Things to do · Washington, D.C. · United States
20 best things to do in Washington, D.C.
20 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Washington, D.C. are National Mall, Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. Of the 20 picks below, 18 are free, 11 work on a rainy day and 7 suit children. Allow about 4 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- National Mall
- Free sights
- 18
- Good on a rainy day
- United States Capitol
- Time to see the highlights
- 4 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Mall | National Mall | Half a day | Free |
| Lincoln Memorial | National Mall | 45 minutes | Free |
| Washington Monument | National Mall | 1 hour | Free |
| United States Capitol | Capitol Hill | 1.5–2 hours | Free |
| National Air and Space Museum | National Mall | 2–3 hours | Free |
| National Museum of Natural History | National Mall | 2–3 hours | Free |
| National Museum of African American History and Culture | National Mall | 4–5 hours | Free |
| Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial | West Potomac Park | 1.5–2 hours | Free |
| Library of Congress (Jefferson Building) | Capitol Hill | 1–1.5 hours | Free |
| National Gallery of Art | National Mall | 2–3 hours | Free |
| National Museum of American History | National Mall | 2–3 hours | Free |
| United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | National Mall | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Arlington National Cemetery | Arlington, Virginia | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Smithsonian's National Zoo | Woodley Park | 3–4 hours | Free |
| Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center | Chantilly, Virginia | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Ford's Theatre | Penn Quarter | 1.5 hours | Low cost |
| National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum | Penn Quarter | 2 hours | Free |
| Georgetown and the C&O Canal | Georgetown | Half a day | Free |
| Eastern Market | Capitol Hill | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Washington National Cathedral | Upper Northwest | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
The 20 best things to do
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Park · National Mall
1.National Mall
The Mall runs about 3 km from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, lined by the Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery, with the Washington Monument at its centre. Walking its length past the World War II Memorial and the Reflecting Pool is the best introduction to the city, and the lawns are where Washington gathers for concerts, festivals and the Fourth of July.
Walking the full length takes longer than it looks; plan one half per day and use the free museums as breaks from the summer heat.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Outdoors
- History
- Kids
Landmark · National Mall
2.Lincoln Memorial
Daniel Chester French's 5.8-metre seated Lincoln looks out from a Greek Doric temple completed in 1922, with the Gettysburg Address and second inaugural address carved on the walls. An inscription on the steps marks where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech in 1963, overlooking the Reflecting Pool.
Come back after dark, when the memorial is floodlit, crowds are thin and the view down the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument is at its best.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- After dark
- Views
Landmark · National Mall
3.Washington Monument
The 169-metre marble obelisk, finished in 1884, was built in two phases, and a change in the stone's shade about a quarter of the way up shows where work stopped for more than 20 years. A lift takes visitors to an observation level about 152 metres up, with views over the Mall, the White House and across the Potomac to Arlington.
Late-afternoon slots give the best light over the Lincoln Memorial and the river.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Book ahead
- Entry to the top is by timed ticket booked online, with a small service fee; tickets for spring and summer go quickly.
- Iconic
- Views
- History
- Kids
Architecture · Capitol Hill
4.United States Capitol
The domed seat of Congress can be toured from the underground Capitol Visitor Center. Free guided tours visit the Crypt, the Rotunda with its painted canopy, The Apotheosis of Washington, and National Statuary Hall, where each state is represented by statues of notable figures.
After the tour, use the tunnel from the Visitor Center to the Library of Congress's Jefferson Building instead of going back through security outside.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Book ahead
- Reserve a free tour slot online in advance; same-day availability is limited in spring and summer.
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
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Museum · National Mall
5.National Air and Space Museum
The Smithsonian's flagship aviation museum on the Mall holds the Apollo 11 command module Columbia, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis and galleries tracing flight from early aviation to space exploration. The building has been through a multi-year renovation, with galleries reopening in phases.
Pair it with the Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport if you want to see the very large aircraft, including Space Shuttle Discovery.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Book ahead
- Free timed-entry passes have been required since the museum's phased reopening; check the Smithsonian site before you go.
- Kids
- Free
- Rainy day
- Iconic
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Museum · National Mall
6.National Museum of Natural History
Under the rotunda's African bush elephant, the Smithsonian's natural-history museum holds the 45-carat Hope Diamond, the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils with a Tyrannosaurus rex mounted mid-attack, the Sant Ocean Hall with a life-size North Atlantic right whale model. Entry is free.
