Visit Washington DC: Planning your Trip

A visit to Washington DC is, in my biased opinion, the best vacation you could choose in the continental United States.  Whether you have a day, a week, or more; you will never be bored.  This is our overall list of centrally located top attractions, food, coffee, and more to help you start planning your visit to the Nation’s capitol.

First Things First:

The first place to start is planning to plan.  Before you ever start researching DC you will want to ask yourself these questions:

1. How much time do I have (a day, a week, etc.)? You can see a lot in a day, but you will not see as much as you think.  Walking will always take a little longer than you think, and lines may be longer than expected.  Plan with wiggle room.
2. How much money do I want to spend? The good news is that a lot of museums/attractions are free in DC (which is amazing), but eating/ staying in DC can be EXPENSIVE.

For more about travel planning check out our previous blog post  here.

Visit Washington DC Suggested Itinerary

There are many ways to go about touring the National Mall, so instead of creating a detailed itinerary, we have put together our list of recommended attractions.  We added Metro stops (blue drop-points) so you can plan the version of the trip that works best for you.  If you wanted to do a “drive by” walking tour in a day, we numbered them in order to start and end at Union Station.  We’ve thrown in some food and coffee stops (orange drop-points) along the way to keep you fueled up.  You can do the full itinerary in order via the numbers (if you want to be methodical), or you can pick and choose what you would like to do!

Attractions (In black on the map.)

1. Union Station The Main Hall is one of my favorite places in the city.
2. Supreme Court
3. Library of Congress
4. Capitol Building
5. United States Botanic Garden There is also a playground in here for kids if you need a break. Also, if visiting during the holidays, this is a must see.  Check out our post about visiting the Botanic Gardens at Christmas.
6. Capitol Reflecting Pool/ Ulysses S. Grant Memorial
7. National Museum of the American Indian
8. Museum of the Bible You do have to pay for this one.  If unsure whether or not to go you can check out our post about Museum of the Bible here.
9. National Air and Space Museum There is a new memorial going in behind this museum off of Independence Ave dedicated to Dwight D. Eisenhower, but it is not completed yet. Designed by Frank Gehry, I think it is going to be amazing!! Add it to your list when construction is complete!
10. Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden At least see the Rodin Sculptures in the garden.
11. Smithsonian Institution Building I have also heard it called “The Castle”
12. Freer Sackler Museum
13. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
14. Washington Monument
15. Jefferson Memorial/ Tidal Basin This is where the annual Cherry Blossom is held. Be sure to check out our post on it here.
16. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
17. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
18. Korean War Memorial
19. Lincoln Memorial
20. Reflecting Pool
21. Vietnam Memorial/ 3 Soldiers Memorial/ Vietnam Women’s Memorial
22. World War 2 Memorial
23. Elipse
24. White House (Back)
25. Renwick Gallery Museum
26. White House (Front)/Lafayette Square
27. White House Visitor’s Center  Visit before you go in for your White House tour if you have time.
28. National Museum of African American History and Culture  My favorite modern architecture in DC. Even if you can’t get tickets to visit, a walk around it is beautiful.
29. National Museum of American History  If you can only visit one museum besides the Archives, visit this one.  It has something for the whole family, it has the American Flag that hung when “The Star Spangled Banner” was written, it has pop culture history, it has presidential history, wartime history, Abe Lincoln’s top hat, and more.
30. National Museum of Natural History
31. National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden  If you’re visiting on a Friday during the summer, bring a blanket/lawn chair and attend DC’s “Jazz in the Garden”.  You can buy food and drink on site, or bring a picnic. In the winter there is a skating rink located in the middle of the garden.
32. National Archives Museum 
33. National Gallery of Art West Wing  The Classical Art Wing connects to the East/ Modern Wing with an underground pass through.  It has an awesome food court in the pass through that is a great rest spot.
34. National Gallery of Art East Wing
35. Ford’s Theater/ Museum/ The Petersen House
36. National Portrait Gallery/ Smithsonian American Art Museum  They are connected so it is a 2 for 1.  If you want and extra sight, walk a couple blocks north on 7th street and see the Chinatown Arch.

Food and Coffee Suggestions (In orange on the map.)

We pinned some places along the way where you can grab some food or caffeine.  When you are looking for a sit down place, the app Open Table will be your best friend.  It is hard to get a table quickly in this city without a reservation during busy season.  If you can, reserve ahead!

