Sights in Washington, DC
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Rock Creek Park
At 1700 acres, Rock Creek is twice the size of New York’s Central Park and feels a hell of a lot more wild. You can be out here and feel utterly removed from the city. Even coyotes have settled into the wilderness (they’re not dangerous, by the way). Rock Creek Park begins at the Potomac’s east bank near Georgetown and extends to and beyond the northern city boundaries. Narrow in its southern stretches, where it hews to the winding course of the waterway it’s named for, it broadens into wide, peaceful parklands in Upper Northwest DC. Terrific trails extend the entire length, and the boundaries enclose Civil War forts, dense forest and wildflower-strewn fields. Cell phone…
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United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Both grim summation of human nature and fierce confirmation of basic goodness, the Holocaust Museum is unlike any other museum in Washington, DC. In remembering the millions murdered by the Nazis, it is brutal, direct and impassioned. Visitors are given the identity card of a single Holocaust victim, narrowing the scope of suffering to the individual level while paying thorough, overarching tribute to its powerful subject. Many visitors leave in tears, and few are unmoved. James Ingo Freed designed the extraordinary building in 1993 and its stark facade and steel-and-glass interior echo the death camps themselves.
Apart from the permanent exhibits, the candlelit Hall of…
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Washington Monument
Just peaking at 555ft (and 5in), the Washington Monument is the tallest building in the district. It took two phases of construction to complete; note the different hues of the stone. Tickets are free but must be reserved from the kiosk, or you can order them in advance by calling the National Park Service.
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National Building Museum
Devoted to architecture and urban design, this under-appreciated museum is appropriately housed in a magnificent 19th-century edifice modeled after the Renaissance-era Palazzo Farnese in Rome. Four stories of ornamented balconies flank the dramatic 316ft-wide atrium, and the gold Corinthian columns rise 75ft high. Rotating exhibits on different aspects of the built environment are hidden in rooms off the atrium.
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Ellipse
That elliptical road that circles the expansive park on the south side of the White House? It’s imaginatively known as the Ellipse. The park is studded with a random collection of monuments, such as the Zero Milestone (the marker for highway distances all across the country) and the Second Division Memorial. But the more important function of the Ellipse is hosting sporting events, parades and festivals – from lighting the national Christmas tree, to military drill performances to Lance Armstrong’s final ride.
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National Museum of Women in the Arts
The only American museum exclusively devoted to women’s artwork resides in this Renaissance-Revival mansion. Its collection – 2600 works by almost 700 female artists from 28 countries – moves from Renaissance artists such as Lavinia Fontana to 20th-century works by Kahlo, O’Keeffe and Frankenthaler. The permanent collection is largely paintings, and mostly portraits – not as rich a range as one might hope. But special collections are incredibly varied, ranging from Maria Sibylla Merian’s natural history engravings to Native American pottery.
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Mt Zion United Methodist Church
One of the sites that recall the history of Georgetown’s 19th-century free black community, who lived in an area known as Herring Hill is this church, founded in 1816 and DC’s oldest black congregation. Its original site, on 27th St NW, was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
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Capitol
Since 1800, this is where the legislative branch of American government – ie Congress – has met to write the country's laws. The lower House of Representatives(435 members) and upper Senate (100) meet respectively in the south and north wings of the building.
A visitor center showcases the exhaustive background of a building that fairly sweats history. If you book in advance (through http://tours.visit thecapitol.gov) you can go on a free tour of the building, which is as daunting as the exterior, if a little cluttered with the busts, statues and personal mementos of generations of Congress members.
To watch Congress in action, US citizens can request visitor passes…
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National Air & Space Museum
The Air & Space Museum is the most popular Smithsonian museum; everyone flocks to see the Wright brothers' flyer, Chuck Yeager's Bell X-1, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St Louis and the Apollo 11 command module. An IMAX theater, planetarium and ride simulator are all here (adult/child $9/7.50 each). More avionic pieces reside in Virginia at the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex to hold this museum's leftovers.
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Washington National Cathedral
This Gothic cathedral, as dramatic as its European counterparts, blends both the spiritual and the profane in its architectural treasures. The stained-glass windows are stunning (check out the 'Space Window' with an imbedded lunar rock); you'll need binoculars to spy the Darth Vader gargoyle on the exterior. Specialized tours delve deeper into the esoteric; call or go online for the schedule.
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White House
The White House has survived both fire and insults (Jefferson groused that it was 'big enough for two emperors, one Pope and the grand Lama'). Although its facade has changed little since 1924, its interior has seen frequent renovations. Franklin Roosevelt added a pool; Truman gutted the whole place (and simply discarded many of its historical features – today's rooms are thus historical replicas); Jacqueline Kennedy brought back antique furnishings and historic details; Nixon added a bowling alley; Carter installed solar roof panels, which Reagan then removed; Clinton added a jogging track; and George W Bush included a T-ball field. Cars can no longer pass the White…
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Library of Congress
To prove to Europeans that America was cultured, John Adams plunked the world's largest library on Capitol Hill. The LOC's motivation is simple: 'universality,' the idea that all knowledge is useful. Stunning in scope and design, the building's baroque interior and neoclassical flourishes are set off by a Main Reading Room that looks like an ant colony constantly harvesting 29 million books. The visitor center and tours of the reading rooms are both located in the Jefferson Building, just behind the Capitol building.
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National Museum of Natural History
A favorite of the kids, the Museum of Natural History showcases dinosaur skeletons, an archae- ology/anthropology collection, wonders from the ocean, and unusual gems and minerals, including the 45-carat Hope Diamond.
