Well worth the long lines

Walking along the cobblestone sidewalks of Georgetown’s M Street, it’s easy to pretend you’re on a movie set or in a cute European village. Lined with a mix of high-end boutiques, bakeries, cupcake shops and specialty stores, this part of Washington may seem too elite to enjoy on a college budget.  But with a little careful planning, you can get a luxurious feel on a day trip that won’t break the bank.

Transportation:


Take the 104 Metro bus to the College Park Metro station to start off your day. Keep in mind the time of day you travel and extra charges for using paper fare cards versus SmarTrip cards when factoring in extra costs.  Take the Green line toward Branch Avenue and transfer to either the Blue or Orange lines at L’Enfant Plaza to get off at the Foggy Bottom stop. The total trip takes around 35 to 40 minutes one-way and costs about $2.75.  

Once at the Foggy Bottom station, you can choose to walk the rest of the way to Georgetown or take the D.C. city bus for only $1.00. The walk itself takes about 10 minutes and isn’t bad on a nice day.  

Window Shopping Wonders:


Once you’ve arrived on M Street, there’s no shortage of fun shops to poke around in and little nooks to check out. When I went with my best friend, we stopped in small accessories shops, athletic boutiques, chickened out of going into the designer stores and tried on the most ridiculous looking things we could find at Urban Outfitters.  

Make sure to check out the side streets shooting off from M Street as well. And if you see someone with a shopping bag for a store you like, ask for directions to help you hunt it down.  

Cupcake Heaven:

After all that walking we were feeling pretty hungry and set off to find Georgetown Cupcake toward the end of M Street, the same cupcake shop featured on TLC’s D.C. Cupcakes. Surprisingly for a Saturday afternoon, the line was only 25 minutes to get inside. It can be up to an hour, but if you’re willing to wait, the cupcakes really are amazing.  

The wait gives you time to decide between at least 25 flavors including daily specials and seasonal flavors. See the full menu here. If you go in multiples of three and each person orders two, it comes out to $5.00 per person. Better yet, be the hero of your group of friends and take orders. If they pay you back, the average cost is even lower.  

The best cost for transportation and two cupcakes a person is under $12.00.  Use the money you saved to pick up something for yourself in one of the great Georgetown shops or snag another cupcake.