There’s a version of suburban living where the entertainment district is always another county over, and a version where it’s minutes away, lit up for the season. At The Grove in Rockville, RIO Lakefront and Downtown Crown are both just minutes away on I-270, and fall and the holidays are when both districts show their best side.

RIO Lakefront: The Lake, Lit for the Season

RIO Washingtonian Center’s 14-acre lake takes on a different character once the holiday lights go up along the promenade, restaurant terraces shift to indoor and heated-patio seating, and a lakeside dinner reservation starts to feel like an occasion worth dressing for. Grab tacos and margaritas at Guapo’s Cantina & Grill before heading to the AMC for a cozy evening at the movie theater.

Downtown Crown: Walkable Holiday Shopping and Dining

Crown’s pedestrian-scaled streets and dense mix of restaurants and boutique fitness studios make it an easy holiday-season habit — park once, and everything from gift shopping to dinner is within a short walk. Try a do-it-yourself art project at The Amazing Art Studio for a fun afternoon with friends, treat yourself to a spa day at the nail salon, and grab a pastry at La Madeleine for the perfect fall day out.

The Holiday Version of Both

Fall and the holidays give RIO and Crown a different energy than summer’s outdoor-patio season — string lights, indoor dining, and a slower, more celebratory pace that suits the season just as well as July’s.

RIO Lakefront and Downtown Crown are two of the best reasons to call this part of Montgomery County home, in any season. This holiday season, they might be even better.

At A Glance

• RIO Lakefront
• Guapo’s Cantina & Grill
• AMC Rio Cinemas 18
• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon
• Barnes & Noble
• California Pizza Kitchen
• Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls
• &pizza
• Coastal Flats
• Sixty Vines
• The Amazing Art Studio
• La Madeleine
• Club Pilates