This is by far the most convenient airport to DC (...

This is by far the most convenient airport to DC (the Metro comes right to the airport, so no need for expensive taxi rides or transfers to special "AirTrains" or Amtrak), and its security lines seem to move faster than those at Dulles and BWI. I also love flying via DCA for the views of DC on takeoff/landing - the vista is INCREDIBLE, both during the day and at night. Flying along the Potomac, you can see all the major landmarks: the Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson/Lincoln/WWII memorials, Georgetown and the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian museums on the mall, the Pentagon, and as far as Bethesda & Silver Spring.

Aside from being excellent for travel, the airport's interior showcases some of my favorite architecture in the city. The airy, expansive main concourse is filled with light from the three-story floor-to-ceiling windows, a giant glass wall looking over the airfield; and the steel beams are painted a warm and cheery canary yellow (when is the last time you heard "warm and cheery" associated with an airport?).

Four stars (rather than five) because food options are limited post-security.