25. March 2025
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The View of DC – The Observation Deck at CEB Tower Arlington

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

The View of DC

22 USD
The View of DC
4.6

Rating

 4.6/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Lovely View of Washington
  • You can reduce the admission price (at least) down to 16 USD by vouchers
  • Very relaxed atmosphere, not too crowded
  • Hover DC ride

If you want to see Singapore from above, you likely take the Singapore Flyer. London Eye has been an icon for the British capital for years now – and there are mutiple locations to enjoy a birds-eye view of New York City. But what about Washington D.C.? Since about a year there is the Observation Deck at the CEB Tower. As this place is located in Arlington, right across Pontomac River in Virginia, it started very slowly. The much more catching name “The View of DC” (not dots in between) and raising attendance on tripadvisor and other travel platform made it grow. I visited the place on the second day of my 2019 trip to the CMA Fest in Nashville.

 

The View of DC – Location and Admission

If you travel Washington by Metro, you just cannot miss The View of DC: the entrance to the CEB Tower is right across the exit of Rosslyn Station, which is quite well connected. The area is a business area with a couple of restaurants and cafes around.

The nominal adult admission is 22 USD. If you buy the tickets online, there is a one dollar reduction. You easily find coupons which reduce the online price to 16 USD per person. Online tickets are timed, though, which means you should be quite sure about the weather conditions at that time. I had a lovely view in the evening hours. Opening times are 10:00 to 20:00, so that you may even enjoy the sunset from above. At the time of writing, there was no need to reserve a timeslot due to high attendance, e.g. in contrast to Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

 

The View of DC – The Views

The service was very efficient and very quickly after the mandatory security checks, I have been in the elevator to 31st floor. The panoramic view area is circular, you practically have a 360 degrees view of the area. As you can see in the pictures, there is some sort of bench nearly all around. In addition, there are some informative screens. The admission also grants you a nice (quite high quality) booklet to identify the buildings and area you see from above.

Views of Arlington and Virginia

The way I started my way around The View of D.C. I first had some views of the Arlington / Virginia area around. This might not sound too thrilling, but of course, this includes sights like Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon or Ronald Reagan National Airport. I even had a clear view to Doubletree Washington Crystal City, where I stayed in for two nights.

 

 

 

 

Views of Washington

Here are the views of the US capital. You have excellent views over National Mall, but you will also love to watch the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the famous Watergate or Washington Harbor. A bit more in the background is the Basilica of the National Shrine.

Planespotting

One nice thing which is not advertised is that the CEB Tower can also be an excellent location for planespotting. If you are lucky and planes touch down from Northerly direction and the sight is fine, the River Visual route to Reagan Airport is making a lovely turn around the Viewtower. Unfortunately, I did not have the right equipment for even better planespotting with me.

 

The View of DC – Hover DC

The people who found The View of DC are really focused on creating additional value to the visit. One of these add-ons definitely is Hover DC. In a room surrounded by curtain, you stand on a screen, which is simulating that you are flying over the capital area. It may not be the best thing you have done in your life, but it is definitely a nice experience. Other places would charge you five to ten dollars for this one – in Arlington, it is for free!

 

The View of DC – Bar and Sky Terrace

Not too surprisingly, there is also a bar, which is licensed and also sells some snacks. The prices are very fine – I had a soda for 3 USD. A very nice way to enjoy your drink is going up to the partially covered Sky Terrace. The view is towards the Arlington area, but you will have an amazing time just relaxing there and enjoying yourself.

 

The View of DC – My View

The View of DC (don’t care about D.C. or DC…) is definitely currently underrated in capital area. If the weather is good, you will have a great time for a reasonable time. The terrace and the Hoover DC are definitely valuable free upgrades to your visit. I was struggling whether I should go for that new attraction or not – now I am glad that I did go for it! You should follow me, it is just great! Top Pick!

 

Flyctory.com in Washington D.C.

Here are all postings about Washington D.C. and surroundings:

 

 

Flyctory.com Views from Above

Here are all postings tagged as Views from Above, dealing with any kind up-in-the-air viewpoints:

 

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