M St NW — Local services in Washington

M Street NW (and a bit into NE) is more than just the half-mile stretch of Georgetown, known for an array of upscale boutiques and restaurants. It's over three miles of exciting neighborhoods, ranging from the hot new developments in NoMA, where you'll find a Metro stop that shows how effective mixed-use planning can be, to the Mount Vernon district from around 4th to around 11th street where you'll find everything from Italianate rowhouses from the mid-1800s, sidewalk cafes, and of course a portion of the Washington Convention Center, where there's Metro Green and Yellow Line access. Heading further west, after a short stretch of apartment blocks at the southern fringe of Logan Circle and as you cross Thomas Circle, you'll soon be in the Golden Triangle midtown district that offers many things you want from this slice of the city center. Sure, the street level activity is hit and miss in this stretch and many businesses are catered to office workers, but the view of the White House crossing 16th and the free exhibit inside the lobby of the National Geographic Society at 17th are suggested diversions. The intersection with Connecticut Ave. has a number of stores and restaurants in the vicinity, along with the block between 18th and 19th. As you come around that bend with New Hampshire Ave, although the street level options quite down a bit, you'll still be reminded that you're in the Nation's Capital with the Ritz-Carlton along with a huge athletic club in the mid-20s. Finally, you'll cross Rock Creek and enter M Street's most famous stretch as one of the two principal main streets of Georgetown. There's even the idea of planning a new Metro line (a rerouted Blue Line) along much of the stretch listed above, and this could potentially add even new life to...

Very pleasant walking street, we only walked it from like 34 to 29, it is a very beautiful walk with many small stores, reminds me of historical areas of Barcelona and Venice. Not very suitable for bikes because sidewalks are small and full of cafe tables. I would like to walk there...

One of the duller streets in town. Bunch of ugly modern office...