Upper Northwest, Washington, D.C.: neighborhood guide

Upper Northwest is the wealthy, green, residential wedge of Washington north and west of Georgetown, running along Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues from Woodley Park up to the Maryland line. It is a group of small neighbourhoods rather than one place, and each has its own commercial strip.

Woodley Park and Cleveland Park sit closest to downtown and have the densest restaurant rows. Van Ness and Tenleytown are quieter and more student-and-family oriented, with American University nearby. Friendship Heights, split between D.C. and Maryland, is the shopping end, with high-end retailers on Wisconsin Avenue. Glover Park, just north of Georgetown, holds most of the area's nightlife. Chevy Chase and Palisades are almost entirely residential, wooded and expensive.

The two big sights are the Smithsonian National Zoo in Woodley Park and Washington National Cathedral, which sits between Woodley Park and Glover Park. Rock Creek Park and the C&O Canal towpath along the Potomac give the area its green edge.

Stay here if your trip is built around the zoo, the cathedral, or a calmer base with easy Red Line trains into downtown. The Red Line reaches Farragut North, Metro Center and Union Station without a change, so the National Mall and Capitol Hill are a straightforward ride rather than a walk.

Skip it if you are a first-time visitor who wants to step out of the hotel into bars, or to walk to the Mall and monuments. Georgetown, Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan-Columbia Heights put you closer to that. Upper Northwest evenings are quiet, and several of its best-known corners — the cathedral, Glover Park, Palisades — have no Metro station at all.

Each neighbourhood has its own strip, so pick by what you want rather than by a single centre. Woodley Park and Cleveland Park along Connecticut Avenue have the widest choice and are the easiest to reach from the Metro. Van Ness has a well-regarded cluster of local restaurants and delis and a popular farmers market. Tenleytown is more everyday, with small stores and casual places near the university.

Glover Park carries the area's nightlife, with a slightly older crowd than the student bars south in Georgetown and Adams Morgan. Friendship Heights and Chevy Chase lean upscale, and Palisades has a handful of higher-end restaurants near the canal. Prices are D.C. prices: expect mid-range to expensive, plus sales tax and a tip of 18–22% at sit-down places.

The Red Line is the backbone. Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan, Cleveland Park, Van Ness-UDC, Tenleytown-AU and Friendship Heights stations are all named for what is above them, and trains run into downtown and on to Union Station. From Woodley Park-Zoo it is about an 800 m walk over the Calvert Street bridge to Adams Morgan.

For the National Cathedral, Glover Park and Palisades you need a bus, taxi or rideshare; Metrobus covers these streets. Driving works but parking is competitive, with two-hour limits on many streets closer to downtown and easier parking out in Palisades. Watch the reversible lanes: Canal Road runs one-way at weekday rush hours and Connecticut Avenue has reversible left lanes, so read the signs before you commit.

The area is hilly, which makes cycling harder than downtown; Capital Bikeshare docks are sparse in the residential streets, though the Rock Creek Trail through Rock Creek Park is a good ride.