Where to Go in Washington DC

Sightseeing Overview
The grand formal vista of the National Mall contains many of Washington, DC’s most important monuments and institutions. The Mall is particularly striking during the spring blossoming of the Japanese cherry trees and in the winter with the Christmas trees and lights. 

Most dramatic are monuments like the Jefferson Memorial, the Washington Monument and the Capitol that seem to glow against the night skies. The White House is another must-see for tourists.

Smart townhouses, cobblestone streets, cafés, shops and lovely riverside walks, plus a lively nightlife, make the elegant neighborhood of Georgetown highly attractive. Washington’s elite occupies many of the homes. 

Across town, Chinatown, with its colorful Friendship Arch, is the center for oriental specialty shops and restaurants. 

A favored recreation ground for city dwellers is Rock Creek Park in the northwest of the city. The creek itself passes through the heart of the park, which also has bicycle, bridle and jogging paths. 

Since 11 September 2001, the Pentagon, the country’s heart of national and international security, is no longer open for public tours, but if it is intrigue you seek, visit the International Spy Museum. It chronicles the history and schemes of spies and espionage.

Tourist Information
Tourist Information Washington, DC Convention and Tourism Corporation
901 Seventh Street, NW, Suite 4001
Tel: (202) 789 7000.
Website: www.washington.org

Although this is the official Washington, DC tourism site, information cannot be obtained in person here.

Washington, DC Chamber of Commerce Visitor Information Center
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Tel: 1 866 324 7386.
Website: www.dcvisit.com
Opening hours: (15 Mar-first Mon in Sep) Mon-Fri 0830-1730, Sat 0900-1600; (first Tues in Sep-15 Mar) Mon-Fri 0900-1630.

Another useful website is www.dc.gov. Visitors may also see SAMs (safety and maintenance personnel), who are specially trained hospitality workers dressed in red uniforms. They operate throughout the downtown area to provide a service to visitors by giving directions and helping to find area attractions, restaurants, hotels and shops.

Passes
There are no tourist passes currently available.

Key Attractions:

White House
With the exception of George Washington, the White House, home to the first family, has been home to every US president and his family. Tours of the most famous building in DC are only available with passes from congressman or, for foreign visitors, from their respective embassies. Very little of the building is on display but most enjoy the opportunity to enter the powerhouse of the USA. Information on the architecture, first families, social events and more can be obtained from the White House Visitor Information Center (daily 0730-1600) on the southeast corner of 15th and E Streets. The center also features a 30-minute video and White House exhibits including first families and furnishings and is a high spot on any visit to Washington, DC.

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Tel: (202) 456 2200/7041.
Website: www.whitehouse.gov/history/tours
Opening hours: 20 to 90-minute tours available Tues-Sat 0730-1230. (Occasionally closed at short notice for official events.)
Free admission. (White House visitors must request passes from their Congressmen (US citizens) or respective embassy (overseas visitors) no less than one month or more than six months in advance.)

White House Visitor Information Center
US Department of Commerce Building, 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Tel: (202) 208 1631.
Website: www.nps.gov/whho
Opening hours: Daily 0730-1600.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
A fascinating place to visit when in the city is the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the headquarters of the famous US law enforcement agency, the FBI. A one-hour guided tour includes crime laboratories where scientific examinations take place, historic exhibits of famous cases and a firearms demonstration by a special agent.

J Edgar Hoover FBI Building, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Tel: (202) 324 3447.
Website: www.fbi.gov
Opening hours: Currently closed. No date has yet been set for its reopening.
Free admission.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial pays tribute to the accomplishments of the 32nd US president. With sculptures, waterfalls, pools and walls of grey granite, it honors his services to the country during four terms of office and highlights historical events like the Great Depression and WWII. Most interesting are the two FDR bronze statues. Since Roosevelt never wanted to be pictured in a wheelchair, there is a larger-than-life statue in which he is wearing a floor-length cape. The true-to-scale sculpture, where he is sitting in his wheelchair, is not visible unless one visits the bookstore. There is also a bronze likeness of Eleanor Roosevelt.

