Museums
FreeHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
FreeSee modern and contemporary art in a drum-shaped Smithsonian museum on the National Mall, with a sunken sculpture garden beside it.
Photo: Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Sport & OutdoorIconicFreeHistory Buff
National Mall
National Mall is an outdoor activity in Washington, DC, part of the Washington DC guide. Cost: free.
Between Constitution and Independence Aves, from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial · Washington, DC
Why you should go…
The National Mall runs from the foot of the U.S. Capitol toward the Potomac River, and it spans about 1.9 miles from the Capitol steps to the Lincoln Memorial. The park protects more than 1,000 acres of greenspace around its monuments and memorials. You can join a nighttime walk with a park ranger, take a bike tour or ride a paddle boat. Riding up the Washington Monument needs a timed-entry ticket.
- #national park
- #monuments
- #memorials
- #walking
What's around here?
The closest stops to National Mall, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
Steps awaySwitch it up: Museums
- MuseumsIconic
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
FreeThe Hope Diamond, the Nation's T. rex, and Henry the elephant, the Mall's busiest free museum packs the whole natural world under one green dome.
Steps awaySwitch it up: Museums
- MuseumsIconic
National Archives Museum
FreeStand before the originals: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights in the marble Rotunda.
0.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
- Sport & OutdoorFamily Favorite
United States Botanic Garden
FreeWander a glass conservatory of tropical, desert and orchid rooms beside the U.S. Capitol, then the outdoor gardens.
0.6 mi awayMore like this
- Sport & OutdoorIconic
Tidal Basin
FreeWalk the path around a 107-acre basin lined with cherry trees, past the Jefferson, FDR and Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials.
0.9 mi awayMore like this
- Sport & OutdoorOutdoor Adventure
Key Bridge Boathouse
Under $25A Georgetown boathouse on the Potomac renting kayaks, canoes and paddleboards with guided tours available.
2.7 mi awayMore like this
