Reston Town Center

An open-air, walkable downtown built from scratch in 1990 for a planned community that had never had one. Reston Town Center is laid out on a European-style grid of streets and squares rather than as an enclosed mall, and it became one of the most-copied templates for suburban town centers across the United States.

What to expect: Market Street and Explorer Street form the spine, lined with restaurants, cafés, boutiques and a cinema. The centerpiece is Fountain Square with its bronze Mercury Fountain, which becomes an outdoor ice rink from November through March. Live music, farmers markets and seasonal events run through the warmer months, and the whole place stays busy into the evening.

Practical: Several parking garages surround the core and are free on weekends. The plaza area is fully walkable and connects to the W&OD Trail, so it also works as a stretch-the-legs stop rather than a full shopping visit. Good first-evening base if you are fighting jet lag after landing at Dulles.