Go to the Hope Diamond on the second floor first thing; the gem hall gets very crowded by midday.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Kids
- Free
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Museum · National Mall
7.National Museum of African American History and Culture
Opened in 2016 in a bronze-latticed building by David Adjaye, the museum's history galleries begin several floors underground with the transatlantic slave trade and climb through emancipation, segregation and the civil-rights movement to the present. Objects include Emmett Till's casket, a segregated railway car and Chuck Berry's red Cadillac; the upper floors cover music, sport and culture.
Allow at least four hours and do the underground history galleries first while you are fresh; the Sweet Home Café upstairs serves regional African American dishes.
- Time needed
- 4–5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Book ahead
- Free timed-entry passes are often needed, especially at weekends and in spring; book online in advance.
- History
- Free
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Landmark · West Potomac Park
8.Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial
A loop of about 3 km around the Tidal Basin links the domed Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial's outdoor rooms and waterfalls, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, carved from a 'Stone of Hope'. The Japanese cherry trees around the basin, first given by Tokyo in 1912, usually bloom in late March or early April.
During blossom season, arrive at sunrise; by mid-morning the path around the basin is shoulder to shoulder.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Iconic
- Couples
- Photo spot
- Outdoors
Architecture · Capitol Hill
1.Library of Congress (Jefferson Building)
Opened in 1897, the Thomas Jefferson Building is one of the most ornate interiors in the US: a Great Hall of marble, mosaics and murals, an overlook into the domed Main Reading Room, a Gutenberg Bible and a recreation of Thomas Jefferson's own library. Entry is free.
Head up to the Main Reading Room overlook first, then come back down to the Great Hall for photographs.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
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Gallery · National Mall
2.National Gallery of Art
The free National Gallery's neoclassical West Building holds Leonardo da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci, the only painting by Leonardo in the Americas, plus Vermeer, Rembrandt and a superb French Impressionist collection. I. M. Pei's angular East Building, linked by an underground concourse, covers modern and contemporary art, and the Sculpture Garden becomes an ice rink in winter.
Use the underground concourse with its light-filled cascade wall to move between the two buildings.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- Free
- Rainy day
- Architecture
- Couples
Museum · National Mall
3.National Museum of American History
The Smithsonian's museum of American life displays the original Star-Spangled Banner that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814, Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, Julia Child's kitchen and a section of the Greensboro lunch counter from the 1960 civil-rights sit-ins.
The Star-Spangled Banner is in a dimly lit chamber at the centre of the second floor; start there, then pick one wing.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- History
- Free
- Kids
- Rainy day
Museum · National Mall
4.United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The museum's permanent exhibition tells the history of the Holocaust over three floors, through personal artefacts, film and testimony, starting with an identification card of a real person whose fate you follow. It is intense and recommended for visitors aged 11 and over; a separate exhibition, Remember the Children: Daniel's Story, is aimed at younger visitors.
Leave time afterwards in the quiet Hall of Remembrance before heading back out onto the Mall.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Book ahead
- Free timed passes are needed for the permanent exhibition in the busier spring and summer months; reserve online.
- History
- Free
- Rainy day
Historic site · Arlington, Virginia
5.Arlington National Cemetery
Across the Potomac, rows of white headstones cover the hillsides of the nation's best-known military cemetery. Visitors come for the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the eternal flame at John F. Kennedy's grave and the view back over the river to the Lincoln Memorial from Arlington House.
The Changing of the Guard takes place every hour or half-hour depending on the season; the walk up from the Metro is steep, so allow 20 minutes.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- History
- Free
- Views
Zoo · Woodley Park
6.Smithsonian's National Zoo
The free National Zoo spreads over a wooded valley in Rock Creek Park, with Asian elephants, great apes, big cats, the Amazonia rainforest house and giant pandas, which returned to Washington in 2024. Paths are long and hilly, so plan a route rather than trying to see everything.
Take the Red Line to Cleveland Park, which gives a flatter walk to the main entrance than the climb from Woodley Park.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Kids
- Free
- Outdoors
- Nature
Museum · Chantilly, Virginia
7.Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
The Air and Space Museum's vast hangars next to Dulles Airport hold aircraft too big for the Mall, including Space Shuttle Discovery, an SR-71 Blackbird, an Air France Concorde and the Enola Gay. An observation tower looks over the Dulles runways. Entry is free, with a charge for parking.
