Welcome to D.C.

Sightseeing

Tour the National Mall Monuments and the Tidal Basin

Get ready to walk a lot and bring lots of water! We have two options based on how much time you have or how much you want to walk!

Streamlined Itinerary! (2-3 hours)

Make your way to the Washington Monument to start your streamlined tour of the monuments! From there, head to the WW2 Memorial (Akkad’s personal favorite!). Make your way to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial which will give you a great view of the Tidal basin. If you are down for it, we recommend taking a quick stroll by the water to visit the FDR Memorial (Joey’s personal favorite!). Once you are done with the Tidal Basin Area, pass by the Korean War Memorial and head towards the Lincoln Memorial. After you wrap up at the Lincoln memorial, you have the quick option to stop by the Vietnam War Memorial.

See All the Sites Itinerary! (3-4 hours)

Make your way to the Lincoln Memorial to start your walking tour of the monuments! Once you are done visiting the Lincoln Memorial and are facing the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument, veer left in order to see the Vietnam War Memorial and pass through the Constitution Gardens. This path will lead you to the WW2 Memorial. If you plan on going to the Tidal Basin, we recommend you do that first before walking up to the Washington Monument and continue to the Korean War Memorial which will lead you close to the Tidal Basin. As you enter the Tidal Basin, you will pass through the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Make sure to turn around and view it before continuing along the path towards the right. As you make your way around the water, we recommend you pass through the FDR Memorial and then continue on to arrive at the Jefferson Memorial. From here, you can continue walking towards the Washington Monument. You could finish your tour or keep going to visit the White House.

Tour the Capitol Area

Get ready to walk a good amount, but much more inside this time. We have two options based on how much time you have.

Without a Capitol Building Tour (1-2 Hours)

Make your way to the Supreme Court. There is a tiny museum inside if you’re interested but it’s not a must. Check out the Capitol Building on its east side. Once you are done taking pictures of the Capitol, we recommend checking out the Library of Congress across the street.

With a Capitol Building tour (2-4 Hours)

Make your way to the Supreme Court. There is a tiny museum inside if you’re interested but it’s not a must. Make your way to the Capitol Building on its east side. Make your way down to go through security. You will then be directed to sign up for a free Capitol tour. It is a great tour full of fun history! If you have the time after you finish the tour, we recommend you visit the Library of Congress which is connected by an underground pathway. So you don’t even need to exit the building  to see it after your tour!

Tour Around the National Mall

• National Archives Museum - Where you can see the Declaration of Independence!

• Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

• National Gallery of Art

• Smithsonian National Museum of American History 

• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

• National Museum of African American History & Culture

• National Museum of the American Indian

• Hirshhorn Art Museum

Tour Arlington National Cemetery

Touring the cemetery is very beautiful and we recommend it if you have the time. You can spend as much time as you want there, but we mostly suggest catching the Changing of the Guard which happens at the Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers. Other sites to see include the graves of Presidents William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Robert Kennedy and visit Arlington House which has a great view of DC.

See the White House

You can make a quick trip to see White House if you are staying in the city. It is probably walkable depending on where you are staying. Othwersie, it is accessible by many metro and bus stops. You can walk around it to see both the north and south lawns. To go inside you must arrange a tour with your member of congress which we recommend doing as soon as possible.

Some activities we recommend in your free time

• View the Cherry Blossoms 

• There is a good chance that the Cherry Blossoms will be in peak bloom during our wedding weekend. The cherry blossoms are placed around the Tidal Basin.  You should definitely set some time to see them. Check out the Cherry Blossom website to track when they will be at peak bloom.

• See a Nats game

• Visit the Kennedy Center and even see a show!

• Visit the US Botanic Gardens

• Visit the National Arboretum 

• Visit the Washington National Cathedral

• Take a stroll along Embassy Row

• Hike around Rock Creek Park

• Visit other great museums!

• National Museum of Women in the Arts

• National Portrait Gallery

• Renwick Gallery

• International Spy Museum

• Visit the National Zoo

• Kayak around the Potomac River