1850 West Basin Drive, SW (Tidal Basin and the Potomac River)
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/fdrm
Opening hours: Daily 0800-2400.
Free admission.

International Spy Museum
All is not what it seems at one of Washington's most fun museums. Through multimedia presentations, hands-on exhibits and audiovisual effects, the focus is on educating the public about espionage's impact on current and historic events. Spy paraphernalia such as decoder machines, miniature cameras, a lipstick pistol and even James Bond's Aston Martin with machine gun headlights are on display. Its newest exhibit, Operation Spy, allows visitors to assume a cover, and among other things, conduct video surveillance, carry out a polygraph test on a suspect agent and escape from a high security compound. Each period of espionage history is showcased in an appropriate setting: Mata Hari and the Sisterhood of Spies are set in a boudoir; a European farmhouse documents the activities of the OSS (the Office of the Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA), and a fallout shelter chronicles the Cold War.

800 F Street, NW
Tel: (202) 393 7798 or 1 866 779 6873.
Website: www.spymuseum.org
Opening hours: Daily (Mar-Aug) 0900-2000; (Sep-Feb) 1000-1800.
Admission charge.

Korean War Veterans Memorial
Located adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the marble and limestone Korean War Veterans Memorial was built entirely with funds donated from individuals and dedicated in 1995. Sitting on a 0.9-hectare (2.2-acre) site, the sculpture features 5.8m (19ft) soldiers in combat, with the American flag as their symbolic objective. A mural wall is inscribed with the words ‘Freedom is not free' and the images of thousands of the ordinary personnel who supported the combat troops in the military operation.

Independence Avenue at the Lincoln Memorial
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/kwvm
Opening hours: Daily 0800-2400.
Free admission.

Lincoln Memorial
The imposing 5.8m (19ft) marble statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, gazes from the Lincoln Memorial across the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument. The style of the memorial is that of a Greek temple with 36 Doric columns, but it is the statue of Lincoln, sculpted by Daniel Chester French, that steals the show. On the interior walls are inscriptions from the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's second inaugural speech.

Independence Avenue at 23rd Street, NW
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/linc
Opening hours: Daily 0800-2400.
Free admission.

National Mall
Many of Washington's most important monuments and institutions, described individually below, are located in the National Mall, a green park area extending 3km (2 miles) from the US Capitol to the Washington Monument. Major Pierre L'Enfant originally planned the Mall as a grand avenue lined with mansions, but lack of funds meant that the site was just left as an open area used for grazing animals. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century, when many more public institutions and monuments had been constructed in the immediate area (including the White House), that they were linked with the series of gardens that now make up the Mall. It is an ideal place for people watching from one of the many benches shaded by 200-year-old elm trees and is also the site for many celebrations throughout the year, such as the Independence Day Celebrations on 4 July.

Between Constitution and Independence Avenues, SW
Tel: (202) 485 9880.
Website: www.nps.gov/nama
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Free admission.

National WWII Memorial
The newest addition to the National Mall is a commemoration to WWII soldiers, the home front and the nation. Pools and erupting fountains are surrounded by pathways, two large arches (each representing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans), a hero's memorial and one pillar for every state in the Union at that period and its territories.  

Off Independence Avenue, just south of 17th Street on the National Mall
Tel: (202) 426 6841 or 1 800 639 4992.
Website: www.wwiimemorial.com
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Free admission.

Smithsonian Institution Museums
The Smithsonian Institution (website: www.si.edu) encompasses many museums and research centers around the city. They are: Anacostia Museum and Center for African-American History, Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Arts & Industries Building, Freer Gallery of Art, Hirshorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, the two National Air and Space Museums, which includes the facility on Sixth Street and Independence Avenue and the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, near Dulles Airport, National Museum of African Art, National Museum of American History (closed for renovations until November 2008, but objects are on display at the National Air and Space Museum), National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of the American Indian, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian National Postal Museum, National Zoological Park, Renwick Gallery of Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Some key ones are detailed below.

