Washington D C

Washington D.C.: The Free City That Most People Under-visit

The single most important fact about Washington D.C. is that the Smithsonian Institution operates 17 museums and galleries here, most of them on the National Mall, and all of them are free. This includes the National Air and Space Museum (one of the most visited museums in the world), the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Hirshhorn Museum of modern and contemporary art, and the National Gallery of Art. You could spend five full days doing nothing but Smithsonian museums and not see everything.

The second most important fact is that the National Mall itself is a 3-km green space from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, lined with monuments and museums, free to walk at any hour.

The National Mall Monuments

The Lincoln Memorial at the western end sits at the top of 87 steps and houses the 19-foot seated marble Lincoln by Daniel Chester French, completed in 1922. The Gettysburg Address text is inscribed on the south wall. Standing there in the early morning before the tourist groups arrive is worth the effort.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a short walk from Lincoln, is two polished black granite walls inscribed with 58,318 names. It is one of the most effective pieces of public memorial design in the world, and seeing people searching for specific names on the reflective surface remains affecting however many times you visit.

The Washington Monument is 169 metres high and was the tallest structure in the world when completed in 1884. Free timed-entry passes are required (book at recreation.gov). The observation platform view is the best 360-degree view of the city.

The Capitol Building at the eastern end can be toured free through your Congressional representative’s office (US residents) or through the Capitol Visitor Center (all visitors). The interior is architecturally impressive and the tour explains the legislative process in concrete terms.

What’s Worth Your Time Beyond the Mall

The National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened in 2016, is the best single museum in the city. Timed-entry passes are required and frequently sell out weeks in advance; book the day passes become available at 09:00 EST at 30-day intervals on recreation.gov. The museum covers enslaved people, the Civil War, the civil rights movement, and contemporary African American culture across several floors, and manages to be educational without being sanitised.

The Holocaust Museum is free and sober. The core exhibition takes 2-3 hours. Timed passes required for the main exhibition; book online.

Georgetown, northwest of the Mall, is the older pre-planned neighbourhood with Federal row houses, a commercial strip on M Street, and the Georgetown Waterfront Park on the Potomac. It is pleasant for walking. The C&O Canal towpath running west from Georgetown to Maryland is excellent for cycling.

Eating

Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street has been there since 1958 and serves half-smokes (pork and beef sausages) with chili sauce. It is a D.C. institution and genuinely good. The U Street Corridor and the Shaw neighbourhood around 11th Street NW have developed into the most interesting food and bar area in the city over the past decade.

Eastern Market on Capitol Hill has an indoor food hall and Saturday farmers’ market that are both worth a visit if you are in that part of town.

For a budget meal near the Mall, the food court in the National Museum of Natural History is adequate and considerably cheaper than the restaurants on Constitution Avenue.

Getting Around

The Metro covers the main tourist areas. A SmarTrip card is cheaper than buying individual tickets. Ride-share works well for the areas not on Metro lines. Cycling is increasingly viable; Capital Bikeshare has hundreds of docking stations. The Mall itself is best done on foot over a long day.

When to Go

April brings cherry blossoms to the Tidal Basin around the FDR and MLK memorials, producing two weeks of extraordinary scenery and extraordinary crowds. Book accommodation months ahead if coming during peak blossom. Late September and October offer good weather and smaller crowds than summer. January and February are cold but uncrowded; several Smithsonian museums have lines in August that disappear entirely in winter.

The city runs better in spring and autumn. Congress is often in recess in August, which paradoxically reduces some of the security theatre around the Capitol and reduces Metro overcrowding during rush hours.