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

Daniel Chester French's statue of the seated president gazing out over the Reflecting Pool may be the most iconic on the Mall. The 19-foot-high sculpture is made of 28 pieces of Georgia marble. The surrounding white Colorado-marble memorial was designed by Henry Bacon and completed in 1922. The 36 Doric columns represent the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death; their names appear on the frieze above the columns. Over the frieze are the names of the 48 states in existence when the memorial was dedicated. At night the memorial is illuminated, creating a striking play of light and shadow across Lincoln's face. Photography enthusiasts will find great light during dawn and dusk. Given the afternoon crowds, sunrise may be a great bet. 
Two of Lincoln's great speeches—the second inaugural address and the Gettysburg Address—are carved on the north and south walls. Above each is a Jules Guerin mural: the south wall has an angel of truth freeing an enslaved person; the unity of North and South is opposite.
The memorial's powerful symbolism makes it a popular gathering place. In its shadow, Americans marched for integrated schools in 1958, rallied for an end to the Vietnam War in 1967, and laid wreaths in a ceremony honoring the Iranian hostages in 1979. It may be best known, though, as the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

One of the most iconic American figures, Martin Luther King Jr., stands among the presidents on the National Mall. For his dedication on October 16, 2011, President Barack Obama said, "This is a day that would not be denied." The memorial opened on August 22, 2011, 15 years after Congress approved it in 1996 and 82 years after the famed civil rights leader was born in 1929. Located strategically between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and adjacent to the FDR Memorial, the crescent-shaped King Memorial sits on a 4-acre site on the curved bank of the Tidal Basin. There are two main ways to enter the memorial. From West Basin Drive, walk through a center walkway cut out of a huge boulder, the Mountain of Despair. From the Tidal Basin entrance, a 28-foot-tall granite structure shows a likeness of King looking out toward Jefferson's statue. 
King's words explain the symbolism of the mountain and stone: "With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope." Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin carved the centerpiece stone; his design won the commission among more than 900 entries in an international competition. Fittingly, Yixin first read about King's "I Have a Dream" speech at age 10 while visiting the Lincoln Memorial.
The themes of democracy, justice, hope, and love are reflected through quotes on the south and north walls and the Stone of Hope. The quotes reflect King's speeches, sermons, and writings from 1955 through 1968. Waterfalls in the memorial reflect King's use of the biblical quote: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."

In the 1930s, Congress decided to build a monument to Thomas Jefferson as prominent as the Washington and Lincoln memorials. Workers scooped and moved tons of the river bottom to create dry land for the spot due south of the White House. Jefferson had always admired the Pantheon in Rome, so the memorial's architect, John Russell Pope, drew on it for inspiration. His finished work was dedicated on April 13, 1943, the bicentennial of Jefferson's birth. The bronze statue of Jefferson stands on a 6-foot granite pedestal. Surrounding the statue are his writings about freedom, which have since come under scrutiny for their inherent hypocrisy, as Jefferson owned many enslaved people in his lifetime. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture delves into Jefferson's transgressions in its Monticello exhibit Paradox of Liberty.

"The Wall," as it's commonly called, is one of the most visited sites in Washington, D.C. The names of more than 58,000 Americans who died in the Vietnam War are etched in its black granite panels, creating a powerful memorial. Jan Scruggs, a corporal who served in Vietnam, conceived the memorial, and Maya Lin, a then-21-year-old architecture student at Yale, designed the landmark.

Thousands of offerings are left on the wall each year; many people leave flowers, and others leave soldiers' uniform items or letters of thanks.

In 1984, Frederick Hart's statue of three soldiers and a flagpole was erected to the south of the wall, with the goal of winning over veterans who considered the memorial a "black gash of shame." In 2004, a plaque was added to honor veterans who died after the war as a direct result of injuries in Vietnam, but who fall outside Department of Defense guidelines for remembrance at the wall.

The Vietnam Women's Memorial was dedicated in 1993. Glenna Goodacre's bronze sculpture depicts two women caring for a wounded soldier while a third kneels nearby; eight trees around the plaza commemorate the eight women in the military who died in Vietnam.
Names on the wall are ordered by the date of death. To find a name, consult the alphabetical lists at either end of the wall. You can get assistance locating a name at the white kiosk with the brown roof near the entrance. At the wall, rangers and volunteers wearing yellow caps can look up the names and supply you with paper and pencils for making rubbings. Every name on the memorial is preceded (on the west wall) or followed (on the east wall) by a symbol designating status. A diamond indicates "KIA." A plus sign (found by a small percentage of names) indicates "MIA."