Smithsonian Institution Information Center
Located in the red sandstone building known as the Castle, the center has two orientation theaters, electronic wall maps, interactive touch-screens in six languages, scale models of Washington and the crypt of founder, James Smithson.

Jefferson Drive on the National Mall
Tel: (202) 633 1000.
Website: www.si.edu/visit
Opening hours: Daily 0830-1730.
Free admission.

National Air and Space Museum
The most popular of all the Smithsonian Museums, the National Air and Space Museum traces the development of air and space travel. It is home to the original Wright Brothers' 1903 Flyer, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St Louis, the Bell X-1 (the plane that broke the sound barrier in 1947), the Apollo 11 lunar command module and a vast collection of aviation and space technology memorabilia. Free 90-minute tours trace the history of air and space. The museum also houses an IMAX film theater and the Albert Einstein Planetarium.

Sixth Street and Independence Avenue, SW
Tel: (202) 633 1000.
Website: www.nasm.si.edu
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1730.
Free admission, charge for the planetarium and IMAX.

National Air and Space Museum - Steven S Udvar-Hazy Center
Located next to Dulles airport, the second of the National Air and Space Museums is big in both physical size (70,611 sq m/760,057 sq ft) and exhibits. It is home to 140 one-of-a-kind or historically significant planes and spacecraft. Visitors can view the Space Shuttle Enterprise and space capsules as well as such goodies as the Concorde, the Enola Gay (the plane that dropped the atom bomb) and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a high-speed, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft from the ground level, or on ‘skywalks' and bridges. On the far side of the museum is an observation tower with a 360-degree view that includes the Blue Ridge Mountains, Dulles Airport and the surrounding area. The museum's IMAX theater features movies about flight and space. This attraction makes a great day trip. There is no specific transportation from downtown but a shuttle service from Dulles Airport to the museum is provided by Virginia Regional Transit (website: www.vatransit.org). The bus stops outside the main terminal on the ground level at kerbside location 2E. It is well worth the trip.

14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway, Chantilly, Virginia
Tel: (202) 633 1000.
Website: www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1730.
Free admission, charge for the planetarium and IMAX.

National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) 
NMAI is a tribute to Native Americans. The impressive structure is circular and faces east in accordance to American Indian traditions. Decorated in earthy tones, it is designed to reflect indigenous aesthetics. The museum is divided into four sections: Our Universe focuses on Native philosophies related to creation and the relationship between man and the universe; Our Peoples relates the life of Native Americans via videos; Our Lives focuses on the contemporary life and identities of eight Native Communities; and there is also a changing contemporary exhibit. In the Lelawi Theater the audience is put in the middle of a unique multi-media presentation about tribal life.

Fourth Street and Independence Avenue, SW
Tel: (202) 633 1000.
Website: www.nmai.si.edu
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1730.
Free admission.

National Museum of Natural History
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a superb collection of dinosaur fossils, an insect zoo, the world's largest preserved bush elephant, the 45.5-carat Hope Diamond and an IMAX film theater. The Mammal Hall is devoted to mammal and human diversity, evolution and adaptation.

10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Tel: (202) 633 1000 or 4629 (IMAX).
Website: www.mnh.si.edu
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1730.
Free admission, charge for the IMAX.

Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery (Donald Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture)
It has taken six years, but the renovation of the third oldest building in DC (formerly the first patent building) is finally complete. Many fine original features, like the marble floors, have been preserved. The building houses two museums: the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The portrait side includes images of people who have helped to build the national culture (such contemporary literary notables as Tom Wolfe and Toni Morrison). There are also pictures of artist Diego Rivera and one of Jackie Kennedy. America's presidents are artfully arranged in room-like settings with open spaces and pillars. The American Art section is a compilation of Western art, Impressionism, folk art (like dolls and quilts), and the American Experience, a series of pictures of town and country life.

Eighth and F Streets
Tel: (202) 633 1000.
Website: http://reynoldscenter.org
Opening hours: Daily 1130-1900.
Free admission.

