Editor's picks
A local's shortlist — the places worth your time first, each with a tip.
The National Mall & Smithsonian museums
Culture · Central
Nineteen museums and the National Zoo, essentially all free, strung along two miles between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial.
Local tip: Free admission is genuinely unlimited — treat them as places to drop into for forty minutes rather than day trips. The National Museum of African American History and Culture still needs a timed pass in peak season.
Rock Creek Park
Nature · North-west
1,750 acres of forested valley running through the middle of the city, twice the size of Central Park.
Local tip: Beach Drive is closed to cars permanently on several sections now, which transformed it for cyclists and runners. The Boulder Bridge stretch feels like Appalachia twenty minutes from the White House.
Eastern Market & Capitol Hill
Food · Capitol Hill SE
An 1873 brick market hall with a weekend flea market, surrounded by rowhouses and the city's best-preserved residential streets.
Local tip: Saturday for the farmers, Sunday for the flea market. Get the blueberry buckwheat pancakes at Market Lunch inside, and go early — the queue is real.
U Street & Shaw
Neighborhood · North-west
Historically 'Black Broadway' — Duke Ellington's neighbourhood, now the city's densest nightlife and restaurant strip.
Local tip: Ben's Chili Bowl for a half-smoke is the obligatory stop, but the better eating is on 9th Street and along Florida Avenue. The African American Civil War Memorial is at the Metro exit and most people walk past it.
Georgetown & the C&O Canal
Landmark · North-west
Federal-era rowhouses, cobbled streets and a 19th-century canal towpath running 184 miles west to Cumberland.
Local tip: Georgetown has no Metro station, which is why it feels separate. Walk or cycle the towpath out past Fletcher's Cove and the crowds vanish within a mile.
Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens
Hidden gemNature · North-east
The only national park dedicated to aquatic plants — ponds of lotus and water lilies on the Anacostia, with marsh boardwalks.
Local tip: Go in July at dawn when the lotuses are open and the herons are out. It is free, it is a National Park Service site, and almost nobody who lives in north-west DC has ever been.
Explore 120 places across Washington DC
Museums, landmarks, monuments, heritage sites and parks — mapped, with photos. The most notable spots first.
Museums & galleries
(31)
MuseumSmithsonian Institution
Group of museums and research centers administered by the United States government
MuseumUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum
United States' official memorial to the Holocaust in Washington, D.C.
MuseumNational Museum of Women in the Arts
Art museum in Washington, D.C., United States
MuseumNational Museum of the American Indian
Museum in Washington, D.C., a division of the Smithsonian Institution
MuseumNational Museum of African Art
Museum about African Art located in Washington, D.C., a division of the Smithsonian Institution
MuseumNational Portrait Gallery
Art museum in Washington, D.C., a division of the Smithsonian Institution
MuseumDumbarton Oaks
Research institution concerning Byzantine and Pre-Columbian studies and garden and landscape studies
MuseumHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Art museum in Washington, D.C., a division of the Smithsonian Institution
Museum
MuseumNewseum
Museum dedicated to news and journalism in Washington, D.C.
MuseumArthur M. Sackler Gallery
Museum of Asian art in Washington, D.C.
MuseumThe Phillips Collection
Art museum in Washington, D.C.
MuseumCorcoran Gallery of Art
Former museum in D.C., part of whose collection moved to the National Gallery of Art in 2014
MuseumInternational Spy Museum
Museum in Washington, D.C., United States
Museum
MuseumHouse of the Temple
Masonic temple in Washington D.C.
MuseumArts and Industries Building
Smithsonian Institution building
MuseumRenwick Gallery
Art museum in Washington, D.C.
Museum
MuseumHillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
Decorative arts museum in Washington, D.C., USA
MuseumPope John Paul II Cultural Center
National shrine in Washington, D.C
MuseumArt Museum of the Americas
Art museum in Washington, D.C.
MuseumCIA Museum
National archive in the United States
MuseumKreeger Museum
Art museum in Washington, D.C.
MuseumNational Museum of Crime & Punishment
Former private crime museum
MuseumHistorical Society of Washington, D.C.
Historical society in Washington, D.C.
Howard University Museum
Museum.
Diplomatic Reception Rooms Museum
Museum.
B'Nai B'Rith Klutznick Museum
Museum.
Smithsonian Institution Anacostia Community Museum
Museum.
Drug Enforcement Agency Museum and Visitors Center
Museum.
Landmarks & architecture
(5)
LandmarkSheridan Circle
Traffic circle in Washington D.C
LandmarkMount Vernon Square
Park and plaza in Washington, D.C.
LandmarkNational World War I Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
Washington, D.C., memorial commemorating the U.S. armed forces involved in the First World War
LandmarkL'Enfant Plaza
Complex of four commercial buildings grouped around a plaza in Washington, D.C., United States
LandmarkFrederick Douglass Memorial Bridge
Bridge in United States of America
Monuments & memorials
(38)
MonumentLincoln Memorial
Memorial in Washington, D.C., United States
MonumentPentagon Memorial
Historic site
Monument
MonumentStatue of Abraham Lincoln
Statue at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.
