There was a time when Washington, DC was a dead-after-dark commuter city, not to mention one of the most dangerous places in the US.
Few politicians or business people would consider staying in town after work, unless they were huddled together in uptown neighbourhoods like Georgetown, Dupont Circle or Adams Morgan.
But, fast-forward two decades and DC is now Lonely Planet’s top destination for 2015, while the New York Times is calling it the new Brooklyn.
The US capital, it seems, is in the midst of a renaissance as a new generation shuns the sprawling suburbs to breathe life into the urban core.