Saturday

4) 9 A.M. Upmarket Morning

It took a few years, but now Union Market in the city’s northeastern quadrant has become Washington’s swankiest and most-trafficked indoor market. Though the 22,000-square-foot space hosts several restaurants, some excellent specialty vendors and a seasonal farmers’ market, it achieves peak appeal during weekend breakfast hours. That’s when mostly young and affluent locals gather at tables over the freshly prepared goods of (among others) DC Empanadas, Panorama Bakery and Peregrine Espresso, while others avail themselves of the city’s best fresh seafood and meat grocers. After becoming properly caffeinated, stretch your legs and search for take-home items like imported spices and high-end cutlery.

5) 11 A.M. Celebrating Women Artists

Though the sumptuous and expansive National Museum of Women in the Arts was opened in 1987, the world’s only major space dedicated to the work of female artists has never received the touristic attention it deserves. The museum’s recent special exhibits include abstract works by female African-American artists and a Mexico City-based artist’s use of a clothesline to depict instances of violence against women. Its permanent collection features work from around the globe, as well as revered American artists like the celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz and the impressionist painter Ellen Day Hale. On the mezzanine level, a quiet and lovely cafe is one of the city’s best refuges (admission for adults, $10).

The bar and dining area of Ana, the elegant in-house restaurant at the District Winery. Credit Darren S. Higgins for The New York Times



6) 1 P.M. Winery in the Capital City

One of the fastest-growing neighborhoods is the 42-acre stretch along the Anacostia River known as the Yards. Though it teems with barhopping millennials, the area hasn’t been regarded as a fine-dining destination. That may change with the recent opening of the District Winery — which, as its name suggests, makes more than a dozen wines on-site, using grapes harvested from Virginia, California and New York. The wines, crafted by the Brooklyn Winery veteran Conor McCormack, are uniformly excellent (particularly the zinfandel and cabernet franc). You can tour the winery, try each selection at the tasting bar and buy bottles to take home. Best of all, enjoy exquisite pairings of the wine with New American cuisine at the casually elegant in-house restaurant Ana, overlooking the river. (Winery tour and tasting, $35. Lunch for two without wine, about $80.)

7) 4 P.M. Forgotten Warriors

A trip to the nation’s capital wouldn’t feel complete without at least a glancing view of its many war monuments. The most underappreciated one is today — thanks to President Trump’s ongoing war of insults with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un — perhaps the most topical: the Korean War Veterans Memorial, on the western flank of the National Mall, in the shadows of the much-visited Lincoln Memorial. Dedicated in 1995, its evocative centerpiece consists of 19 stainless steel statues of American soldiers trudging through heavy brush with grim and hyper-alert expressions. In subtle acknowledgment of that war’s vague objectives and not-altogether-satisfying outcome, the etched tribute notes that the soldiers “answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met.”

8) 5:30 P.M. Rooftop Refreshments

Few buildings in Washington are wrapped up in the city’s political intrigue as much as the Watergate, a complex of condominiums and hotel rooms on the banks of the Potomac River. Though the botched burglary in 1972 that metastasized into the toppling of the Nixon presidency began in what the hotel now bills as “Scandal Room 214,” today there’s an additional reason to visit: the Watergate’s Top of the Gate outdoor bar, which opened this past summer and offers the best 360-degree, cocktail-laden views of the city. There is even a small ice-skating rink (with artificial ice) nestled beside the bar. If the weather turns foul, repair to the amply stocked whiskey bar on the lobby level.

The wagyu steak and eggs at Himitsu, arguably the city’s most creative dining spot. Credit Darren S. Higgins for The New York Times



9) 7:30 P.M. Riverside Seafood

Washington’s newest development to the southwest, the Wharf, is still a work in progress and for the moment retains the half-populated and over-polished facade of the waterfront town in “The Truman Show.” Already, however, it features one of Washington’s culinary stars: Del Mar de Fabio Trabocchi, the brainchild of Fabio Trabocchi, whose Italian restaurant in Georgetown, Fiola Mare, has supplanted Cafe Milano as the city’s reigning celebrity magnet. Mr. Trabocchi’s Spanish and seafood-centric restaurant opened its doors in October and has instantly become a Michelin star-worthy enterprise. In studied contrast to hip newcomers like Himitsu, Del Mar’s cavernous and fish-sculpture-bedecked interior is designed to dazzle the eyes. But as with all of Mr. Trabocchi’s restaurants, the food still counts most here. From the mango-colored gazpacho to the velvety Iberian ham to the selection of standout paellas, Del Mar is the only reason anyone needs to visit the Wharf — though likely there’ll be more in the coming months. (Dinner for two without wine is about $140.)

10) 10 P.M. Cozy Coda

Yet another fast-developing Washington neighborhood is Brookland, dominated by Catholic University and the majestic Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The city’s newest high-quality restaurant, Primrose, opened here just after Thanksgiving. Though the casual, if gorgeously appointed, French bistro serves on-target country staples like coq au vin and boeuf Bourguignon until 11 on weekend nights, Primrose is also ideally suited for nightcaps. Sitting at the bar among a diverse neighborhood crowd with one of the restaurant’s 15 wines by the glass (all from France or Virginia — several of the latter being made by the co-owner Sebastian Zutant) to accompany stout cheeses and rillettes de lapin, you would have no reason to suspect that you’re in anybody’s idea of a swamp, much less a drain-worthy one.