Not bad as in unsafe, just a bland block of high rise offices that’s dead at 6pm. It’s on public transit and close to good stuff, it’s just funny as you’d normally never send a tourist there on purpose.
There's nothing interesting in Rosslyn itself, however it's probably the closest subway stop to Georgetown. You can easily walk across the Key Bridge, which is a really nice walk when the weather is good. There's lots to see in Georgetown, especially restaurants, and also a nice waterfront area.
You can also walk from Rosslyn to the Mt. Vernon trail, and to the nearby Roosevelt Island where there's some nice hiking trails and a big monument to Teddy Roosevelt in the middle where people like to sit and relax. There's fountains there, running at some times during the year. Then you can continue walking on the Mt. Vernon trail to Gravelly Point next to DCA airport and watch airplanes take off. If you want to keep walking, you can go to Old Town Alexandria, or even farther to Mount Vernon, but it's a lot better to use a bicycle for these treks.
One of my favorite memories in DC is on Roosevelt island. My friend bought like 20 laser tag sets and had a computer, antenna and whatever other gear needed to setup your own laser tag. We played right there on the island next to the statue. There was a circular area, lots of bushes, what I imagine was a little water feature/moat without any water circling it. Don't think we saw anyone there outside our group.
Yeah, walking from Rosslyn to Mt Vernon would take a really long time. Walking to Old Town Alexandria, however, is pretty doable for a day, though you'd probably want to take the subway back home afterwards.
I used to live there and there were plenty of tourists coming through to visit the Marine Corps memorial or Arlington Cemetery. I agree though that the neighborhood itself is extremely boring.
You can also walk from Rosslyn to the Mt. Vernon trail, and to the nearby Roosevelt Island where there's some nice hiking trails and a big monument to Teddy Roosevelt in the middle where people like to sit and relax. There's fountains there, running at some times during the year. Then you can continue walking on the Mt. Vernon trail to Gravelly Point next to DCA airport and watch airplanes take off. If you want to keep walking, you can go to Old Town Alexandria, or even farther to Mount Vernon, but it's a lot better to use a bicycle for these treks.