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

Cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post was a celebrated philanthropist, businessperson, and socialite, who was also known for her passion for collecting art and creating some of the most beautiful homes of the 20th century. Of these, the 25-acre Hillwood Estate, which Post bought in 1955, is the only one now open to the public. The 36-room Georgian mansion, where she regularly hosted presidents, diplomats, and royalty, is sumptuously appointed, with a formal Louis XVI drawing room, private movie theater and ballroom, and magnificent libraries filled with portraits of the glamorous hostess and her family and acquaintances, as well as works from her rich art collection. She was especially fascinated with Russian art, and her collection of Russian icons, tapestries, gold and silver work, imperial porcelain, and Fabergé eggs is considered to be the largest and most significant outside Russia. She devoted equal attention to her gardens; you can wander through 13 acres of them. Allow two to three hours to tour.

In a town known for political combat, this tiny urban park is a wonderful place to find some peace. The shady park combines Western and Arab symbols and is perfect for contemplation. From the Massachusetts Avenue entrance, a stone walk bridges a flower-bedecked swale. Farther on are limestone benches engraved with sayings from Gibran. They curve around a star-shaped fountain and a bronze bust of the namesake Lebanese-born poet, who emigrated to the United States at the turn of the 20th century and remains one of the best-selling poets of all time. His best-known work, The Prophet, has sold more than 11 million copies and has been translated into more than 100 languages. The garden is near the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory and across from the British Embassy.

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.

The site of the first headquarters for the National Council of Negro Women, the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House celebrates the life and legacy of Bethune, who founded the council and also served as president of the National Association of Colored Women. It was the council’s headquarters from 1943 to 1966, and Bethune herself lived here from 1943 to 1949. The archives of the history of African American women in the United States and Bethune’s legacy are housed here as well. After a lengthy construction project to update the archival research areas and to stabilize the physical foundations, the site reopened to the public in 2018.

Landscape architect Horace Peaslee created Meridian Hill Park, a noncontiguous section of Rock Creek Park, after a 1917 study of the parks of Europe. As a result, it contains elements of gardens in France, Italy, and Switzerland. John Quincy Adams lived in a mansion here after his presidency, and the park later served as an encampment for Union soldiers during the Civil War. All 50 states are represented by a state tree or flower. Meridian Hill is unofficially known as Malcolm X Park in honor of the civil rights leader. Weekends bring a mix of pickup soccer games, yoga, joggers running the stairs, and a weekly (weather permitting) drum circle. A statue of Joan of Arc poised for battle on horseback stands above the terrace, and a statue of Dante is on a pedestal below. Cell-phone tours illuminate the history of the landmarks inside the park.

Seven floors encompassing more than 430,000 square feet are all dedicated to the history, narrative, and impact of the Bible on the world. The IllumiNations exhibit displays Bibles in more than 2,000 languages, and visitors can touch, read, and explore them and other illuminated manuscripts. The museum includes exhibits focused on modern films, speakers, fashion, and technology to tell the story of the Bible's continuing influence today. Here you can also see the papyrus featuring early copies of the New Testament, biblically inspired designer clothing, and even Elvis Presley's Bible. Stop by the Manna restaurant for biblically themed foods and other Mediterranean-inspired meals.

Architecture, design, landscaping, and urban planning are the themes of this museum, the nation's premier cultural organization devoted to the built environment. The open interior of the mammoth redbrick building is one of the city's great spaces and has been the site of many presidential inaugural balls. The eight central Corinthian columns are among the largest in the world, rising to a height of 75 feet. Although they resemble Siena marble, each comprises 70,000 bricks covered with plaster and painted. The long-term exhibition House and Home features a kaleidoscopic array of photographs, objects, models, and films that takes visitors on a tour of houses both surprising and familiar, through past and present, exploring American domestic life and residential architecture. The museum also offers a series of temporary hands-on exhibitions focusing on construction. Although geared towards children, people of all ages enjoy the experience.

Founded in 1888, the National Geographic Society is best known for its magazine, and entering this welcoming 13,000-square-foot exhibition space feels like stepping into its pages. The small museum has child-friendly interactives and is home to a rotating display of objects from the society's permanent collections—cultural, historical, and scientific—as well as traveling exhibitions. It also has weekend showings in its 3-D movie theater. The M Street Lobby photography exhibit, as well as the outdoor photo display around the perimeter of the museum, are free.

