I don't know anything about it myself. I was there years ago with my kids classes to visit the Smithsonian. But my son and DDIL go down about once a year by train. There is plenty of public transportation, trains, subway etc. Google Washington DC and transportation. You should be able to download maps and directions to various points of interest. Good Luck and be sure to take some comfortable walking shoes and be sure to have fun. The cities you mentioned are really suburbs of Washington DC.