Beyond the Monuments in Washington, DC is your guide to some of the US capital's cool places to visit that extend way beyond power and politics.

Travel writer Kate Armstrong covers all of the new hip locales, including H Street Corridor, 14th Street and Union Market District, and the hangouts of historic Georgetown and Dupont Circle. She offers a local's take on where to go for great coffee, crafty cocktails, DC-centric shopping and superlative sights (these include the freebie 'must dos' around the Mall, such as the National Museum of the African American History and Culture, and the Library of Congress). There are fun, themed walking itineraries for U Street, old town Alexandria, and gardens and homes of Georgetown, plus three accessible daytrips to Mount Vernon, Richmond, and Gettysburg.

There's so much to see and do in this under-rated city, and this book in the Curious Travel Guides series will add polish to your visit.