National Gallery of Art

Lonely Planet review

This author has fond memories of getting lost amid the National Gallery of Art's exotic treasures as a kid. She'll never forget the way it felt to stand tiny next to Alexander Calder's massive child-like mobile. Made from cutouts of the brightest primary colors and set in a four-story atrium, it generally knocks the breath out of everyone who sees it.

Affiliated with but not a part of the Smithsonian, the National Gallery needs two buildings (connected by an underground tunnel) to house its massive collections (more than 110,000 objects) of painting, sculpture and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the present. It also houses scores of touring exhibitions that go on display here. Kids love the walking escalator that traverses the two buildings (and conveniently empties into the airy cafeteria where you can let the wind from the air-conditioning vent blow out your skirt while you press your nose against the giant sheet of glass looking out onto a cascading waterfall). The place has the whole underground Louvre pyramid thing going on.

The original neoclassical building, known as the West Building, exhibits primarily European works, from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, including pieces by El Greco, Monet and Cézanne. Don't miss the room full of Renoirs, including the famous Girl with a Hoop , an 1881 portrait Renoir was commissioned to paint of nine-year-old Marie Goujon. The National Gallery is also the only gallery in America displaying a da Vinci painting (Ginevra di' Benci) . Interactive computers in the Micro Gallery allow visitors to design their own tour.

Across 4th St NW, the angular East Building, designed by IM Pei, is where you'll find the Calder mobile along with other abstract and modern works. Smaller upstairs galleries hold special exhibits and permanent items like Picasso's Family of Saltimbanques . A small Matisse cutouts gallery on the 3rd floor opens for limited hours.