National Zoological Park
Two life-size lion sculptures guard the gates of The National Zoological Park. The zoo is part of the Smithsonian Institution and is famous throughout the world for its work in species and conservation research as well as its pair of giant pandas and their two-year-old son who was born in the zoo. Originally founded in 1889, the zoo, which covers the steep slopes of the gorge cut by Rock Creek, has introduced simulations of the habitats of many of its animals. Habitats include an outdoor primate enclosure, a wetlands area, a pollinarium for humming-birds and butterflies, a reptile center and Amazonia, a recreation of the world's largest tropical rain forest. Some of the zoo's charm is overshadowed by its large amount of renovation.

3001 Connecticut Avenue
Tel: (202) 633 1000 or 4800 (recorded information).
Website: www.natzoo.si.edu
Opening hours: (1 Apr-31 Oct) 0600-2000 (buildings open 1000-1800); (1 Nov-31 Mar) 0600-1800 (buildings open 1000-1630).
Free admission.

Jefferson Memorial
The Jefferson Memorial is a 5.8m (19ft) statue of the third US president, Thomas Jefferson. Surrounded by passages from the 1776 Declaration of Independence, his memorial was not erected until over 100 years after his death. Built in a neo-classical style and framed by the cherry trees along the Tidal Basin, it is one of the most attractive monuments on National Mall, especially at night.

Tidal Basin South end of 15th Street, SW
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/thje
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Free admission.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Though simply designed, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the most moving. Opened in 1982, the 70 separate panels of the V-shaped black granite walls, 150m (493ft) in length, are inscribed with the names of the 58,209 Americans missing or killed in the Vietnam War. What makes the site even more poignant is the common occurrence of relatives making rubbings of their loved ones names.

Constitution Avenue and Henry Bacon Drive, NW
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/vive
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Free admission.

US Capitol
US legislative policy is shaped under the magnificent 55m (180ft) white dome of the US Capitol. The cornerstone of the US Capitol, home to the Senate and the House of Representatives, was laid in 1793. It was not until 1800 that Congress moved into its new home, even though only the north wing was finished completely. The white-painted dome is visible from all parts of the city and is topped by the 5.8m (19ft) Statue of Freedom. Several areas of the building are open to the public, including Statuary Hall, the original Supreme Court Chamber and the Crypt (the intended burial place of George Washington and his wife).

Capitol Hill
Tel: (202) 225 6827.
Website: www.aoc.gov
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1630; Guided tours: Mon-Sat every 15 minutes, 0900-1545.
Free admission: Passes for hour-long tours are distributed on a first-come first-served basis from the kiosk at the corner of First Street and Maryland, SW. It does not hurt to contact your ambassador or congressman regarding a pass.

Washington Monument
Dedicated to the first president of the United States, the Washington Monument dates from 1885 and is 169m (555ft) tall. A lift takes visitors to the top to enjoy spectacular views of the surrounding area. The 193 restored Memorial Stones, which have been donated over the years (from July 1848) by states, cities and foreign countries, pay tribute to George Washington. There are also exhibits about the monument's history and the nation's Founding Father.

15th Street and Constitution Avenue, SW
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/wamo
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700.
Free admission: Entrance by timed tickets only, available on the day of admission on a first-come first-served basis at the kiosk on the Washington Monument grounds at 15th Street and Madison Drive. Advance tickets are available for a fee (tel: 1 800 967 2283).

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Each of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's four floors chronicles a period of the Jewish Holocaust. ‘Nazi Assault' (1933-39), on the fourth floor, covers life in the 1930s and the Nazi rise to power. Floor three, ‘Final Solution' (1940-45) deals with the subsequent genocide, and the ‘Last Chapter' on the second floor, concludes with liberation and the Holocaust aftermath. The main level has a concentration camp memorial and Remember the Children: Daniel's Story, a sensitive exhibit geared to help children understand the horrors of the Holocaust. The films, photos, eyewitness testimonies and artifacts that tell the story of the Holocaust often leave visitors dabbing their eyes.

100 Raoul Wallenburg Place, SW
Tel: (202) 488 0400.
Website: www.ushmm.org
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1730, closed on Yom Kippur and Christmas Day.
Free admission: Timed passes are required for access to the permanent exhibition. Tickets are free on the day of admission on a first-come first-served basis or in advance (tel: 1 800 400 9373; website: www.tickets.com) for a fee.

