By car
Downtown is not driver friendly. There are no above-ground garages, and underground garages are expensive. Street parking is metered, near impossible weekdays, and has a two hour limit. Weeknights and weekends see some easier parking west of the White House and south of Pennsylvania Ave. Meter restrictions end Sa 6:30PM and all day Sunday. It's harder to find parking near Dupont Circle on weekends, although you might luck out around K St after 8PM weeknights.
K St is the main road, while M St is the one way route to Georgetown. Connecticut Ave 17th St below K St is the main route heading north. I-66 comes in from Virginia, but leaving is easier via the Arlington Memorial Bridge south of 23rd St.
It is possible to hail a taxi from the street around the clock, but note that M St going to Georgetown has awful traffic during rush hour and weekend nightsâit's often quicker to walk.
By Metro
Metro's Blue and Orange Lines run through the West End along I St. Foggy Bottom in the west is the most convenient to the Kennedy Center and to George Washington University; it is also the closest station to the eastern part of Georgetown. The walk from Foggy Bottom to the Mall is a little far, but it is the closest metro station in D.C. to West Potomac Park. Farragut West and McPherson Square are mainly for the business district, but they are also both close to Lafayette Park. The latter is also just a couple blocks from the White House Visitor Center.
The Red line cuts across the northeast part of the area, with one stop at Farragut North right on K St. Metro Center is the next stop to the east, in the East End, and is the closest Red Line stop to the White House Visitor Center.
By bus
Metrobus routes downtown can be confusing, so it's best to make sure you don't ride past your intended stop, or you could find yourself lost in a strange part of town quickly. The following run daily roughly until midnight:
80 (http://wmata.com/bus/time...) runs until midnight from Farragut Square east on K St to Chinatown, and west down 18th St past the Corcoran, through Foggy Bottom, and right by the Kennedy Center.
38B (http://wmata.com/bus/time...) runs west on K St from Farragut Square, then up Pennsylvania to M St through Georgetown, and then over the Key Bridge into Arlington, right along Arlington's main commercial strips.
32 and 36 (http://wmata.com/bus/time...) follow the same route as 38B, but turn north on Wisconsin Ave instead of going to Virginia. They also will take you straight east to the the Mall, and then on to Eastern Market
The D.C. Circulator's Georgetown-Union Station "Yellow" line heads east along K St to Chinatown and west, after Washington Circle, up Pennsylvania to M St into Georgetown.