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Census-designated place in Maryland, United States
Photo: Flickr user: Joe Calhoun https://www.flickr.com/people/jcalhoun/, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Potomac is an unincorporated district in Montgomery County, Maryland and a suburb of Washington DC.
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See where Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, lived the last 15 years of her life.
A beautiful contemporary art museum and expansive sculpture garden with many large-scale works, owned by local billionaire Mitchell Rales. Worth going for the architecture and landscaping alone. Ages 12+ only. Reservations are required, although if you just show up, they'll try to let you in if there's room.
The most dramatic section of the C&O Canal National Park on the Potomac River is at Great Falls, a series of cascading falls dropping 76 feet over two-thirds of a mile. A footbridge leads out from the canal trail to an island in the middle of the river, where you'll learn to appreciate why it was necessary to build a canal instead of simply navigating the river! This is a fantastic place for a hike or picnic. The visitor center is in a hotel dating from 1831, which served nineteenth century admirers of these same vistas. During the warm months, W-Su, you can take a ride through the locks of the canal from the tavern on a historic mule-pulled boat! The ride costs $5/person, and be sure to call ahead to make sure it is in operation on the day of your visit.
Unpretentious strip-mall Italian dining at its best. The prices are deceptively low for the quality of food, with lunch being a real bargain. Specializes in fresh fish, although most all the appetizers as well as the pizza remain local favorites. Patio seating. Make reservations.
A very large three building hotel and event/conference center on a quiet, park-like 23 acres with walking/running trails. The catered food draws more or less universal rave reviews from visitors, so bring an appetite, and expect to gain weight. Be forewarned that the rooms, while nice, are quite small and that there isn't much of anything nearby—this hotel caters to business conferences, weddings, etc., rather than to casual travelers.
By bus
Potomac is not very public transport-friendly, but there are a couple bus routes worth noting:
The region, like many American suburbs, is highly dependent on the car, with the infrastructure (and lack of infrastructure) to match.
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Dulles · International · IAD
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