These 3-foot-high walls bear the names of more than 21,000 American police officers killed in the line of duty since 1791. On the third line of Panel 13W are the names of six officers killed by William Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid. J.D. Tippit, the Dallas policeman killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, is honored on the ninth line of Panel 63E. Other names include the 72 officers who died due to the events of 9/11. Directories here allow you to look up officers by name, date of death, state, and department. Call to arrange for a free tour. A National Law Enforcement Museum is in the works; until then, a small visitor center ( 400 7th St.) has a computer for looking up names, a display on the history of law enforcement, and a small gift shop.

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.

Considered a best-kept secret of Washington, D.C.'s attractions, Oak Hill Cemetery functions as a public outdoor museum. Tucked away on R Street, away from the hustle and bustle of lower Georgetown, the cemetery is an idyllic space for nature and history lovers alike. Fans of George Saunders's best-selling novel Lincoln in the Bardo trek to this hillside corner of Georgetown near Rock Creek. Notable sights include a Gothic Revival chapel designed by James Renwick and the Carroll Family mausoleum, which, during the Civil War, briefly interred Abraham Lincoln's son Willie, who died in childhood from typhoid fever. In addition to visiting the places where notable figures reside, visitors will discover cenotaphs, sculptures, monuments, and inscriptions. Stop by the office for a free self-guided map.

Although the building is now the Waldorf Astoria Washington, D.C., the Old Post Office Tower (within the hotel) is still open for public tours through the National Park Service. The building, a symbol of the modern American spirit when constructed in 1899, was the first government tower to have its own electric power plant. Now, tourists can see the 360-degree view from the top of the tower, the second-tallest building in D.C. Tours (from 9 am to 4 pm daily) are free, but tour guests must enter through a specified entrance for the general public.

Washington's oldest surviving building, this fieldstone house in the heart of Georgetown, was built in 1765 by a cabinetmaker named Christopher Layman. A succession of occupants used the house as a residence and business place until 1953 when the National Park Service purchased it. Over the next seven years, it underwent an extensive restoration that has preserved the building's Revolutionary War–era architecture and design. The furnishings of several of the rooms reflect the times, with the simple, sturdy artifacts—plain tables, spinning wheels, and so forth—of 18th-century middle-class life. You can take a self-guided tour of the house and its lovely English-style gardens.

In June 1862, President Lincoln moved from the White House to this Gothic Revival cottage on the grounds of the Soldiers' Home to escape the oppressive heat of Washington and to grieve for the loss of his son Willie. Lincoln and his wife, Mary, lived in the cottage until November of that year, and because they found it to be a welcome respite from wartime tensions, they returned again during the summers of 1863 and 1864. Lincoln ultimately spent a quarter of his presidency at this quiet retreat; he was here just one day before he was assassinated. One of the most significant historic sites of Lincoln's presidency, it was here that he developed his ideas for what would become the Emancipation Proclamation. Visitors may picnic on the cottage grounds, which have been landscaped to look as they did when Lincoln lived here.

As you go up the hill toward the Cottage, there's a panoramic view of the city, including the Capitol dome. The 251-acre Soldiers' Home sits atop the third-tallest point in D.C.

At more than 3 million square feet, this is the largest federal building in Washington and the only property dedicated to government and private entities. A blend of classical and modern architecture, the center welcomes over a million visitors annually and is officially the World Trade Center, Washington, D.C. The Ronald Reagan Building, which hosts special events throughout the year, is home to a permanent art collection—one that includes a section of the Berlin Wall—and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Memorial Exhibit and Learning Center. It's also a popular place to get married, thanks to its fantastic views over the city. If you're hungry, pick up something from one of the 17 eateries in the spacious food court on the concourse level. In summer, check out Live!, a free concert series, performed daily (weekdays) from noon to 1:30. A farmers' market takes over the plaza on Friday from 11 pm to 3 pm from spring to fall.

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.

One of the world's great natural history museums offers 20 exhibition halls—including a fully renovated Dinosaur and Fossil Hall, filled with not only fossils, but also glittering gems, creepy-crawly insects, and other natural wonders. There are more than 145 million specimens in the collection. Marvel at the enormous African bush elephant, which greets you in the rotunda, and learn about elephant behavior and conservation efforts. Discover Q?rius, a state-of-the-art discovery space for all ages featuring 6,000 objects, on-site experts, and an array of digital tools that focus on the natural world. Walk among hundreds of live butterflies in the Butterfly Pavilion ($8 adults, $7 children/seniors). Check out giant millipedes and furry tarantulas in the O. Orkin Insect Zoo (don't miss the daily live tarantula feedings). See perfectly preserved giant squids, a jaw-dropping replica of a whale, and the ecosystem of a living coral reef in the Sant Ocean Hall. Watch as paleobiologists study some of the museum's collection of 46 million fossils, which includes the nation's T. rex found in Montana in 1988.

