You don't have to travel to Washington, DC, to tap most of its genealogical treasures such as the National Archives — but nothing beats a trip to the nation's capital for putting you in touch with history, family and otherwise. And don't let your research quest keep you from seeing a bit of the city while you're there. Washington, after all, is perhaps the only city in the world to list government and tourism as its top two industries.

Before you get down to actual research, take time to tour the National Archives building (800-234-8861, <www.nara.gov/nara/dc/Archivesi_directions.html>). It's located at 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, between Seventh and Ninth Streets NW. The research entrance is on Pennsylvania Avenue; you enter the Exhibition Hall on Constitution Avenue. Admission is free. Among the exhibits, of course, you'll see the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. But some of the other pieces may surprise you: The Magna Carta, which is owned by Ross Perot, and the gun that Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly used to assassinate President John F. Kennedy are both housed here and are sometimes on display.

When visiting Washington, it makes sense to leave your car at home. Parking is tough to come by legally and the city's good things come in clusters. Plan to walk a lot and use the city's subway system, the Metro. The Metro is clean, cost-efficient and will get you to most places that you want to go. The National Archives building is right off of the Archives/Navy Memorial stop on the Yellow or Green Line. A map can be found on the Metro's web site <www.wmata.com>. The only drawback of the Metro is that the system shuts down around midnight on most weeknights. Late nights will require springing for a cab, which charge by an archaic zones-traveled-through system instead of a time or distance fare.