Holiday Travel: D.C. Metro Area Ranks as a 'Best Place to Visit'

PHOTO: The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden ice skating rink in Washington, D.C. is a popular destination during the winter holidays. The experience includes viewing outdoor sculpture, enjoying music from a state of the art sound system and savoring a cup of hot chocolate at the adjacent cafe. Photo courtesy of Destination DC.

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Washington D.C. ranks among the top 10 best places to visit for winter holiday travel, according to a new study by WalletHub released Monday.

The ranking also includes areas outside DC proper: Arlington and Alexandria are also included.

Metro DC comes in fifth place overall, between St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo. At the top of the list? ”Hot-lanta” aka Atlanta.

Some of the top winter holiday activities in DC include visiting the National Christmas Tree and visiting the White House to see the holiday decorations.

With more than a third of Americans planning to increase their leisure travel spending in the coming months, according to WalletHub, the company looked at 2015’s Best and Worst Cities for Winter Holiday Travel.

In anticipation of the holiday season, WalletHub analysts compared 69 of the largest metropolitan statistical areas to find the best winter-travel destinations for both warm- and cold-weather lovers.

“We did so by analyzing 26 key metrics, ranging from the cost of the cheapest flight to the number of attractions in each winter vacation spot,” the company notes, in a news release.

Here’s where the DC metro area ranked in several key areas of the winter holiday travel study:

• Lowest Travel Costs and Fewest Hassles: #5 (#1 was Chicago)
• Local Costs: #20 (#1 was Albuquerque)
  
• Attractions: #9 (#1 was New York)
• Weather Conditions: #5 (#1 was Albuquerque)
• Cold-Weather Activities: #12 (#1 was New York)