The top of the Washington Monument is perhaps the best, most breathtaking place to see the city and get a good idea of its layout.

The 555-foot, 5⅛-inch monument, which punctuates the capital like a huge exclamation point, was part of Pierre L'Enfant's plan for Washington, but his intended location proved to be so marshy that the structure was moved 100 yards southeast. Construction began in 1848 and continued until 1884. Upon completion, the monument was the world's tallest structure and weighed more than 81,000 tons. Six years into construction, members of the anti-Catholic Know-Nothing Party stole and smashed a block of marble donated by Pope Pius IX. This action, combined with funding shortages and the onset of the Civil War, brought construction to a halt. After the war, building finally resumed, and though the new marble came from the same Maryland quarry as the old, it was taken from a different stratum with a slightly different shade. Inserted into the walls of the monument are 193 memorial stones from around the world. The monument reopened in spring 2019 after an elevator modernization project. Up to six tickets can be requested for just $1 per person at  recreation.gov.

This symmetrically designed monument, in a parklike setting between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, honors the 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces, the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort at home. An imposing circle of 56 granite pillars, each bearing a bronze wreath, represents the United States and its territories of 1941–45. Four bronze eagles, a bronze garland, and two 43-foot-tall arches inscribed with "Atlantic" and "Pacific," representing victory on both fronts, surround the large circular plaza. The roar of the water comes from the Rainbow Pool, here since the 1920s and renovated to form the memorial's centerpiece. There are also two fountains and two waterfalls. The Field of Stars, a wall of more than 4,000 gold stars, commemorates more than 400,000 Americans who lost their lives in the war. Bas-relief panels depict women in the military, medics, the bond drive, and V-J Day, all telling the story of how World War II affected Americans daily.

Standing strong on Capitol Hill for more than 200 years, this house witnessed the construction of the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court, and its early occupants participated in the formation of Congress. In 1929, the National Woman's Party (NWP), founded by Alice Paul, an outspoken suffragist and feminist, purchased the house, and it soon evolved into a center for feminist education and social change. For more than 60 years, the trailblazing NWP utilized its strategic location, steps from the U.S. Capitol and its congressional offices, to lobby for women's political, social, and economic equality. Today an expansive collection of artifacts from the suffrage and equal rights campaigns brings the story of the women's rights movement to life. The innovative tactics and strategies these women devised became the blueprint for women's progress throughout the 20th century. In 2016, President Obama designated the home as a national monument.

The monument is closed for renovations through mid- to late 2023.

This 7½-acre memorial to the 32nd president, on the west side of the Tidal Basin, includes waterfalls and reflecting pools, four outdoor gallery rooms—one for each of Roosevelt's presidential terms (1933 to 1945)—and 10 bronze sculptures. You can find some of Roosevelt's famous statements, including "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," engraved on the granite megaliths connecting the galleries. A bronze statue of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt stands in front of the United Nations symbol in the fourth room. She was a vocal spokesperson for human rights and one of the most influential women of her time. Considering Roosevelt's disability, this was the first memorial designed to be wheelchair-accessible, and several pillars include Braille lettering. The memorial was dedicated in 1997, but it wasn't until 2001 that a statue of a wheelchair-bound Roosevelt was added near the entrance after years of debate about whether to portray Roosevelt realistically or to honor his desire not to display his disability, as had been done throughout his presidency.

At the west end of the National Mall, this memorial to the 5.8 million United States men and women who served in the Korean War (1950–53) highlights the cost of freedom. Often referred to as the "forgotten war," nearly 37,000 Americans died on the Korean peninsula, 8,000 were missing in action, and more than 103,000 were wounded. The privately funded memorial was dedicated on July 27, 1995, the 42nd anniversary of the Korean War Armistice.

In the Field of Service, 19 oversize stainless-steel soldiers trudge through rugged terrain toward an American flag; look beneath the helmets to see their weary faces. The reflection in the black granite wall to their right doubles their number to 38, symbolic of the 38th parallel, the latitude established as the border between North and South Korea in 1953, as well as the 38 months of the war.

Unlike many memorials, this one contains few words. The 164-foot-long granite wall etched with the faces of 2,400 unnamed servicemen and servicewomen says, "Freedom is not free." The plaque at the flagpole base reads, "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met." The only other words are the names of 22 countries that volunteered forces or medical support, including Great Britain, France, Greece, and Turkey. The adjacent circular Pool of Remembrance honors all who were killed, captured, wounded, or lost in action; it's a quiet spot for contemplation.