It is easiest by car or ride-hailing; combine it with a flight in or out of Dulles to save a separate trip.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Kids
- Free
- Rainy day
- History
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Historic site · Penn Quarter
8.Ford's Theatre
Abraham Lincoln was shot in the presidential box here on 14 April 1865. The restored theatre still stages plays, the basement museum displays the assassin's pistol, and across 10th Street the Petersen House shows the room where Lincoln died the next morning.
Book the self-guided visit that includes the Petersen House and the Center for Education and Leadership with its tower of books about Lincoln.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Book ahead
- Timed tickets are released online for a small fee and sell out on spring days dominated by school groups.
- History
- Rainy day
Gallery · Penn Quarter
9.National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum
Two free Smithsonian museums share the Greek Revival Old Patent Office Building. The Portrait Gallery's America's Presidents hall includes Gilbert Stuart's Lansdowne portrait of Washington and Kehinde Wiley's portrait of Barack Obama, while the American Art Museum covers everything from folk art to Nam June Paik's neon map of the US. The glass-roofed Kogod Courtyard is a calm place to rest.
Go up to the third-floor Lunder Conservation Center, where you can watch conservators at work through the glass.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- Free
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
- Architecture
Neighbourhood · Georgetown
10.Georgetown and the C&O Canal
Georgetown's brick rowhouses, the shops of M Street and the towpath of the 19th-century Chesapeake and Ohio Canal make for the city's best neighbourhood walk. Climb the steep 'Exorcist steps' to Prospect Street, look into Georgetown University's campus, then finish at Georgetown Waterfront Park on the Potomac.
Walk from Foggy Bottom station along Pennsylvania Avenue or take the riverside path; Georgetown has no Metro stop of its own.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Shopping
- Couples
- History
- Outdoors
Market · Capitol Hill
11.Eastern Market
A red-brick market hall that has traded since 1873, with butchers, bakers, cheesemongers and a lunch counter inside. At weekends the surrounding plazas fill with farmers' stalls, crafts, antiques and flea-market finds, and Barracks Row's restaurants are a short walk away.
Come on a Saturday or Sunday morning for the full outdoor market, then walk ten minutes to the Library of Congress.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Food
- Shopping
- Off the beaten path
Religious site · Upper Northwest
12.Washington National Cathedral
Built in 14th-century English Gothic style between 1907 and 1990, the cathedral has soaring stone vaults, a stained-glass Space Window containing a fragment of moon rock and, high on the northwest tower, a Darth Vader grotesque designed through a children's competition. The bell tower and the gardens give long views over the city.
Bring binoculars or a zoom lens to spot Darth Vader on the northwest tower from the garden.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Architecture
- Off the beaten path
- Views
- History
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of African American History and Culture and National Gallery of Art |
| History | National Mall, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and United States Capitol |
| Views | Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Arlington National Cemetery and Washington National Cathedral |
| Outdoors and nature | National Mall, Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Georgetown and the C&O Canal |
| Food and markets | Eastern Market |
| After dark | Lincoln Memorial |
| With children | National Mall, Washington Monument, National Air and Space Museum and National Museum of Natural History |
| On a rainy day | United States Capitol, Library of Congress (Jefferson Building), National Air and Space Museum and National Museum of Natural History |
What to book ahead
- Washington Monument: Entry to the top is by timed ticket booked online, with a small service fee; tickets for spring and summer go quickly.
- United States Capitol: Reserve a free tour slot online in advance; same-day availability is limited in spring and summer.
- National Air and Space Museum: Free timed-entry passes have been required since the museum's phased reopening; check the Smithsonian site before you go.
- National Museum of African American History and Culture: Free timed-entry passes are often needed, especially at weekends and in spring; book online in advance.
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Free timed passes are needed for the permanent exhibition in the busier spring and summer months; reserve online.
- Ford's Theatre: Timed tickets are released online for a small fee and sell out on spring days dominated by school groups.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Washington, D.C.?
National Mall. The Mall runs about 3 km from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, lined by the Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery, with the Washington Monument at its centre.
+What can you do for free in Washington, D.C.?
National Mall, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, United States Capitol and National Air and Space Museum. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Washington, D.C. when it rains?
Head indoors to United States Capitol, Library of Congress (Jefferson Building), National Air and Space Museum and National Museum of Natural History.
+What is there to do in Washington, D.C. at night?
Lincoln Memorial are best after dark.