Washington, DC - a spectacular city- comes highly recommended by oir cabin crew member Francisco Arroyo

Francisco Arroyo Pinilla has been a member of Iberia’s cabin crew since 2015. His love for Washington, DC began in 2008, when he took his first intercontinental flight at the age of 17.

“I lived with an American family  in Washington during part of my school year. It was on my Iberia flight  to Washington that I got bitten by  the flying bug,” he says. 

The best views: Thanks to films, we’ve all been to Washington DC, the Capitol, the White House, the Lincoln and Washington memorials, the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery... They’re all located  on the National Mall, a grassy area of  more than 3.5km in the heart of the city. Without a doubt, the best place for enjoying all of them is from the top of  the Washington Memorial (Obelisk).

Museum: My passion for aviation leads me directly to the Air and Space Museum, which is located on the National Mall  itself and focuses on the history of airplanes and the conquest of space.  My second favourite is the Marian Koshland Science Museum, where you  can discover how to solve the problem  of global warming or experience what it  is like to age, among other things.

Shopping: The scope and proximity  of Fashion Centre in Pentagon City  (yellow metro line) or U Street (on 14th Street) make them the best places for shopping. If you really want to buy the best brands at the best prices, it’s worth going to Clarksburg Premium Outlets.  The city’s best shops and boutiques for vintage clothing and indie fashion are  in Georgetown.

Something good to eat: You’ve got to try the traditional food truck hot dog while you enjoy the monuments on the National Mall. And if you want to experience authentic local culinary culture, don’t miss Ted’s Bulletin, which has the best shakes and burgers in the entire city. If you can, go to Martin’s Tavern in Georgetown, the famous bar where John F Kennedy asked his wife to marry him. Since then, it’s become a mecca for proposals. If you  go, you’ll probably see more than one.

If you’re travelling with family:  One thing Washington has plenty of  is parks and activities for kids. There’s  Glen Echo Park and its classic carousels,  and Rock Creek Park, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens for enjoying all kinds  of birds in their natural environment.  You can rent bikes, kayaks and boats  at Waterfront Park. And there’s a  museum that the kids will love to visit:  the International Spy Museum (shhh!).

Don’t miss: A river cruise on the Potomac at the end of the day to see the city’s  most famous sites lit up by the sunset. Impressive. And Nasa, Chinatown and  the J Edgar Hoover Building (the offices  of the FBI), which appears in countless series and films.