9 Best Sights in Washington, D.C., USA

Conceived as the nation's museum of modern and contemporary art, the Hirshhorn is home to nearly 12,000 works by masters who include Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, and Louise Bourgeois, as well as contemporary superstars Anish Kapoor and Yinka Shonibare. The art is displayed in a circular poured-concrete building designed by Gordon Bunshaft, dubbed the "Doughnut on the Mall" when it was built in 1974. The museum's founder, Joseph H. Hirshhorn, a Latvian immigrant who made his fortune in uranium mines, bequeathed most of the initial collection.

The sculpture collection has masterpieces by Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, and Constantin Brancusi. Outside, sculptures dot a grass-and-granite garden. Among them is Yoko Ono's Wish Tree for Washington, DC. On the plaza stands a 32-foot-tall yellow cartoon sculpture by pop-art iconographer Roy Lichtenstein that has become a beloved local landmark.

The third level's outer ring is the place to see thought-provoking conceptual art from the museum's permanent collection. Inside the third level, you can see dramatic postwar art from the museum's permanent collection, displayed thematically, with works by artists such as Joseph Cornell, Isa Genzken, Alighiero e Boetti, and Sol LeWitt. Check out Cornell's Untitled (Aviary with Yellow Birds) and Yoko Ono's Sky TV for Washington, DC. Large-scale text works by conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner round out the space.

The second level houses exhibits that rotate about three times a year, curated by museum staff and devoted to particular artists or themes. The lower level houses recent and experimental works from the permanent collection, while the sculpture garden makes an inspiring spot for a picnic. Dolcezza, a popular local coffee and gelato brand, set up a small café at the museum, perfect for a coffee break.

The two buildings of the National Gallery hold one of the world's foremost art collections, with paintings, sculptures, and graphics dating from the 13th to the 21st centuries. Opened in 1941, the museum was a gift to the nation from Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon. The rotunda, with marble columns surrounding a fountain, sets the stage for the masterpieces on display in more than 100 galleries.

Ginevra de' Benci, the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci on display in the Americas, is the centerpiece of the collection's comprehensive survey of Italian Renaissance paintings and sculpture. Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer, masters of painting light, anchor the magnificent collection of Dutch and Flemish works. The 19th-century French Galleries house gorgeous impressionist masterworks by such superstars as Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas.

Walk beneath flowering trees in the sculpture garden on the Mall between 7th and 9th Streets. Granite walkways guide you through a shaded landscape featuring works from the gallery's growing collection and loans for special exhibitions.

There are many free docent-led tours every day, and a recorded tour of highlights of the collection is available free on the main floor adjacent to the rotunda. The Information Room maintains a database of more than 1,700 works of art from the collection.

This luscious French Second Empire–style building rises across the street from the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Even with such lofty neighbors, it is still the most appealing structure on the block. The Renwick Gallery, a branch museum of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, was the country's first purpose-built art museum, and it was known then as "the American Louvre." Designed by James Renwick Jr. in 1858 to hold the art collection of Washington merchant and banker William Wilson Corcoran. The National Historic Landmark building has been a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum dedicated to American crafts and decorative arts since 1972. The Renwick's exhibits are showcased in a captivating, interactive environment designed to illustrate the history of craft in America and its future. Exhibits highlight exciting contemporary artists using materials in innovative ways, redefining what craft is and taking it in bold new directions.

Located on 18th Street, just steps from the National Mall, the Art Museum of the Americas (AMA) is still considered by many a hidden gem. With its rotating exhibitions from prominent Latin American and Caribbean artists, there's always something new to experience at the museum. Take a break from the D.C. crowds and learn about the exhibitions, walk around the picturesque blue-tile corridor, and go for a walk along its serene garden. Admission is free.

The Beaux Arts Memorial Continental Hall, built in 1929 as the headquarters for the Daughters of the Revolution (DAR), is home to Washington, D.C.'s only decorative arts museum. The enormous collection encompasses furniture, textiles, quilts, silver, china, porcelain, stoneware, earthenware, glass, and other items made and used in the daily lives of Americans from the Colonial era through the early 20th century. Thirty-one period rooms reflect more than two centuries of American interiors, including a 1690s New England hall, an 1860s Texas bedroom, and a 1920s Ohio parlor. Two galleries feature changing exhibitions of decorative arts, and a study gallery allows researchers close access to the collection. Docent tours of the period rooms are available on weekdays, depending on docent availability. You can also take a self-guided tour. The museum also hosts special events for children and adults; check the website for details.

