Photo: Julie Ainsworth, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
See Shakespeare First Folios, manuscripts and costumes in the exhibition halls, then visit the gardens and Elizabethan Theatre.
201 East Capitol St SE · Washington, DC
The Folger on Capitol Hill holds 82 copies of the 1623 First Folio and opened in 1932 in a white marble building by Paul Philippe Cret, carved with scenes from Shakespeare's plays. A renovation finished in 2024 added two exhibition halls where you can see manuscripts, paintings and costumes from the collection. It is free to visit, with pay-what-you-will timed passes offered for guaranteed entry. There is also a theatre, a cafe called Quill & Crumb and gardens.
The closest stops to Folger Shakespeare Library, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
The world's largest library, and arguably DC's most beautiful interior, the Great Hall, the Main Reading Room, and a Gutenberg Bible.
Transit: reachable by public transit
Right next doorSwitch it up: Attractions
Climb the marble steps under the words Equal Justice Under Law, then explore exhibitions and hear a Courtroom Lecture inside.
Transit: reachable by public transit
Steps awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
A historic house on Capitol Hill that served as a base for the fight for women's voting rights and equal rights.
Transit: reachable by public transit
Steps awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Look up at airmail planes in a 90-foot atrium and browse stamps from the national collection in the old post office beside Union Station.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.7 mi awayMore like this
Explore Native cultures of the Western Hemisphere inside a curving limestone building on the National Mall, with a Native foods cafe.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.7 mi awayMore like this
Washington museum that traces the Bible's history, stories, and influence on the world.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.8 mi awayMore like this