The National Museum of Natural History has the Hope Diamond, but the National Postal Museum has the envelope wrapping used to mail the gem to the Smithsonian—part of a collection that consists of nearly 6 million postal and philatelic objects. Exhibits, underscoring the important part the mail has played in America's development, include horse-drawn mail coaches, a railroad mail car, airmail planes, and a collection of philatelic rarities. Learn about stamp collecting, and tour Systems at Work, an exhibit that demonstrates how mail has gone from the mailbox to its destination for the past 200 years and features a high-def film highlighting amazing technologies. The William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, the largest of its kind in the world, has an additional 20,000 objects never before on public display, showing how closely stamps have intertwined with American history. The museum is next to Union Station in the old Washington City Post Office, designed by Daniel Burnham and completed in 1914.

Designed to celebrate the creative achievements of people in the capital city and around the world, this 46,000-square-foot LEED Gold–certified museum facility is on the campus of George Washington University. Rotating exhibits highlight global textiles and cultural traditions—from handmade rugs and historical costumes to contemporary art and fashion—as well as displays on local D.C. history. The museum offers a dynamic range of free screenings, talks, and other public programs throughout the week in person and online. It's also home to a research library and two study centers, and you can find digital resources on textile creation and care on the website, along with highlights of the museum's collections.

The cool white domes and elegant lines of this postmodern landmark stand in stark contrast to the traditional feel of the rest of the Foxhall Road neighborhood. Designed in 1963 by iconic architects Philip Johnson and Richard Foster, the building was once the home of GEICO executive David Lloyd Kreeger and his wife, Carmen. Music is a central theme of the art and the space: the Kreegers wanted a light-filled residence that would also function as a gallery and recital hall. The art collection includes works by Degas, Cézanne, Monet, Picasso, and Munch; and outstanding examples of African and Asian art. Especially stunning are the outdoor sculptures by Henry Moore, Isamu Noguchi, and others, including John L. Dreyfuss—six of his large-scale pieces surround the museum's reflecting pool. The domed rooms also have wonderful acoustics, and serve as an excellent venue for the classical concerts that are regularly performed here. The museum is not reachable by Metro; you need to take a car or taxi to get here.

This is D.C.’s funkiest museum. A reimagining of your grandma’s attic by surreal filmmaker Federico Fellini, it has dozens of secret doors and passageways, as well as rooms overflowing with antiques, pictures, figures of medieval angels, and memorabilia, including 60 signed Gibson guitars, stuffed animals, chandeliers, and books. The museum, housed in five interconnecting town houses, also doubles as an inn, where rooms pay homage to notables such as John Lennon, Winston Churchill, and Rosa Parks, once a frequent visitor. You can get a peek at the themed rooms when they're not occupied by rock stars or CEOs, who value the mansion’s privacy and security.

Designed by Dr. William Thornton (original architect of the U.S. Capitol), the Octagon House was built by enslaved workers for John Tayloe III, a wealthy plantation owner, and completed in 1801. Thornton chose the unusual shape to conform to the acute angle formed by L'Enfant's intersection of New York Avenue and 18th Street. After the British burned the White House in 1814, Thornton convinced the Tayloes to allow James and Dolley Madison to stay in the Octagon. From September 1814 until March 1815, the Octagon became the temporary White House. In the second-floor study, the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812, was ratified. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) established its national headquarters at the Octagon in 1898 and renovated the building as one of the country's first preservation projects. AIA stayed there for 70 years before moving into new modern headquarters directly behind. Self-guided tours take in historically furnished rooms; second-floor gallery spaces hold rotating exhibits on architecture, design, and history.

America's most famous house was designed in 1792 by Irish architect James Hoban. It was known officially as the Executive Mansion until 1902, when President Theodore Roosevelt renamed it the White House, long its informal name. The house has undergone many structural changes: Andrew Jackson installed running water; James Garfield put in the first elevator; Harry Truman had the entire structure gutted and restored, adding a second-story porch to the south portico; and Richard Nixon installed a one-lane bowling alley in 1969.

