With its 18th Century charm, Alexandria, Virginia, George Washington’s hometown, is a destination in and of itself. But, if you take advantage of the nearby King Street metro station, you can have all that Alexandria’s historic center (a.k.a. Old Town Alexandria) has to offer while being within a short metro train ride of Washington, DC. If you cooperate, Old Town Alexandria’s period architecture and tree-lined streets can give you a feeling of Virginia life from years gone by, all without giving up today’s modern luxuries.Top this off with a wide selection of restaurants, shops, a vibrant arts community located on the city’s waterfront, and of course, the Potomac River waterfront itself. All of these allow you to immerse yourself in the relaxed pace of a bygone era. Of course, you can take advantage of the city’s modern-day King Street trolley to get around Old Town. Beginning at 11:30 am until 10:00 pm it runs every 20 minutes along the 1.5 miles of King Street between the metro station and the waterfront, and best of all its free. After all, there should be no need to suffer while soaking up history. And who knows, you may be able to find enough time to visit nearby Mount Vernon and see how George Washington lived. If that isn’t enough, you can visit the impressive George Washington Masonic Memorial, which is located just beyond the Metro and the Amtrak Stations. You can’t miss it on its hilltop perch overlooking Alexandria.Once you have decompressed in Old Town you can proceed to the King Street Metro Station and hop on either the Blue or Yellow Line Metrorail trains, both of which serve Washington, DC and join the hustle and bustle of our nation’s capital. The Blue Line train will take you to the Smithsonian Station where you exit onto the National Mall surrounded by the Smithsonian Museums, the Capitol, and the Washington Monument. Or, you can take the Yellow Line and exit at L’Enfant Plaza, which is one block off of the Mall. Either way, you can become an engaged Washington tourist minutes after leaving the King Street Station. Or, if you are in town on business, you’re in luck if your business destination is near a metro station.The good news is that in anticipation that visitors would find Old Town Alexandria a desirable destination, numerous hotels have located in the area, particularly near the metro station. The bad news is that you may find them a little pricy. But hey, you have to pay extra for access to two worlds, and the prices at Alexandria will probably be comparable to rates in downtown Washington.You should find getting to Alexandria relatively easy even though it is surrounded by a densely populated urban area. If you fly into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, you can take either the Yellow or Blue Lines the couple of stops from the airport to the King Street Station. Or, if you take Amtrak to Washington, you might be lucky enough to have a train that stops in Alexandria. If not, you can always take the metro from Union Station. If you drive to the area or fly into one of the other two airports that serve Washington, getting to Alexandria may be a little more of a challenge, but I suspect you will decide it is worth it.