Best Bets
Best People Watching
Fritz | Updated 10/27/2008
Sometimes, you just want to relax and watch the world go by -- or see what other people are wearing. These are the best places to do it with a cold drink in hand.
Chi-Cha Lounge
Washington, DC
One of the trailblazing lounges in D.C., Chi-Cha still draws a full house on weekends, when an international crowd stakes out the battered sofas, sips South American drinks and dances to world music.
Clarendon Ballroom
Arlington, VA
In the summer, the Clarendon Ballroom's rooftop hosts Arlington's best (and busiest) happy hour, as folks in work clothes mingle with party girls who've obviously changed out of their 9-to-5 wear.
Love
Washington, DC
Not the cheapest or most casual joint, but Love's patrons make an effort to look good, and they want you to notice. Follow the regulars' lead and post up at the bar with a view of the staircase.
Pharmacy Bar
Washington, DC
For glimpsing the madness that is Adams Morgan's 18th Street on the weekend, there's no better vantage point than the bay window of the awesomely eccentric Pharmacy Bar.
Sequoia
Washington, DC
Tourists, popped-collar preppies, dating couples and yacht owners make their way to the Georgetown Waterfront at the slightest hint of warm weather. Sequoia's outdoor patio is the place to watch.
The Palace of Wonders
Washington, DC
Sometimes it's harder to tell what's more interesting: The burlesque dancers, sword swallowers and sideshow artists on stage or the customers who are out to watch them.
The Fox & Hounds
Washington, DC
The parade of humanity on 17th Street never gets boring, and the Fox and Hounds' busy patio is the best place to watch, especially with a cheap happy hour drink.
Tune Inn
Washington, DC
From longtime residents to seasoned Capitol Hill staffers to fresh-faced interns, no bar on the Hill has a more interesting mix of patrons than the 60-year-old Tune Inn.
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