THINGS TO DO IN WASHINGTON, DC

There is a variety of sites and activities that the nation’s capital has to offer. Please see the list below for some local attractions in Washington, DC including art galleries, museums, national monuments, historic sites, and more.

CULTURAL

  1. John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: http://www.kennedy-center.org/
  2. National Gallery of Art: https://www.nga.gov/ Permanent collection of European and American paintings and sculpture. Special exhibitions: A century of Lunar photographs, and Andrea del Verrocchio (starts September 15). Open Mon-Saturday 10 am- 5 pm, Sunday 11 am-6 pm.
  3. Freer Gallery of Art and Sackler Museum of Asian Art: https://www.freersackler.si.edu/ Permanent collection of Asian Art and American Art of the Aesthetic movement. Special exhibitions: Whistler in Watercolor, The Peacock Room. Open daily 10 am-5:30 pm.
  4. The Phillips Collection: https://www.phillipscollection.org/ Late 19th to contemporary art housed in the home of Duncan Phillips. Special exhibitions: the Warmth of Other Suns, Stories of Global Displacement. Open Tues-Sat 10 am-5 pm, Sunday noon-6:30 pm.
  5. National Museum of African American History and Culture: https://nmaahc.si.edu/ Permanent collection documents African American History, culture and life. Open daily 10 am-5:30 pm, timed passes required.
  6. Smithsonian Museum of American Art: https://americanart.si.edu/visit/saam Permanent Collection of American art from the Colonial era to the present. Special exhibition: David Levinthal photographs. Open daily 11:30 am-7 pm.
  7. The Renwick Gallery: https://americanart.si.edu/visit/renwick Museum of contemporary craft and decorative art. Special exhibition: Reforestation of the Imagination. Open daily 10 am-5:30 pm.
  8. The National Portrait Gallery: https://npg.si.edu/home/national-portrait-gallery Permanent collection of portraits of those who shaped America. Special exhibition: One Life, Marian Anderson. Open daily 11:30 am-7 pm.
  9. The National Museum of the American Indian: https://americanindian.si.edu/ Collection of over 12,000 indigenous cultures throughout the Americas. Special exhibitions: The Great Inka Road, Treaties between the United States and Native Indian Nations, Algonquian Peoples of the Chesapeake. Open daily 10 am-5:30 pm.
  10. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: https://hirshhorn.si.edu/ Permanent Collection of international modern and contemporary art. Special exhibitions of works of Mark Bradford and Barbara Kruger. Open daily 10 am-5:30 pm.
  11. National Museum of African Art: https://africa.si.edu/ Permanent collection of traditional and contemporary African Art. Open daily 10 am-5:30 pm.

HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY

  1. Mount Vernon: https://www.mountvernon.org/ Home of George Washington, 15 miles south of Washington DC. Open daily 9am-5 pm.
  2. Museum of American History: http://americanhistory.si.edu/ Permanent collection represents the nation’s heritage in the areas of science, technology, sociology and culture. Open daily 10 am-5:30 pm.
  3. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit Permanent collection of the world’s most extensive collection of natural history specimens and human artifacts, IMAX theater. Open daily 10 am-5:30 pm.
  4. National Air and Space Museum: https://airandspace.si.edu/ Permanent collection on the history of aviation and space flight, IMAX theater. Open daily 10 am-5:30 pm.
  5. The Newseum: http://www.newseum.org/ Permanent collection traces the evolution of communication, promoting free expression and the 1st Amendment. Open Mon-Sat 9 am-5 pm, Sunday 10 am-5 pm.
  6. Arlington Cemetery: https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/ The final resting place of over 400,000 Americans, including John F. Kennedy and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Open daily 8 am-7 pm.

NATURE

  1. The National Zoo: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/ Grounds open 8 am-7 pm, Buildings open 9 am-6 pm.
  2. The US Botanic Gardens: https://www.usbg.gov/ Conservatory open 10 am-5 pm.

GOVERNMENTAL

  1. The White House: https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/tours-events/ Public tour requests must be made through one’s Member of Congress or through your embassy.
  2. The Capitol: https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/plan-visit Advance reservations recommended

RELIGIOUS

  1. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: http://www.nationalshrine.com/ The largest Roman Catholic Church in North America. Guided tours available Mon-Sat 9 am, 10 am, 11 am, 1pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, Sunday 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm.
  2. The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America: https://myfranciscan.org/ Guided tours available Mon – Sat: 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m.  Sunday: 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m.
  3. St. Matthew’s Cathedral: https://www.stmatthewscathedral.org/ Contact Dan Evans at the Rectory at 202-347-3215 to arrange a tour.