Further Distractions:

Bureau of Engraving and Printing
If you like money, this is your kind of place. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is responsible for designing and printing the green stuff as well as stamps and US securities. During the 45-minute tour, visitors see blank sheets of paper being turned into millions of dollars in cash. Sorry, they do not give samples.

14th and C Streets, SW
Tel: (202) 874 2330 or 1 866 874 2330.
Website: www.moneyfactory.com
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1045 and 1230-1400; (May-Aug) evening hours 1700-1900. The visitors center is open 0800-1500.
Free admission: Tickets are required and can be obtained from the booth on 15th Street on a first-come first-served basis, but they are usually gone by 0900, Sep-Feb. A valid photo ID is required to obtain tickets.

Corcoran Gallery of Art
A visit to the Corcoran Gallery of Art is always a new experience. Housed in a stunning beaux arts building, the museum is known for its interesting and ever-changing exhibitions. They could include Modernism, Ansel Adams or Annie Leibovitz.

500 17th Street, NW
Tel: (202) 639 1700.
Website: www.corcoran.org 
Opening hours: Sun, Mon, Wed 1000-1800; Thurs 1000-2100; Fri-Sat 1000-1700.
Admission charge.

National Archives & Records Administration (NARA)
Although the archives house more than 3 billion records, the ones that visitors flock to see are the Charters of Freedom - the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights which are encased and displayed in a large marble rotunda. They are difficult to read, but then again they are the 200-plus-year-old originals.

Constitution Avenue between Seventh and Ninth Streets
Tel: 1 866 272 6272.
Website: www.archives.gov
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1900 (15 Mar-Labor Day); 100-1730 (day after Labor Day-14 Mar).
Free admission.

National Geographic Society - Museum at Explorer’s Hall
Originally established in 1888 to fund expeditions to undiscovered parts of the world, the National Geographic Society also brought geography to the masses with the publication of its National Geographic Magazine. At the Society’s Explorers Hall, the latest scientific developments are featured through interactive props and artifacts. The 72-seat amphitheater ‘Earth Station One’ simulates an orbital flight. Changing exhibits explore culture and science.

1145 17th Street, NW
Tel: (202) 857 7588 or 1 800 647 5463.
Website: www.nationalgeographic.com/museum
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1700; Sun 1000-1700.
Free admission.

Library of Congress
Once housed in the north wing of the US Capitol when Congress first moved there in 1800, the nation’s library, the Library of Congress, celebrated its bicentennial in 2000. The world’s largest library contains over 40 collections of rare American history materials and nearly 119 million items, including copies of the Gutenberg Bible and a copy of the musical score of the ‘Star Spangled Banner.’ Exhibitions change regularly. There are daily guided tours of the 19th-century Thomas Jefferson Building. Public tours of the library are available Mon-Sat (1030, 1130, 1330, 1430 and 1530). On Saturday there is no 1530 tour.

101 Independence Avenue, SE
Tel: (202) 707 8000.
Website: www.loc.gov
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1700.
Free admission.

National Aquarium in Washington, DC
Small and easy to miss, there are no giant fish or undersea denizens. Instead there is a panorama of what is available in protected US marine sanctuaries, plus a variety of colorful fish. This is a great place to escape the crowds and cool off in the summer heat while watching turtles and piranhas. Animal feedings are at 1400.

14th and D Streets (in the basement of the Department of Commerce Building)
Tel: (202) 482 2825.
Website: www.nationalaquarium.com
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700.
Admission charge.

Newseum
Reopened at a new location in 2008, the Newseum highlights the media. Visitors can visit more than a dozen galleries to learn the history of news and how the past century’s important world events have been reported. A broadcast studio, an interactive newsroom and the largest section of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany along with one of the two surviving ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ towers are exhibits worth exploring.

Sixth and Pennsylvania Avenues
Tel: (703) 284 3544 or 1 888 639 7386.
Website: www.newseum.org
Admission charge.


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