Williamsburg

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Open Hours
24 hrs (ranger on duty: 8a-midnight M-Su)
Located at the west end of the National Mall , the Lincoln Memorial is a principal landmark of the city. It offers magnificent views of the city from several vantage points. Daniel Chester French's 19-foot statue of Lincoln seated and deep in thought, along with the carved text of the Gettysburg Address, provides a glimpse into a weighty period of American history. The 36 Doric columns represent the number of states in the union at the time of Lincoln's death. Go at night for much lighter crowds.

Open Hours
10am-5:30pm daily
There are dozens of aircrafts here, everything from the Wright Brothers' 'Flyer' and Charles Lindbergh's 'Spirit of St. Louis' to World War II planes and Apollo 11. In the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater at National Air and Space Museum you can view one of the ever-changing films on the five-story screen. After the film, you can touch a moon rock or visit the original Star Trek model of the 'Enterprise'. Educational exhibits introduce the ideas of aerodynamics to children and track the influence of flight technology on our culture

Open Hours
8a-11:45p M-Su

Tours: M-Sa 9a-4:30p
The legislative branches of the U.S. government, the Senate and the House of Representatives, meet in the Capitol Building. Public tours form on the east side of the Capitol and include visits to the Rotunda and other chambers. Visitors can also view the Senate and the House from the galleries when Congress is in session. Plan to have lunch at the Senate Refectory, a cafeteria where, by law, bean soup is always on the menu

Open Hours
9a-5p M-Su
The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln here on April 14, 1865, overshadowed this theater for most of its history. Ford's opened just four years before that fateful night. Restored to its 1865 appearance, Ford's is again a showcase for plays. The basement-level Lincoln Museum displays artifacts from the assassination, including the gun John Wilkes Booth used to kill Lincoln. Mementos from Lincoln's life are also on display. National Park Service rangers give talks 15 minutes...

Franciscan Monastery, this century-old monastery is one of Open Hours
Grounds: 9am-5pm Mon-Sat; Tours: hourly 9am-4pm Mon-Sat; 1pm-4pm Sun
Washington's hidden delights. The garden, set on a hillside and reached by winding paths, is full of big trees and places to sit quietly among the flowers and small outdoor shrines. The public is allowed to view the upper church's full-scale replicas of Holy Land shrines. In the lower church, visitors will find a replica of the Roman catacombs, which can only be seen on scheduled tours. Guided tours last about 45 minutes

Dedicated on May 29, 2004, the World War II Memorial is the first national memorial to honor “Americans who took up the struggle during the Second World War and made the sacrifices to perpetuate the gift our forefathers entrusted to us: A nation conceived in liberty and justice," as the announcement stone proclaims. The design by architect Friedrich St. Florian marks the Pacific and European Theaters of World War II with magnificent arches and remembers the 400,000 Americans who...

Open Hours
10a-5p M-Sa, 11a-6p Su
The National Gallery houses an extensive collection of European and American art in two spectacular buildings. In the grand, neoclassical West Building, Rembrandt, Rubens and Gainsborough are well-represented. The permanent collection includes works from the 13th to 20th centuries including a section devoted to Impressionism. An underground concourse with a cafeteria, an excellent gift shop and a walled-in waterfall takes you to the East Building. Designed by I.M. Pei, this triangular building is a key city landmark and home to 20th-century art works and temporary exhibitions.

Open Hours
Daily 8a-mid
One of Washington's newest memorials, the Korean War Veterans Memorial pays tribute to the many who fought in the Korean War. Located near the Lincoln Memorial, this monument features statues of 19 soldiers carefully making their way through unknown terrain. Photographic images on a 164-foot granite wall pays tribute to the thousands of others who contributed to the war—nurses, mechanics, crew chiefs and support personnel. Inscribed on the wall are the words: "Freedom Is Not Free."

Open Hours
10a-5:30p M-Su
The dinosaur skeletons on the ground floor are sure to please the kids. But there is something at National Museum of Natural History for everyone. The famous cursed Hope Diamond is on display as well as a live coral reef, a walk-through mine and an insect zoo with thousands of live specimens. The 'Discovery Room' encourages kids to touch, smell and taste the exhibits. If your feet need some rest, sit back and enjoy a film in the museum's Samuel C. Johnson IMAX Theater in the National Museum of Natural History .

Open Hours
1p-4p Tu-Sa

This palatial townhouse on Embassy Row is a showpiece of the collections, interests, and lavish decor of Ambassador Lars Anderson and his heiress wife, Isabel. Housing an exhibit of revolutionary artifacts, the museum also offers some quirkier displays such as murals of Anderson's favorite motorcar tours of the city. But the biggest draw is the decor, which, from the grand ballroom to the original furnishings, gives a clear sense of how the cream of society once lived. Free chamber recitals are performed weekly. Call for schedule. Admission is free

Open Hours
9am-5:30pm daily
Commonly known as 'America's attic', the Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum complex and research organization. Organize your tours of the Smithsonian buildings in Washington by starting at the institute's easy-to-locate red sandstone Gothic castle. Ongoing video presentations, touch screens, maps and a helpful staff will help you create a plan to navigate the many varied museums. The building is also commonly referred to as the Castle.

Open Hours
Visitor Center: 7:30a-4p M-Su
The second president, John Adams, was the first to live in the White House in 1801. Originally called the "Executive Mansion," it earned the nickname "White House" after its marble exterior was whitewashed to cover burn marks from damage by the War of 1812. Student and military veteran group tours are available with advance notice. The White House occasionally closes without notice for official functions

Open Hours
10a-3p Tu-F, noon-4p Sa-Su, Closed New Year's, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas
Located across from the White House , Decatur House is the oldest house on Lafayette Square. It was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe in 1819. The first owner, Stephen Decatur, was killed in a duel. A number of distinguished Washington families resided in the house afterwards, each one adding Victorian renovations and furnishings to this fine Federal-style mansion. Admission fee is $4 adults, $2.50 for senior citizens over 54

Open Hours
9a-5p Tu-Sa
Hillwood House Museum is a 40-room Georgian mansion that once belonged to cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. The main attraction is the large collection of 18th and 19th century French and Russian decorative art, gold and silver, lace, tapestries, china and Faberge eggs. The estate includes a dacha and an Adirondacks-style cabin. The 25-acre grounds are equally impressive with small pleasure gardens and wooded hillsides

Open Hours
10a-5:30p M-Su
You'll find the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall. Its structure is a throwback to adobe homes in early American Indian culture. With a highly naturalistic design, the NMAI conducts a visitor through Indian history via a series of circles. Inside, various works of art, artifacts, and other remnants of American Indian culture are on display. The exhibit provides a valuable addition to our understanding of American Indian culture. Past exhibits have included indigenou

Open Hours
10am-4pm Tue-Sun
President Wilson lived in this Georgian-Revival house after he left office, creating a comfortable, unpretentious residence with his second wife, Edith. He is the only president to remain in Washington after office. The couple collected items from all over the world, filling their home with eclectic wares. There is a baseball signed by Great Britain's King George V and a silent movie projector given to the Wilsons by the actor Douglas Fairbanks. The bedroom is modeled after the couple's White House sleeping quarters

Open Hours
10a-4p M-Sa
Mary McLeod Bethune, a noted teacher and political leader, lived in this house from 1943 until her death in 1955. She served as director of the Division of Negro Affairs under Franklin Roosevelt and was an advisor to three other U.S. presidents. The house was the original headquarters for the National Council of Negro Women. Founded by Bethune, the group sought to promote women in society and eliminate all forms of discrimination. Today, the home is a museum dedicated to Bethune and all American...
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