Alexandria’s Old Town has many restaurants and main street style shops. Old Town has a lot charm and character relative to nearby neighborhoods like Crystal City, or Springfield. It is also close to Mt. Vernon, and the along the Mt. Vernon trail for accessing DC by bike.
Visitors should beware that the metro station which services Alexandria (King Street Station) is not centrally located in Alexandria’s Old Town where most tourist will want to spend time. It is about a 30 minute walk or about 15 blocks from the Metro to Old Town. This can be expedited by the free Trolley Street car that shuttles between the Metro and Old Town’s hub. Therefore weigh the pros and cons of staying near the Braddock or Eisenhower Metro instead.
Regardless, staying in this location has its advantages, mostly for visitors coming from the south because Alexandria is not too far off I-95. Another advantage is close proximity to the airport.
The Old Town area is a great location to stay for visitors looking for charm and the opportunity to see some non-traditional DC sites. It is very walkable, well-connected to DC by public transportation, and convenient to Reagan National Airport, so if you are not driving, this location is an ideal one. There are three Metro stations in Alexandria. We recommend taking a look at Braddock or Eisenhower over King Street.
There are four hotels within walking distance to the Braddock Metro station. Braddock is a new Metro station in Alexandria and staying here is preferable to the King Street station in Alexandria because on average hotels are cheaper, plus the location is close to most of Alexandria’s main tourist attractions. The one drawback however, is that each hotel is 5-6 blocks away from the Metro. 
