National Harbor is a relatively new waterfront development in Maryland, located along the Potomac River just outside Washington, D.C. Built during the 2000s, the area was designed around hotels, restaurants, shops, entertainment, and the waterfront. Compared with the historic towns and cities surrounding Washington, almost everything here feels new and planned.
The main streets are lined with restaurants, hotels, and small shops, making National Harbor more of a resort and entertainment district than a traditional town. Its location on the Potomac also makes the waterfront a major part of the experience, and you can walk along the river or simply stop at one of the restaurants overlooking the water.
One of the more unusual activities I came across was this ship with a rope-climbing course built around its masts. Visitors could put on a harness and climb between different sections of the rigging at various heights. With the Potomac right beside it, it was certainly a more interesting attraction than I expected to find in a newly built shopping and hotel district.
There are also plenty of ways to get onto the river itself. Boats operate around the harbor, and ferries connect National Harbor with destinations across the Potomac, including Old Town Alexandria. That makes it possible to combine a visit here with some of the much older historic areas surrounding Washington.
One of the biggest landmarks at National Harbor is the Gaylord National Resort. The enormous hotel and convention complex is especially impressive from the inside, where its glass-covered atrium creates a huge indoor space filled with plants, walkways, restaurants, and gathering areas. Even if you’re not staying at the hotel, the atrium itself is worth walking through while exploring National Harbor.
Along the waterfront I also came across this giant hand emerging from the ground. It’s actually part of a much larger sculpture called The Awakening, which depicts a giant struggling to rise out of the earth. The hand was the part that caught my attention, although I still think the giant hand I found along the beach in Uruguay was cooler.
National Harbor isn’t somewhere I’d consider a major destination on its own, especially with Washington, D.C. and Alexandria so close by. Still, the waterfront, restaurants, unusual attractions, and massive Gaylord complex make it an interesting place to spend a few hours. More than anything, it provides a completely modern contrast to many of the historic places found elsewhere around the Chesapeake and Potomac region.