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Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The opposite of DC's white, gleaming marble is this black, low-lying 'V,' an expression of the psychic scar wrought by the Vietnam War. The monument follows a descent deeper into the earth, with the names of the 58,267 dead soldiers – listed in the order in which they died – chiseled into the dark wall. It's a subtle, but profound monument – and all the more surprising as it was designed by 21-year-old undergraduate student Maya Lin in 1981.
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Supreme Court
Even nonlaw students are impressed by the highest court in America. Arrive early to watch arguments (periodic Mondays through Wednesdays October to April). You can visit the permanent exhibits and the building's seven-spiral staircase year-round.
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National Zoological Park
Home to over 2000 individual animals (400 different species) in natural habitats, this 163-acre zoo is famed for its giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. Other highlights include the African lion pride, Asian elephants and dangling orangutans swinging 50ft overhead from steel cables and interconnected towers (the 'O Line').
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National Museum of the American Indian
The Museum of the American Indian provides a fine introduction to the indigenous people of the Americas, with an array of costumes, video and audio recordings, and cultural artifacts. Don't miss the regionally specialized menu of Native-inspired dishes at Café Mitsitam on the ground floor.
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National Museum of Asian Art
The dangling sculpture Monkeys Grasping for the Moon, an image of a dozen stylized primates fashioned into the word ‘monkey’ in a like number of languages (including Japanese, Hebrew, braille and Urdu) is perhaps the most impressive piece of introductory art to welcome you to a Smithsonian institution – and a reminder that you have just entered a very special museum. The Arthur M Sackler Gallery (1050 Independence Ave SW) and Freer Gallery of Art (cnr 12 St & Jefferson Dr SW) combine to form the National Museum of Asian Art, one of the most pleasant Smithsonian museums in the capital. Make sure to visit them in tandem.
This is simply a lovely spot in which to while…
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National Museum Of American Art & National Portrait Gallery
These inseparable Smithsonian museums are looking brilliant these days, thanks to a multi-million-dollar facelift. They share the 19th-century US Patent Office building, a neoclassical quadrangle that hosted Lincoln's second inaugural ball and a Civil War hospital. Walt Whitman based The Wound-Dresser upon his experiences as a volunteer nurse here ('The hurt and wounded I pacify with soothing hand/I sit by the restless all the dark night…').
The Portrait Gallery's permanent collection contains more than 4000 images of known faces from all walks and eras of life. The presidential portraits are particularly notable. Look for Gilbert Stuart's famous Lansdowne portrait of…
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C&O Canal Towpath
There are all kinds of green escapes from Washington’s urban jungle, but the C&O is one of the more pleasant, if only because of the unexpected way it leaps out at you. There you are, wandering through the Valley Girl paradise that is Georgetown on a sunny day, and all of a sudden: wooden water wheels, a green canal, shaggy horses, flat-bed barges and a cobbled path running alongside, all so bucolic you expect hobbits to emerge from the bushes with fiddles and ale. The canal, one of the civil engineering feats of the 19th century, runs 185 miles from here to Cumberland, MD, and once brought goods and passengers from the capital to the then-beginning of the American West.…
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Union Station
How beautiful is Union Station? Well, even commuters who use it to get to work – people who should loathe the sight of it – say the grand entrance hall, meant to resemble a Roman triumphal arch, never fails to impress. This was the first structure built in accordance with the McMillan plan, the 1901 campaign to revitalize DC’s then dead urban core. Union is one of the pinnacles of the beaux arts and city beautiful movements that transformed the American urban landscape in the 20th century. Besides being an architectural gem, Union is also a semi-minimall and serves as Washington’s main rail hub. The main hall, known as the Grand Concourse, is patterned after the Roman…
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Lincoln Memorial
Anchoring the Mall's west end is the hallowed shrine to Abraham Lincoln, who gazes peacefully across the reflecting pool beneath his neoclassical Doric-columned abode. To the left of Lincoln you can read the words of the Gettysburg Address, and the hall below highlights other great Lincoln-isms; on the steps, Martin Luther King Jr delivered his famed 'I Have a Dream' speech.
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Ford’s Theatre & Petersen House
On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, actor and Confederate sympathizer, assassinated Abraham Lincoln, as president and Mrs Lincoln watched Our American Cousin in the Presidential Box of Ford’s Theatre. The box remains draped with a period flag to this day. The theater is open during the day to visitors (except during rehearsals or matinee performances), but you’ll need to get a (free) ticket with timed entry from the theater box office; you can also reserve a pass from Ticketmaster (202-397-7328; www.ticketmaster.com) – a surcharge may apply. Check out the Lincoln Museum in the basement, which maps out the assassination’s details and displays related artifacts.…
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Howard University
The Shaw neighborhood is as defined by Howard University as Georgetown is by her titular school. Founded in 1867, this remains the nation’s most prestigious traditionally African American institute of higher education. Distinguished alumni include the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (who enrolled after he was turned away from the University of Maryland’s then all-white law school), Ralph Bunche, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison and former New York City mayor David Dinkins. Today Howard enrolls around 12,000 students in 18 schools. There are campus tours (202-806-2755) and a friendly Welcome Center (1739 7th St NW). The surrounding streets are largely filled…
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Smithsonian American Art Museum
If you only visit one art museum in Washington, DC, make it this one, technically composed of two institutions. There is, simply put, no better collection of American art in the world. Collectively, these museums are known as the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The National Portrait Gallery is, in its way, a portrait of America, seizing and interpreting the nation’s visage by displaying her multiple faces throughout the ages. The Museum of American Art, on the other hand, exhibits the beauty and vision of those figures, the external aesthetic of the humanity so eloquently captured in the Portrait Gallery. Both occupy three floors in the 19th-century US Patent Office…
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