Upper Northwest DC
Alongside Rock Creek, the 1829 Peirce Mill is a beautiful fieldstone building that houses a recently restored gristmill – the last of the mills that once…
Must-see attractions in Washington, DC
Washington, DC
Henry Bacon, who designed the Lincoln Memorial, also conceived the iconic Reflecting Pool, modeling it after the canals at Versailles and Fontainebleau…
Female Union Band Society Cemetery
Georgetown
This cemetery was founded in 1842 by a society of free black women who pledged to help one another in sickness and in death. The graveyard originally was…
Washington, DC
This Federalist mansion is one of DC's oldest buildings. Constructed between 1794 and 1796, it was the home of Thomas Law and Eliza Parke Custis, eldest…
Mt Zion United Methodist Church
Georgetown
Founded in 1816, Mt Zion United Methodist Church is DC’s oldest black congregation. Its original site, on 27th St NW, was a stop on the Underground…
Washington, DC
What is that chiming you hear every hour and quarter-hour? It's the 27 bells of the Taft Memorial Carillon, built to honor Senator Robert A Taft from Ohio…
Washington, DC
Congressman Alexander Stewart built this show-stopper of a home in 1909 in the grand court style of Louis XIV. In 1941 the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg…
White House Area & Foggy Bottom
One of the best bits of the George Washington University campus, where Colonial-revival buildings flank a green park bedecked with roses and a statue of –…
Upper Northwest DC
This rugged 1-mile trail follows along Soapstone Creek and makes a nice add-on to a hike in Rock Creek Park. Access the trailhead on Ablemarle St NW,…
Howard University Gallery of Art
Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights
The university's art gallery holds an impressive collection of works largely dominated by African and African American artists, including Archibald Motley…
Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights
This brightly-colored mural by artist Aniekan Udofia depicts the soul singer – who was born and raised in DC and went to high school in Columbia Heights –…
Battleground National Cemetery
Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights
The 41 Union men who died defending Fort Stevens are buried at this tiny, poignant cemetery, a half-mile north of the old fortification.
Washington, DC
Freed black slaves raised the funds to erect this 1876 memorial, which portrays the snapping of slavery’s chains as Abraham Lincoln proffers the…
National Law Enforcement Memorial Visitors Center
Washington, DC
Located a few blocks from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, the visitor center houses a small shop and a couple of exhibits about the…
White House Area & Foggy Bottom
Attached to Blair House as part of the official accommodations for the President's overnight guests, this building was built for Robert E Lee’s cousin in…
Howard University Founders' Library
Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights
The 1938 Founders’ Library is a handsome Georgian building with a gold spire and giant clock that serves as Howard University’s architectural centerpiece.
Washington, DC
An impressive sculpture fronts the building: a life-size, cross-legged St Jerome dreaming over his book, by renowned Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović.
Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights
This mural of George Washington with a gag over his mouth symbolizes DC's lack of representation in Congress. It was painted by Aniekan Udofia in 2011.
Washington, DC
The ornate monument showing the general on horseback dominates the eastern side of the Capitol Reflecting Pool.
White House Area & Foggy Bottom
This memorial in the Ellipse honors the US Army Second Division's dead from WWI, WWII and the Korean War.
Washington, DC
Colorful, dragon-decorated Friendship Arch – the largest single-span arch in the world – marks the entrance to DC's Chinatown.
Washington, DC
The memorial, DC’s first statue of a black woman, honors the educator and founder of the National Council of Negro Women.
Washington, DC
The hulking Convention Center hosts major trade shows, events and the occasional inaugural ball.
Georgetown
A pretty little refuge with a quiet courtyard on Georgetown University's campus.
George Washington University's Corcoran School of the Arts & Design
White House Area & Foggy Bottom
Opened in 1890, the Corcoran was DC's first art museum. It closed in 2014, but the George Washington University has taken it over, and the historic beaux…
Washington, DC
At the northeast corner of Constitution Gardens, this 1835 stone gatehouse is a remnant of the days when the Washington City Canal flowed through this…
Washington, DC
In 1982, opponents of Maya Lin’s Vietnam memorial design insisted that a more traditional sculpture be added to the monument. As a result, sculptor…
Washington, DC
The army post at Fort McNair was established in 1791. The British burned it in 1814. The Lincoln-assassination conspirators were hanged here in 1865…
Washington, DC
The National Children's Museum has been homeless since 2015, but plans are in the works to open in the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center…
Washington, DC
The tree-ringed Vietnam Women's Memorial, showing female soldiers aiding a fallen combatant, was added to complement the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1993.
Washington, DC
This grassy space with a large fountain cascade spreads in front of Union Station. The area is also known as Columbus Circle, since the fountain is a…
White House Area & Foggy Bottom
Named for Civil War general James B McPherson, who once commanded the Army of Tennessee, this square sports an 1876 statue of McPherson on his horse…
White House Area & Foggy Bottom
Located in the Ellipse, the Zero Milestone is the marker for highway distances all across the country.
Washington, DC
One of the Library of Congress' three buildings, this holds 180 miles of shelving and is used mostly by researchers.
White House Area & Foggy Bottom
The spot from where White House tours embark.
Washington, DC
One of DC’s most popular museums, the International Spy Museum delivers fun, interactive exhibits portraying the flashy, over-the-top world of…
