Getting To and Around D.C.
Regardless of how you travel, once in the city you’ll find it easy to get around on foot or by using the Metro system of buses and underground rail. The Foggy Bottom GWU Metro Stop, located on the Blue and Orange Lines, is on our Foggy Bottom Campus at 21st and I Streets, NW.
By Air
The Washington region is served by three major airports:
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
- Dulles International Airport
- Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
Reagan Washington National Airport in suburban Virginia is closest and most convenient to the University. From the airport, you can hop on a Metrorail train or take a taxi directly to the Foggy Bottom Campus.
Dulles International Airport is more distant in the Virginia suburbs. You may want to rent a car, take a taxi or use the Washington Flyer shuttles to get into the city. There is not yet direct rail transport from Dulles to Washington, D.C.
Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), in Maryland, is the most distant area airport from the campus. From BWI, you can rent a car or take the Super Shuttle or Amtrak train into Washington, D.C.
By Rail
The Washington region is served by Amtrak. If traveling by rail, you will arrive at Union Station, not far from the Capitol. Inside Union Station, you can board Metrorail for a short subway ride to the heart of the Foggy Bottom Campus.
By Metro
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority provides an efficient subway system for navigating the city. Extensive Metrobus routes complement it. An extensive network of underground and aboveground trains (Metrorail) serves most of the city and Maryland and Virginia suburbs, as well as Reagan Washington National Airport.
By Car
Washington D.C., is located inside the famous Capital Beltway (I-495), accessible from north and south on Interstate 95, and from the west on I-66. Traveling by car around the Washington area can be challenging, particularly for first-time visitors.
By Taxi
A fleet of thousands of licensed, metered taxis serves Washington, D.C., close-in suburbs and the airports.
By Zip Car
Need a car on occasion? Sign up for ZipCar, a convenient, by-the-hour, self-service car rental program. ZipCars are found on campus and throughout the district. All GW students over the age of 18 can join Zipcar at a discounted rate. Fuel, insurance and Zipcar-only parking are included in the rental rates.
By Bike
Washington, D.C., is on the leading edge of bike travel. More than 700 bike racks have been installed around the city since 2000. Countless miles of bike paths go along the Potomac River, through historic neighborhoods, past Civil War sites, around town and into Virginia and Maryland. You can even take your bike on the Metro.
The District of Columbia also has a self-service, public bike-rental program, one of the first in the nation. SmartBike DC is an alternative transportation network designed to enhance the city's public transportation system. SmartBikes are parked at designated points throughout the city. Like ZipCar, you can register online and, with the wave of a membership card, unlock the key to your temporary wheels.
Ride a Bike
More than 700 bike racks have been installed around the city since 2000.
The GW Experience
Students
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Creating Next Generation Leaders
GW program helps female students connect with leading women across a variety of fields and develop their roles as future women in leadership.
Where the City is a Classroom
Freshman volunteers experience life beyond Foggy Bottom...
Faculty
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GW professor works to eradicate diseases that affect the health, education and economic development of the world's poorest people.
Building the Super Computer
Pioneering lab puts GW at the forefront of high-speed computing and offers GW students unprecedented access to science and skills of the future.
Blast From the Past
Students map an ancient—and dramatic—eruption as part of a geological research program in the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains.
Alumni
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D.C. public health director calls GW education the foundation of his career.
GW Opens Doors
A chance encounter with a GW alumna helped give one GW undergraduate, an aspiring broadcast journalist from Texas, his big break.
The Legend Lives On
The $2 million bequest commitment caps a lifetime of philanthropy and service to GW, establishing the Elyse B. and Donald R. Lehman Endowed Professorship in Theoretical Physics.