MonumentPeace Monument
Artwork by Franklin Simmons
MonumentAfrican American Civil War Memorial
Wall of honor and sculpture honors the American Civil War service of African American soldiers and sailors
Monument
MonumentJames A. Garfield Monument
Statue in Washington, D.C., by John Quincy Adams Ward
MonumentFirst Division Monument
Artwork by Daniel Chester French
MonumentEmancipation Memorial
Artwork by Thomas Ball
MonumentAdmiral David G. Farragut
Artwork by Vinnie Ream
MonumentHolodomor Memorial to Victims of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932–1933
Monument in Washington, D.C., United States
MonumentAdams Memorial
Artwork by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
MonumentCIA Memorial Wall
Memorial to CIA employees
MonumentZero Milestone
Artwork by Horace W. Peaslee
MonumentGeorge Gordon Meade Memorial
Artwork by Charles Grafly
MonumentNational Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Oscar Straus Memorial
Artwork by Adolph Alexander Weinman
MonumentStatue of Tadeusz Kościuszko
Statue in Washington, D.C., by Antoni Popiel
MonumentLabor Hall of Honor
Award conferred by the U.S. Department of Labor
MonumentNetherlands Carillon
Carillon gifted to the people of the United States from the people of the Netherlands
MonumentDaniel Webster Memorial
Artwork by Gaetano Trentanove
Nuns of the Battlefield
Artwork by Jerome Connor
MonumentSamuel Gompers Memorial
Artwork by Robert Ingersoll Aitken
Monument
Monument
MonumentLieutenant General George Washington
Artwork by Clark Mills
MonumentMajor General John A. Logan
Equestrian statue monument centered in Washington, D.C.'s Logan Circle, NW
MonumentMilitary Women's Memorial
Monument in Arlington County, United States of America
Daguerre Memorial
Sculpture in Washington, D.C., by Jonathan Scott Hartley
MonumentFrancis Asbury Memorial
Artwork by Henry Augustus Lukeman
MonumentGeneral Jose de San Martin Memorial
Artwork by Augustin-Alexandre Dumont
MonumentGeorge Washington on Horseback
Artwork by Herbert Haseltine
East Corner Boundary Stone
Historic site.
North Corner Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia
Historic site.
Capitol Hill
Historic site.
Testudo (McKeldin)
Public artwork.
Testudo (Alumni Center)
Public artwork.
Places of worship
(6)
ReligiousSixth & I Historic Synagogue
Jewish synagogue in Washington, D.C.
ReligiousMount St. Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery
The religious community, a representative of the Custody of the Holy Land
ReligiousAdas Israel Congregation
Largest Conservative synagogue in Washington, D.C.
Religious
ReligiousNational Presbyterian Church
Church in D.C., United States
Saint Cecilia Chapel (ruin)
Place of worship.
Heritage & archaeology
(3)Bay-Eva Castle
Historic ruins.
Charles Stewart School (historic)
Historic ruins.
Ruins of Worker's Houses for Nearby Quarries
Historic ruins.
Parks & nature
(33)
ParkNational Mall
Park in Washington, D.C.
ParkUnited States Botanic Garden
Botanical garden in Washington, DC
ParkMartin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Memorial located in West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C.
ParkWest Potomac Park
Urban park in Washington, D.C.
ParkWhite House Rose Garden
Garden outside the White House in Washington, DC, United States
ParkDupont Circle
Neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
ParkUnited States National Arboretum
National arboretum and research institution in Washington, D.C., US
ParkThe Ellipse
Park in Washington, D.C., United States
ParkPresident's Park
Urban park in Washington, DC
ParkLafayette Square
Urban park and square in Washington, D.C.
ParkLincoln Park
Park in Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Hill neighborhood
ParkEast Potomac Park
Park located on a man-made island in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
ParkFarragut Square
City square in Washington, D.C., United States
ParkRock Creek Park
Urban park in Washington, D.C.
ParkMcPherson Square
Square in Washington, D.C., United States
Park
ParkSewall-Belmont House and Museum
Historic house and museum of the U.S. women's suffrage and equal rights movements located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
ParkBishop John Carroll
Sculpture by Jerome Connor in Washington, D.C.
ParkJacqueline Kennedy Garden
Garden outside the White House in Washington, DC, United States
ParkConstitution Gardens
Park within the National Mall, Washington, DC
ParkKahlil Gibran Memorial Garden
Artwork by Gordon Kray
ParkBartholdi Park
Public park in Washington, D.C., United States
Park
ParkWashington Circle
Park and traffic circle in Washington, D.C.
ParkKenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens
Park in Washington, D.C., United States
ParkUnion Square
Park at the western front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Scott Circle
Traffic circle, urban park, and neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
ParkWard Circle
Traffic circle and park in Northwest, Washington, D.C.
ParkWestmoreland Circle
Traffic circle and park on the border between Washington, D.C. and Maryland, United States
ParkFort Reno Park
Park that contains the highest natural point in Washington, D.C., United States
ParkFort Willard
Historical fort and park in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States
ParkGeorgetown Waterfront Park
Park in Washington, United States
ParkSeward Square
Park in the United States of America
More to explore
(4)Scott's Run Falls
Viewpoint.
Twin Oaks
Visitor attraction.
Forest Glen Historic Railroad Station
Visitor attraction.
Rock of the Marne
Visitor attraction.
Data from Wikidata (CC0) & OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Images via Wikimedia Commons — see each credit. Listings are community-maintained and may be incomplete or out of date — verify hours and access before visiting.
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