated the original location. Washington’s only Chinese-language bookstore, JF Books, had a journey to Dupont Circle that’s the stuff of novels: It’s a revival of a Shanghai shop that was shut down due to pressure from cultural authorities. Old favorites are even spawning new destinations—Alexandria’s beloved Old Town Books debuted Old Town Junior last fall, dedicated to kids’ titles.

Young Washingtonians are getting stuff done—Congress, take note. Teenagers can claim achievements in the arts and sciences, from Greenbelt’s Fin Davis, the first student playwright at Round House Theatre, to Fairfax high-schooler Heman Bekele, named Time magazine’s Kid of the Year for developing a soap aimed at treating skin cancer. Gen Alpha is already staking its claim in media: Four students host the podcast MD Foodie Boyz, with clips that go viral.