Formerly known as the Freer/Sackler, the National Museum of Asian Art formally rebranded to its current name in 2019. The museum opened in 1923 as the Freer Gallery of Art to showcase the collection of American industrialist and donor Charles Lang Freer. The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery was built next door in 1987 after Sackler donated 1,000 objects and $4 million for a museum to house them. With its commitment to preserving Asian art, the museum counts more than 44,000 items in its permanent collection hailing from countries like China, Japan, and Korea, also expanding into Southwest and Southeast Asia. One of the most popular rooms is the Peacock Room, which has dazzled guests at the Freer Gallery of Art since 1923. Initially designed by artist James McNeill Whistler to showcase a Chinese blue-and-white porcelain collection, the room marries its avian motif with a striking use of color inspired by the arts of East Asia.

From Childe Hassam's The South Ledges, Appledore to Nelson Shanks's The Four Justices, the Smithsonian American Art Museum features one of the world's largest collections of American art that spans more than four centuries. Over the past few decades, the museum has broadened its collection to include modern and contemporary art, too. Among the artists represented are Benny Andrews, José Campechi, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, Isamu Noguchi, Robert Rauschenberg, Mickalene Thomas, and Charlie Willeto. The museum shares a National Historic Landmark building with the National Portrait Gallery.

On the first floor, you'll discover an enormous tinfoil altarpiece by James Hampton and more than 60 sculptures and paintings by Emery Blagdon that represent his thought-provoking and constantly changing Healing Machine. You can also experience American works from the 1930s, many created as part of New Deal programs. Highlights here include Marvin Beerbohm's Automotive Industry, Lily Furedi's Subway, and Edward Hopper's Ryder's House. Also on the first floor is the Direct Carving exhibit, which showcases artists who work directly on a piece of stone or wood.

Art from the Colonial period to the dawn of modernism is displayed throughout the galleries on the second floor. Discover masterpieces by Mary Cassatt, Frederick Carl Frieseke, Thomas Moran, Harriett Whitney Frishmuth, George Catlin, Albert Bierstadt, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent, to name just a few.

The museum's third floor features modern and contemporary paintings and sculpture and the Watch This! gallery, where you can see a selection of works from the museum's media art and film collection. Highlights include Nam June Paik's billboard-size piece with 215 monitors showing video images from the Seoul Olympics, Korean folk rituals, and modern dance.

At any given time, many of the museum's holdings are in storage, but you can view more than 3,000 artworks in its Luce Foundation Center, a visible storage space on the third and fourth floors, where visitors can also watch the museum's conservators at work. Free docent-led tours of the museum are available every day at 12:30 and 2.

The original home of the Smithsonian Institution is an excellent first stop on the Mall to help you get your bearings and plan your exploration of the museums. Built of red sandstone, this Medieval Revival–style building, better known as the "Castle," was designed by James Renwick Jr., the architect of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. Although British scientist and founder James Smithson never visited America, his will stipulated that, should his nephew, Henry James Hungerford, die without an heir, Smithson's entire fortune would go to the United States, "to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." The museums on the Mall are the Smithsonian's most visible example of this ideal, but the organization also sponsors traveling exhibitions and maintains research posts in the Chesapeake Bay area and the tropics of Panama.

A 10-minute video gives an overview of the museums and the National Zoo, and The Smithsonian Institution: America's Treasure Chest exhibition features objects representing all the museums, revealing the breadth and depth of the collections. James Smithson's crypt is in a small chapel-like room here. The Castle also has Views from the Tall Tower—an exhibit demonstrating how the Washington skyline has changed since 1863—a good café, brochures in several languages, and a museum store. Kids appreciate the historic carousel at the north entrance; at the south entrance, you'll find the beautifully manicured Haupt Garden and copper-domed kiosk called the S. Dillon Ripley Center, which houses the Discovery Theater (delightful and affordable live, family-oriented shows on selected weekday mornings—usually geared for kids 2–12—are held here).

This unique underground building houses stunning galleries, a library, photographic archives, and educational facilities dedicated to collecting, conserving, and studying Africa's arts and culture from different perspectives. The rotating exhibits illuminate African visual arts, including sculpture, textiles, photography, archaeology, and modern art. Currents: Water in African Art showcases the power of art through pieces like intricately carved wooden masks and figures paying tribute to water spirits and deities. The museum's educational programs for children and adults include films with contemporary perspectives on African life, storytelling programs, and festivals, including Community Day. The hands-on workshops, such as traditional basket weaving, bring Africa's oral and cultural traditions to life. Workshops and demonstrations by African and African American artists offer a chance to meet and talk to practicing artists.