The newly renovated McLean Hilton

Spring Weekends

After a $45 million renovation, the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner (hilton.com) can declare itself the ideal stay for travelers—feedback from hotel guests guided the renovations to the lobby, fitness center and meeting spaces. You’ll find a tech lounge with free printing, an 18-hour lobby bar and more than 450 redesigned guestrooms.

Susur Lee's signature Singapore salad at Zentan

Winter Weekends in Washington

Perfect Bites. The Chinese Year of the Dragon will be celebrated by “Top Chef Masters” contestant Susur Lee at Zentan (inside Donovan House; zentanrestaurant.com). Stop by during the week of Jan. 23, the Chinese New Year, for his celebratory dishes such as long stir-fried Empress noodles or his famous Singapore slaw.

Want a perfect holiday treat? Step inside Buzz Bakery, with locations in Arlington and Alexandria.

Cabin Fever Cure: 6 Mini-Vacation Ideas in D.C.

Winter weekends can elicit a range of emotions and thoughts, foremost of which is GET ME THE HECK OUT OF HERE. Even if you’re not booking a flight for warmer climes, an in-town escape can be an antidote to the pool of slushy nothingness that sometimes plagues our weekends. Our six suggestions to deliver you from the cabin-fever scourge:

Fall-Winter Getaway Gems in Charlottesville

If you’ve ever ordered a dish, eyeballed the fare on your dinner companion’s plate and felt the biting flush of envy and buyer’s remorse, chef Tucker Yoder has created a menu for you. The Virginia-born-and-raised food master at the Clifton Inn (cliftoninn.net; from $155) crafts evenings of culinary giddiness with small dishes arranged in four categories (delicate, light, full-bodied, robust) and says, in no uncertain terms: Go for it.

5 Great Leaf-Watching Spots Close to D.C.

In Blue Highways, one of the finest travel books ever written, William Least Heat-Moon said hitting the road is a gift and “a chance to inquire, to know nothing for certain. An inheritance of wonder…”

True enough—especially in the fall.

Paul Gelsobello

Chilly nights are a little steamier at Kimpton's Hotel Rouge.

Fall Weekend Ideas

Perfect Stay. What better way to celebrate a birthday than with a stiff drink? Kimpton’s Hotel Rouge (rougehotel.com) recently reopened the doors to Bar Rouge with decadent red walls and new savory plates to share (we like the lamb meatballs and tangy asparagus salad). Opt for a cocktail (the Taurus 38 special, with cachaça, lemon juice and prosecco, is a clear winner) or one of the new assortment of wines on tap, and lounge on a cozy velvet banquette before heading upstairs to animal print−adorned rooms.

"Shadows," a blockbuster exhibit of Andy Warhols work, opens at the Hirshhorn Museum Sept. 25 and runs through mid-Jan.

12 Fun Things to Do in D.C. This Fall

15 Minutes+

Video: How to Navigate D.C.’s Confusing Streets

Ever been on P Street, blissfully heading toward Georgetown and quickly discover it slams into Wisconsin—without any logic whatsoever?

Don't worry, it happens. So do misguided walking and driving adventures around D.C.'s traffic circles and avenues. Even for locals, the logic of the "grid" established by Pierre L'Enfant can seem somewhat convoluted.

Too hot for outdoor movies and tired of the crowded cineplex? Check out the lounge at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Dupont Circle Hotel, screening indie films all summer.

6 Summer Weekend Ideas in D.C.

Perfect Stay. Summer is the ideal time for flicks in the city, and the swank Lounge at the Renaissance, Washington D.C. Dupont Circle Hotel (marriott.com) is getting into the game. The hotel screens independent films for the public in conjunction with the area’s many film festivals—a different movie, plus theater bites (think Kobe beef and ahi tuna sliders) and sips, shows every Tuesday evening, July 12 through Aug. 23.

Chesapeake Bay crab cake at chef Todd Gray's new hot spot, Watershed.

6 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Summer Weekends

Perfect Bites. Todd Gray, the mastermind behind Equinox, opens another promising enterprise, Watershed, in the new NoMa Capitol Hill Hilton Garden Inn, featuring a raw bar and lounge plus a “mobile bar” with Friday evening live music on the outdoor patio. The semi-casual spot will dish out regional fare, so expect a lot of seafood; don’t miss the raw bar.