My "must see" and "must do" list might be very different from yours and/or your nieces............that said, I'll happily give you my list!

My favorite museum is the American History Museum (part of the Smithsonian complex). A walk along the Mall to see the monuments is a must. The walk from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol Building is almost 2 miles (bring comfortable walking shoes!!), but many of the museums are situated along the mall. Between the Capitol Building and the Lincoln Memorial are the Vietnam Vets Memorial, the Korean War memorial (eerie at night), the magestic WWII memorial, the Washinton monument and the White House. You can see the placement of each on the map on this link. www.nps.gov/mall/planyourvisit/maps.htm I also like the White House Visitors' Center, and I don't believe anyone should pass up a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. Walking and using public transportation is easier than trying to navigate by car and trying to find parking~wise choice!

Have your nieces look at the Smithsonian website www.si.edu so they can choose which museums interest them the most. They are lucky young ladies, and you sound like a pretty wonderful uncle!

My subjective list:


National Gallery of Art - one of the top 5 in the world, IMO. http://www.nga.gov/ check out every corner of their website and look again a week before coming for latest events. I've been countless times in the last 30 years (hundreds?) and it's always fresh. Free.

National Zoo - the earlier the better. Consider it if you all get going early one day. A perfect visit for me is arriving before 9:00 am and leaving by 11:30 for an early lunch. Don't eat at the zoo (unless you packed a picnic) - it's horrid food. The Zoo is midway between Cleveland Park Metro and Woodley Park/Zoo Metro. As any local will suggest, arrive via Cleveland Park station, walk downhill to Zoo entrance and then continue downhill to Woodley Park when you leave. There are plenty of lunch spots on Conn. Ave between Zoo entrance and the Woodley Park/Zoo stop.



Check out http://dcist.com/ a few days before you arrive...

What are your interests? What kind of things to you most want to see and experience?

In addition to the above, we loved Mt.Vernon.

My must-sees are the National Gallery of Art (on the Mall), the National Portrait Gallery (8th & F Streets) and the Phillips Collection (in Dupont); the Capitol, and the White House from the outside; and the Lincoln, Jefferson, MLK and Vietnam Memorials. There are so many other great museums, though, it really depends on the interests of the group. Arlington Cemetery, the National Archives, the Newseum, any of the museums along the Mall, the National Cathedral...I could go on and on. It's a wonderful city, I hope you enjoy your visit!

All great suggestions. I personally think that a trip to Arlington Cemetery to see the changing of the guard is a must see. In the past the National Cathedral offered an afternoon tea service in conjunction with a tour. May be a fun break from museums.

All of the above are great suggestions, so you are definitely going to have to pick-and-choose based on your interests. You are not going to have nearly enough time to do it all.

A few things to consider:

1) Tickets for tours of the White House are hard to obtain and it's a bit of a crapshoot as to their distribution. If your nieces are unable to obtain tickets, let them know that the tour is not really all that great. It's a self-guided tour through a handful of rooms and you can be in-and-out in 30 minutes. I think there are MUCH better things to see in D.C.

2) In order to have more time for museums and other daytime activities, I always recommend visitors do a self-guided evening walking tour of the monuments. It's easy to do with a basic map of the Mall and Tidal Basin and it's safe since there will be lots of other people out doing the same thing. There will be park rangers at the various monuments to answer any questions you might have. You should have good weather in early April for doing this. Expect to spend about 2 hours walking.

3) Another enjoyable evening activity for your group might be seeing a performance of "Hello Dolly" at Ford's Theatre. Ticketholders can tour the museum before the performance and then you'll be seated in the actual theatre for the show. Tickets can be purchased online at: http://www.fords.org/home/performances-events/2012-2013-theatre-season

Much as I think everyone should visit NYC - a day trip from DC doesn;t make a lot of sense. It is 3 hours each way - even by Acela - so at least 7.5 hours getting too and fro - for perhaps 6 or 7 hours in Manhattan.

(Buses are much cheaper but will take longer - plane is no faster than train since you have to get in and out of the cities and allow for long security lines).

To see anything of NYC you really need to stay overnight and I can't honestly reco it with so much to see/do in DC,

Adding to what longhorn suggested:
1) I was personally somewhat disappointed in the White House tour. You are limited to a few rooms, are closely guarded, and prohibited from taking pictures. I found the (free of charge, free of hassle) White House visitors' center much more interesting and informative.

3)you might also consider a performance at the Kennedy Center.

Adding to nytraveler's comment about NYC~totally agree. NYC needs more than a day trip!

If you're there on a weekend, consider renting bikes from something like Bike 'n Roll or Capitol Bikeshare. You can do it any day, but there's very little traffic on the weekends. It's a blast. You can ride to the Capitol, to the Jefferson Memorial, to the Mall, Georgetown (although Georgetown is so people-crowded, I don't recommend it, except to eat).

I agree with longhorn, nyt and tenthumbs White House tour is meh--walk past it instead; an evening walking tour of the monuments would be wonderful; a day in NYC may be more trouble than it's worth, though NYC is, of course, spectacular; Kennedy Center would be fun of an evening.

"1) I was personally somewhat disappointed in the White House tour. You are limited to a few rooms, are closely guarded, and prohibited from taking pictures. I found the (free of charge, free of hassle) White House visitors' center much more interesting and informative"

The Visitor's Center is closed for renovation. A temporary one is open on the Ellipse.

Thanks for the update, tchoiniere!

To the above recommendations I would add the Newseum -- easily could have spent half a day there.

Also, it would probably be best to get advance reservations (available online) for the Capitol Building and the Holocaust Museum. And I would dispense with the side trip to NYC -- there's way too much to do in DC.

Agreed with the Newseum.

My must sees would be
1) Arlington Cemetery
2) US Capitol Tour
3) Monuments including at least the outside of the White House
4) Air & Space Museum, American History Museum
5) National Zoo first thing in the morning
6) Newseum
7) Holocaust Museum

tchoiniere, you left out the National Portrait Gallery, which I KNOW is one of your favorites (and mine).

I'd add to the list the Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial (although maybe tchoiniere includes them in "Monuments")

I also love the National Museum of American History and the quirky sculpture garden outside the National Gallery of Art.

I was including those in Monuments and completely forgot the Portrait Gallery. Too much thinking about vacation for me as Im heading to FL Saturday!!!

Thank you ALL .... you are absolutely AMAZING !!! Appreciate the responses. I will share with the nieces this weekend and we will begin the plan.

I forgot to add the Portrait Gallery as well, but since I don't get to go on vacation Saturday, I'll blame it on WAY too many things to do in DC!!

tchoinere, you're headed to spring training, no? I am, too, but scottsdale in a couple of weeks.