If you’re in town for the President’s Inauguration this weekend, you’re going to need a good app for the DC metro that will guide you around the city. While DC has a great metro system, it can be confusing for newcomers and those who don’t use it all the time. Having a metro map and schedules right on your phone is incredibly valuable and will make your trip less stressful.
Metro 24 is one of the top apps for navigating around different subways. It is a bit pricey at $4.00, but it is a general app that, once purchased, gives you access to a variety of city metros. The only US cities supported at the moment are Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC, but there are a lot of international cities available.
Once you open the app, you’ll choose which metro you would like to view and it will bring up a map of the entire system. Each stop is clickable and will give you a variety of options:
- From Here: Gives you directions from the metro station selected
- To Here: Provides directions to the metro station of your choosing
- Favorites: Adds the station to your favorites for easy access in the future
- What is nearby? Gives you recommendations for restaurants, tourist sports and more around the station
- I’m Here!: Will make your phone remember all WiFi/GSM transmitters at the station selected so you don't have to go through the process every time
- Next Train: Lets you know the next train from the station
- There’s also a button on the bottom left side of the app that notifies you of the current status of the metro. It gives you a simple graphic as to whether the lines are delayed or running as scheduled.
Another useful button within the app is one that helps plan a trip. You choose which station you want to go to and it will provide detailed instructions as to how to get there.
For the Inauguration, here are details: The official swearing in will take place on Monday, January 21st at 11:30am on the National Mall. There are a number of metro stations that you can get off at for the National Mall. Smithsonian (blue & orange), Federal Triangle (blue & orange), Archives (green & yellow), L’Enfant (blue, green, orange, yellow), Federal Center (blue & orange).
The National Mall is the area between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. You’ll be right at the Reflecting Pool and the major Smithsonian Museums. It is in a great location and is likely to very crowded this weekend and on Inauguration day.
