What do you think of the Wharf & Navy Yard?

[Anonymous]

Spent last Saturday at the Wharf and it was packed. Plenty to see, do and eat. Live DJ, there was a dragon boat race going on, and you can sit with a coffee or ice cream and watch the boats/people.

Went from there over to Navy Yard / Yards Park and had a sampler of local beers at Bluejacket then walked along the boardwalk.

Some call these two waterfront neighborhoods too shiny or planned, and yes that's fair, but I for one love having another neighborhood to check out that is different than the rest of D.C. I won't be living there, but these are fun places to visit on a weekend afternoon.

These two neighborhoods...are you a fan, or not a fan?

[Anonymous]

Navy Yard is okay. I don’t care for the Wharf, it has a suburban feel and most of the restaurants are too expensive/not kid friendly.

[Anonymous]

LOVED the Warf. The only problem is parking.

[Anonymous]

I really like Navy Yard, especially the open areas and the wading pool. It's a nice place to spend a summer evening. The Wharf is completely different - a suburban vision of an urban destination. I do like the Anthem for shows.

[Anonymous]

Trump staffer ville? No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOVED the Warf. The only problem is parking.

While it doesn't apply to everyone, it is nice that Waterfront Metro stop is only 2 blocks away.

Also convenient to uber/lyft there from many D.C. neighborhoods or Arlington/Alexandria...rather than spend $26 to park, that will roughly cover the cost of round-trip uber fare.

[Anonymous]

I live in between the two. I like the restaurants at the Navy Yard better (I'm more of a fast-casual person than a fancy diner) and it's nice to be able to walk to baseball games. At the Wharf, I like the fish market, soda pop shop for soft-serv, and the fact that it has a hardware/bike shop (which sells coffee and beer too!) and a bookstore and a CVS (the one on 4th street SW is terribly run).

But much of what I do in the neighborhood isn't at either location--it's stuff like the grocery store, library, farmer's markets, community garden, Randall Pool, and Arena Stage.

I also like how easy it is to get other places, via metro, bus, walking, biking, or driving. It's not hard to find a taxi or Uber, and DCA is so close--I have made it from my bed to the gate in under an hour before.

There are not many places to live where you can wake up in the morning and ask yourself "should I go to a free world-class museum, a professional sporting event, a play, or boat ride today?" and be able to walk to any of them. The area isn't perfect and it isn't cheap, but I love living here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOVED the Warf. The only problem is parking.

While it doesn't apply to everyone, it is nice that Waterfront Metro stop is only 2 blocks away.

Also convenient to uber/lyft there from many D.C. neighborhoods or Arlington/Alexandria...rather than spend $26 to park, that will roughly cover the cost of round-trip uber fare.

Or the water taxi over from Old Town

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Navy Yard is okay. I don’t care for the Wharf, it has a suburban feel and most of the restaurants are too expensive/not kid friendly.

I love the Wharf and think the exact opposite. Its the only neighborhood in DC with waterfront access and amazing amenities. The outdoor entertainment with live musicians feels like the kind of thing you'd see in Miami and California. We're lucky to have it here.

[Anonymous]

Love the Wharf - sure, its expensive and touristy and kind of hoky - but feels like a little vacation when I go there jus tto walk around/rent a kayak/eat for a couple hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spent last Saturday at the Wharf and it was packed. Plenty to see, do and eat. Live DJ, there was a dragon boat race going on, and you can sit with a coffee or ice cream and watch the boats/people.

Went from there over to Navy Yard / Yards Park and had a sampler of local beers at Bluejacket then walked along the boardwalk.

Some call these two waterfront neighborhoods too shiny or planned, and yes that's fair, but I for one love having another neighborhood to check out that is different than the rest of D.C. I won't be living there, but these are fun places to visit on a weekend afternoon.

These two neighborhoods...are you a fan, or not a fan?

It's ok to have these places to visit for variety reasons, I would not call it a "neighborhood", it's more like artificial commercial strip type of development where you drive and park to walk around. Wharf is pretty small and overrated, restaurants were very meh and expensive and not much else to do. Ok for a day or an evening, but no burning desire to be back there honestly given that it's harder to get there.
Overall it helps to have more areas in DC to go out and spend a day with family/friends, also nice to have more waterfront options served by ferry, but it would be better if service is more frequent. There isn't much around that part of DC if you don't live there, it's not as accessible, there are also sketchy parts nearby and not a pleasant walk to metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love the Wharf - sure, its expensive and touristy and kind of hoky - but feels like a little vacation when I go there jus tto walk around/rent a kayak/eat for a couple hours.

I see the appeal of the waterfront and boats, but it really isn't a culinary attraction. I found restaurants to be disappointing and more expensive than necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Navy Yard is okay. I don’t care for the Wharf, it has a suburban feel and most of the restaurants are too expensive/not kid friendly.

I love the Wharf and think the exact opposite. Its the only neighborhood in DC with waterfront access and amazing amenities. The outdoor entertainment with live musicians feels like the kind of thing you'd see in Miami and California. We're lucky to have it here.

What? It's definitely not the only area of DC with waterfront access. Georgetown waterfront has been around for a while even before the new park opened up. Alexandria also has waterfront and water views.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spent last Saturday at the Wharf and it was packed. Plenty to see, do and eat. Live DJ, there was a dragon boat race going on, and you can sit with a coffee or ice cream and watch the boats/people.

Went from there over to Navy Yard / Yards Park and had a sampler of local beers at Bluejacket then walked along the boardwalk.

Some call these two waterfront neighborhoods too shiny or planned, and yes that's fair, but I for one love having another neighborhood to check out that is different than the rest of D.C. I won't be living there, but these are fun places to visit on a weekend afternoon.

These two neighborhoods...are you a fan, or not a fan?

It would be better if these two areas were somehow connected by something other than infrequent and slow ferry. It's hard to get from one to another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Navy Yard is okay. I don’t care for the Wharf, it has a suburban feel and most of the restaurants are too expensive/not kid friendly.

I love the Wharf and think the exact opposite. Its the only neighborhood in DC with waterfront access and amazing amenities. The outdoor entertainment with live musicians feels like the kind of thing you'd see in Miami and California. We're lucky to have it here.

What? It's definitely not the only area of DC with waterfront access. Georgetown waterfront has been around for a while even before the new park opened up. Alexandria also has waterfront and water views.

A) Alexandria is in Virginia.

B) I know about Georgetown hence my qualifier 'and amazing amenities'. Georgetown's waterfront is boring and sad. And its their own fault. The local community has been fighting development in business and transportation for decades. Well now stores are closing left and right, and people are flocking to other areas of D.C. and the Wharf to get what they could have been.