Falls Church

Falls Church is a community in Northern Virginia, encompassing the independent City of Falls Church plus the neighborhoods of Seven Corners and West Falls Church in Fairfax County and East Falls Church in Arlington County.

Understand
It is known by the moniker "The Little City" and for its history, having been established in 1699 and playing a prominent role in the Civil War and District of Columbia history. The City of Falls Church was home to about 15,000 people in 2020.

Get in
Falls Church is a suburban area, located inside the Beltway (I-495) about three miles west of Washington, D.C.

By plane
The nearest and most convenient airport is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington. Long-haul flights are available to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).

By Metrorail
WMATA, which operates the DC Metrorail, has stops at West Falls Church (Orange Line) and East Falls Church (Orange and Silver Lines). These stops, however, are designed for commuters, and there is little nearby except for swaths of parking. A long walk or a transfer to Metrobus is required; bus riders should check options from Ballston in Arlington County, which is served by more routes.

By bus
At Seven Corners Transit Center, you can transfer between all the most useful bus routes. It is just across the street from the Eden Center.

Metrobus routes 1A, 1B, and 1E all run from the Ballston Metro stop down Wilson Blvd to the Eden Center (just before Seven Corners, past Roosevelt), taking roughly 20 minutes.

Metrobuses 4A and 4H are the only options for US-50/Arlington Blvd, and depart from the Rosslyn Metro stop. You can pick them up from the Seven Corners Transit Center, though, across the street from Eden Center, where you can also connect up with the Wilson Blvd buses.

Metrobus 28A runs the length of VA-7/Leesburg Pike between West Falls Church and King St/Alexandria Metrorail stations, with a stop at the Seven Corners Transit Center.

Get around


It's definitely best to have a car, mostly because this part of Northern Virginia is not pedestrian-friendly at all. It is possible to get just about everywhere by public transport, but your trip will take significantly longer.

By car
The intersection known as Seven Corners no longer has seven corners, after decades of traffic engineering, but the roads that form it remain the same. Pay close attention to the signs--the main roads have at least two names a piece, which further complicates things: US-50/Arlington Blvd, VA-7/Leesburg Pike/Broad St, and US-29/Lee Hwy/Washington St. Wilson Blvd is the other main road, where you will find Eden Center immediately northeast of Seven Corners on the way up to Arlington.

I-66 runs east-west just to the north of the City of Falls Church; I-495, the Capital Beltway, runs along West Falls Church's western border, with the US-50 exit being the most useful.

Avoid driving during morning rush hour (7:30AM-10:30AM) towards D.C., and vice versa in the afternoon (4PM-7PM). On weekdays, eastbound I-66 is HOV-2 only from 6:30AM-9AM, and westbound is HOV-2 only 4PM-6:30PM.

Do

 * [[File:Falls Church (Episcopal), 115 East Fairfax Street, Falls Church, Falls Church, VA HABS VA,30-FALCH,1-6.tif|thumb|270x270px|The Falls Church in a historical photograph. ]]The Falls Church Experience history (and spirituality, if you like) at the eponymous church, rebuilt in the 1700s after a fire burned the original, and attended by George Washington himself. There are limited visitation hours in addition to a Sunday service, so it is essential to plan ahead.
 * Bowl America A beloved local bowling alley.
 * State Theatre Eat and listen to live concerts at this club and rental venue, housed in a historic building (built 1936, operated as a movie theater until 1988) in Falls Church's pedestrian-friendly downtown area.
 * State Theatre Eat and listen to live concerts at this club and rental venue, housed in a historic building (built 1936, operated as a movie theater until 1988) in Falls Church's pedestrian-friendly downtown area.

Eat
Falls Church has the best Vietnamese food in the D.C. area— some would say the best in the country outside of California— and some of the cheapest. Vietnamese cuisine, with its fusion of French and southeast Asian, is far richer and diverse than the banh mi and pho alone, though, and you'll find it well represented in the less-specialized restaurants. The most famous dishes are of course bánh mì (pronounced bañ mee, with a palatized "n") and phở (fuh). The former are sandwiches on semi-hard to hard French baguettes, filled with very Vietnamese ingredients like cold cuts, smoked bacon, head cheese, red pork, various deli meats, or even regular old Italian meatballs. Are there better sandwiches in the world? Maybe—some hamburgers or pulled pork sandwiches might be contenders, but this speaks to just how delicious banh mi really are.

Pho is Vietnamese beef soup (or the U.S. invented chicken phở ga), filled with hot beef/oxtail broth/borderline-consommé, just about any part of the cow you like—brisket, tripe, flank, chuck, round, tendon, etc., and a generous helping of vermicelli noodles. On the side are fresh veggies to add to the soup, in particular mint, jalapeños, and sprouts, as well as lime, spicy sriracha sauce, and sweet-sour hoisin sauce.



Bubble tea is an Asian beverage that gets its name from the optional tapioca balls (boba) at the bottom of the cup. For an adventure, try one of the red bean or durian smoothies! The bakeries also have a good selection of strange Vietnamese foods and excellent fresh fruit.

There is a smaller, but significant Cantonese community in Falls Church as well, and Cantonese food is also notable.

Note that the Cantonese and Vietnamese restaurants/grocers/bakeries are either cash only, or have minimum purchases for credit cards—usually $10.

Indian

 * Eden Center arch.jpg

Chinese




Eden Center
Eden Center is ground zero for South Vietnamese cuisine (and culture—the constant South Vietnamese freedom fighter festivals are an interesting look back to the past of this immigrant community). It's an aesthetically unappealing strip mall, but the culinary delights are outstanding, and while you may not recognize them, you'll often be waiting in lines with D.C.'s top gourmet shops.

Full service
The following all have traditional table service and full bar.



Go next

 * The cities of Arlington and Washington, D.C. are close by.
 * Just north on VA-7/Leesburg Pike is mammoth Tysons Corner Center, the region's flagship shopping mall.