Capital Region (Maryland)

• 🌍 Bethesda — the liveliest and most upscale urban center in the Maryland suburbs, right on the D.C. border, and with a density of restaurants, hotels, and bars rivaling the district's downtown neighborhoods
• 🌍 College Park — the name says it all—this is home to the University of Maryland's main campus and its many boisterous students. Plenty of cheap eats and nightlife abound
• 🌍 Frederick — much less a suburb and much more a separate city, Frederick is worth visiting for its charming city center and colonial and Civil War-era history
• 🌍 Gaithersburg — a big suburban city, with a charming historic Old Town around the old train station, brand new retail districts, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology headquarters
• 🌍 Germantown — another large, lush and diverse suburban city in the state's biotech corridor. Melds seamlessly with neighboring Gaithersburg
• 🌍 Greenbelt — a quiet suburb with the NASA Goddard Visitor Center—a great attraction, especially for kids
• 🌍 Kensington — a small, quirky residential neighborhood home to the famous National Mormon Temple and the popular Antique Row shopping strip
• 🌍 Rockville — a large, diverse suburban city on the I-270 technology corridor, with a lot of businesses, and a seemingly infinite retail and restaurants, both in the urbanized walkable section of the town and the endless strip malls radiating outwards in all directions.
• 🌍 Silver Spring — vying with Bethesda for the title of principal suburban nightlife and accommodations king, Silver Spring skews younger and edgier, and considerably more diverse and affordable than its wealthier neighbor

• 🌍 Six Flags America — perhaps the greatest location of the national amusement park chain
• Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park — the beautiful and historic canal and surrounding parklands running alongside the Potomac River from D.C. all the way to Cumberland in Western Maryland

The Capital Region is the most densely populated region of the state, home to the most populated Washington, D.C. suburbs, and satellite cities worth visiting, such as Bethesda, Gaithersburg, College Park, Silver Spring, Kensington, and Rockville. Rock Creek National Park is another reason why you would find yourself here—the long bike/running trail is great. Much of it, though, is suburban sprawl that has covered all the once beautiful Piedmont Plateau, and does not constitute any kind of tourist attraction, although plenty visit on business.

Frederick County, while still in the capital's orbit, has a more rural character, as do northern parts of Montgomery County and southern parts of Prince George's County.

In general, the Maryland Capital Region is not the type of place you visit for sightseeing—you visit it to see family, or on business, since it is a huge commercial and residential center. But there are a few odd sights to find off the beaten path. The largest is the Emerald Palace-like National LDS Temple in Kensington, which boasts a spectacular display of Christmas lights and nativity scenes during Advent every year. NASA's visitor center in Greenbelt is another great reason to venture forth from Washington, D.C. for a Maryland attraction. Perhaps the most important sight, though, is Great Falls in Potomac by the C&O Canal on the Potomac River. You'll be surprised by how big and impressive the falls are, and the Maryland side is great for viewing them—you get to walk out along a long bridge to an island in the middle of the river.

The Capital Region sees three main activities outside the capital itself: hiking and biking along the C&O Canal, doing the same in Rock Creek Park, and rooting on the Terrapins at the big University of Maryland sporting events.

Also consider hiking up Sugarloaf Mountain, located in Dickerson. It's a popular local destination for hiking and picnicking. Although the land is privately owned, it is open to the public and no entrance fee is charged.

Bethesda has many top-notch restaurants, serving all the suburbanites who converge upon the small city nightly. For a cheaper and less crowded experience, look for some of the great ethnic restaurants in southern Silver Spring and in College Park. However, by far the region's most authentic and affordable cuisine is to be found in the rather unassuming suburb of Wheaton, just north of Silver Spring. Everything from Jewish and Thai, to Japanese and Congolese, can be found in hole-in-the-wall restaurants and strip malls, at very reasonable prices. It would be a shame to visit the D.C. area and miss out on the array of cuisines in this small suburb.

The Route 193 "International Corridor" near Takoma Park has a variety of immigrant-fueled cuisine — everything from Indian to Peruvian. Alas, much of the rest of the region has fallen victim to endless strip malls full of middle-of-the-road chain restaurants.

Serious nightlife aficionados are probably going to want take the Metro into D.C. on the weekends, but someone looking to knock back a drink after work can find reasonable selections in most neighborhoods, especially Bethesda and Silver Spring. College Park is acceptable for these purposes — but only if you're under 25. Farther out, Frederick has some bars that may be worth your while.

The two neighborhoods with the greatest concentration and range of accommodations options are Bethesda and Silver Spring, as they cater to visitors of D.C., particularly who want to avoid the district's astronomical hotel tax. Many of the residential suburbs of D.C. don't have much by way of hotel options, but there are hotels throughout the sprawl wherever there are clusters of businesses—Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Laurel, Largo, etc. And of course, farther flung cities and towns like Frederick, Bowie, Greenbelt, etc. all have hotels catering to their own visitors. Camping is available in Greenbelt Park and there is a path to walk from the campground to the College Park Metro stop.

• Washington, D.C. — The glaringly obvious next destination from the Capital Region is the Capital itself.
• Baltimore's Inner Harbor — North on I-95, with tons of great museums and the National Aquarium.
• Annapolis — Maryland's historic capital and one of the oldest cities in the country, home to the US Naval Academy.
• Chesapeake Bay — East on US-50 heads straight to the beautiful bay's sailing and crab-eating culture.
• Ocean City — An oceanside resort town further along on US-50.
• Harpers Ferry — West of Frederick on US-340, famous for Civil War history and natural beauty.
• Northwest on I-70 — charming Hagerstown, the mountains of Western Maryland, and the Civil War Battlefield of Antietam.