DC is a hotspot for foods from around the world, so this is by no means an extensive list…but here are some good choices that you’ll find near some of the main attractions:

1. Union Station:  Magnolia Bakery, Laudree, Blue Bottle, Shake Shack
2. Ebeneezers Coffee House
3. Union Kitchen Grocery  Seriously best breakfast sandwiches in DC.
4. Good Stuff Eatery, We The Pizza, Santa Rosa Taqueria  These are literally right next door to each other, so you have choices.
5. Museum of American Indian Food Court  This food court offers foods from different tribes/ regions of the Americas.
6. Manna / Milk and Honey Cafe  Manna is a tasty restaurant in Museum of the Bible, and the hummus is amazing. While visiting the museum, you can grab some caffeine at Milk and Honey Cafe, which is also on site.
7. Old Ebbitt Grill  I have never been, but have heard great things.  There is also a lot of history with this restaurant so research it and check it out!
8. Abe’s Cafe and Gifts  This random tourist souvenir shop has a hidden treasure: A reasonably priced breakfast/lunch place on the second floor that overlooks Ford’s Theater.
9. The Smith
10. Carmine’s  This family style Italian restaurant is great for larger groups as the portions are HUGE!
11. Compass Coffee
12. National Gallery of Art Food Court
13. Matchbox  Dustin claims they have the best burger he’s had in DC…so far.  I have also heard their brunch is legit too.
14. District Taco
15. Peets Coffee

Metro Stops (In blue on the map.)

DC’s Metro system is a pretty great way to get around the city. Pick up a Metro card at any station kiosk and load some money onto it…a super easy process. And if you don’t want to get yelled at by a local, make sure to stand on the right and walk on the left when riding escalators (this is serious business in DC)!

We added a few Metro stops to the map (blue drop-points) which will get you close to many of the main attractions.  Keep in mind that most stations have more than one exit, so have Google Maps ready to help you find your way once you exit.

1. Union Station
2. Capitol South Station
3. Federal Center Southwest Station
4. L’Enfant Plaza
5. Smithsonian
6. Metro Center
7. Federal Triangle
8. Gallery Place
9. Archives- Navy Memorial

Main Attractions in One Day

As stated earlier, it is possible to see the “main attractions” around the National Mall in a day, but only in a “drive-by” fashion.  A single day doesn’t afford you enough time to take museum tours or read the names on the memorials, and most meals will have to be grab-n-go, but it is possible to at least walk by most places.  If you only have time to explore one major attraction on your visit, we would suggest the Archives.  It is a very patriotic feeling to have seen the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and the Constitution.

Some general tips I have for planning a visit to Washington DC:

• Choosing a place to stay is key:
  • Try to find a hotel or AirBnB central to what you want to do.  It is nice to have a place close by to rest, use the restroom, for nap times, and a place to regroup.
  • Make sure your hotel/AirBnB is close to public transportation. This might be more critical than the previous point.
    • The Metro here is amazing, clean and useful.
    • The Circulator bus is the tourist’s friend.  It takes you to a lot of main tourist attractions.  It is only $1 per person to ride, uses your Metro Card or cash, and also does not require you to fold up your stroller like the other buses.
• Pick only 2 things to do a day with an extra “just in case” option if you actually want to go inside and explore some attractions.
  • Museums are huge and take longer than expected, especially during the busy season.
  • City blocks here are big. So while this is a super walkable city, it will take some time getting from point a to point b.
• Get tickets for things ahead of time:
  • Tours for The White House, The Capitol, FBI Headquarters, and the Pentagon should all be scheduled in advance with your state’s congress representatives office.
  • Visits to Ford’s Theater, The Holocaust Museum Memorial, The African American History Museum, The Washington Monument, and more can be booked in advance.  Most places are free, however tickets might need to be procured ahead of the date you want to visit.  We attached links to all the stops on the map above so you can research reserving tickets for your visits.
• Don’t be afraid to wander beyond the typical tourist areas.  This city is so fun to just explore with no real destination.
• Know where the restrooms are:
  • In a big city, public restrooms are a rare commodity.  Many stores do not have a public restroom, and most places that do have a public restroom have customer only policy.
• If you have kids:
  • Get a National Parks Service passport so they can get it stamped at different locations.  It is super fun!  Different locations have different stamps, and you can take it all over the US when you visit any national park or landmark.
  • Most Smithsonian museums have specified kid areas.  The best one is in the American History Museum as they have different spaces to give age appropriate interactive learning opportunities.
  • Look online before you visit any attraction to see if there are any special kid friendly things happening during your visit to Washington DC.  We have at random times stumbled up on live music, interactive play, interactive art, and story times.
  • The Zoo is pretty great for families and especially if you have kids.  I don’t know if you heard but we have pandas.  I didn’t include it on the map, but a quick bus or train ride will get you to the zoo in no time if you so desire.
• ADA Compliance:
  • DC is an old city and some places are not as accommodating for wheelchair accessibility.  Most of the main attractions are, however it is worth researching prior to visiting places.  Restaurants and bars are the ones that tend to have some more issues with this.  Our friend  who lives in DC, and uses a wheelchair, always checks out the website or calls a new place to check in advance.
  • The Metro system is ADA compliant, but does have elevator issues from time to time.  They announce any elevator closures on the loud speaker or check out the website during your visit to Washington DC.

We have been out and about in the city since arriving and have written posts about many of the places listed above.  Scroll through our past posts to check out everything from food, attractions, festivals, activities, and monuments we have explored before.  We also would love to answer any questions you might have before you visit Washington DC.

So grab your most comfortable shoes, a bottle of water, and get ready to walk your feet off around the best city.  Your visit to Washington DC will be amazing!

Cat and Dustin