To see the White House you need to contact your U.S. representative or senator (or embassy if you aren't a U.S. citizen). Requests can be made up to three months in advance (especially for spring, summer, or December tour requests) and no less than 21 days in advance. You'll be asked for the names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers of everyone in your group. On the morning of your tour, call the White House Visitors Office information line for any updates; tours are subject to last-minute cancellations. Arrive 15 minutes early. Your group will be asked to line up in alphabetical order. Everyone 18 years and older must present government-issued photo ID, and no purses, backpacks, or bags are allowed on the tour (and no storage lockers are provided so leave them in your hotel room). There are no public restrooms, and you're allowed to take photos only with a smartphone or small compact camera. The security process will probably last as long as the tour itself, 20–25 minutes.

The self-guided tour includes rooms on the ground floor (including the White House Family Theater), but the State Floor has the highlights. The East Room is the largest room in the White House, the site of ceremonies and press conferences; this is also where Theodore Roosevelt's children roller-skated and one of Abraham Lincoln's sons harnessed a pet goat to a chair and went for a ride. The portrait of George Washington that Dolley Madison saved from torch-carrying British soldiers in 1814 hangs in the room, and the White House Christmas tree stands here every winter. The only president to get married in the White House, Grover Cleveland, was wed in the Blue Room. Esther, the second daughter of President Cleveland and First Lady Frances, holds the distinction of being the only child born in the White House. The Red Room, decorated in early-19th-century American Empire style, has been a favorite of first ladies. Mary Todd Lincoln had her coffee and read the morning paper here. In 1961, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy undertook an extensive restoration of the White House to preserve and showcase the historical and architectural significance of the home and its contents. The East Garden, which now bears her name, honors her contributions. Michelle Obama installed a vegetable-and-herb garden to promote healthy eating, as well as an apiary and pollinator garden for bees and other insects.

Your tour of the White House will be enhanced by visiting the White House Visitor Center at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, featuring displays, photos, and a 30-minute video about the White House.

You don't have to be a Democrat to enjoy this historic building, which became the headquarters for the Women's National Democratic Club in 1927. The exquisitely decorated mansion, built in the 1890s and designed by D.C. architect Harvey Page for opera singer Sarah Adams Whittemore, has housed senators and cabinet members over the years. Now it's best known for its library, where Eleanor Roosevelt did her radio broadcasts, and its full-length portraits of first ladies, painted in a whimsical style by folk artist April Newhouse.

Stop at Q Street between 31st and 32nd Streets, and look through the trees to the north, to the top of a sloping lawn, to see the neoclassical Tudor Place, designed by Capitol architect Dr. William Thornton for one of Martha Washington's granddaughters. Completed in 1816, the house remained in the family for six generations, hosting countless politicians, dignitaries, and military leaders. On the house tour, you can see the most extensive collection of George and Martha Washington items on public display outside Mount Vernon, Francis Scott Key's law desk, and spurs belonging to soldiers executed for serving as spies during the Civil War. You can only visit the house by guided tour (given hourly; the last tour at 3 pm), but before and afterward, until 4 pm, you can wander freely with a map through the formal garden full of roses and boxwoods, many of which are more than a century old. Admission to the garden grounds is free, but reserved tickets are required.

The outside of the building is plain, but inside, a wealth of art, contained in two separate collections, reflects the department's work. The Office of the Secretary Art Collection, featuring heroic oil paintings of dam construction, gold panning, and cattle drives, is found throughout the building's hallways, offices, and meeting rooms. The Department of the Interior Museum Collection outlines the work of the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Park Service, and other department branches. On Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm, you can view 26 photographic murals by Ansel Adams and more than 40 dramatic murals painted by Maynard Dixon, John Steuart Curry, and other artists. Reservations are required for the Murals Tour; call at least two weeks in advance. The Indian Craft Shop across the hall from the museum sells Native American pottery, dolls, carvings, jewelry, baskets, and books.

Once used to store currency, this is one of the most impressive Greek Revival buildings in the United States. Robert Mills, the architect responsible for the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, designed the colonnade on 15th Street. After the death of President Lincoln, the Andrew Johnson Suite was used as the executive office while Mrs. Lincoln moved out of the White House. One of the highlights is the Cash Room. Initially opened in 1869, it served as a bank, providing essential services to the public and supplying local banks with coins and currency. Renovated in 1985, visitors can tour the historic room. Tours of the Treasury Building are available only to U.S. citizens or legal residents, and you must make the reservation in advance through your congressional office.