Union Market
No admission feeDC's buzziest food hall: dozens of vendors slinging oysters, arepas, pasta, and ice cream in a revived 1930s market.
Transit: reachable by public transit

Photo: APK, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Drive or walk 446 acres of gardens in Northeast DC, see the old Capitol columns on a meadow hill and the bonsai museum, all free.
Visitor entrance, 2400 R St NE · Washington, DC
Congress set up the National Arboretum in 1927, and the USDA's Agricultural Research Service runs its 446 acres with 9.5 miles of roads. On a hill in the Ellipse Meadow stand 22 Corinthian columns that held up the Capitol's East Portico from 1828 to 1958. The National Bonsai and Penjing Museum shows trees in Japanese, Chinese and North American pavilions. Admission is free; the visitor entrance is at 2400 R Street NE and last entry is at 4:30 p.m.
The closest stops to United States National Arboretum, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
DC's buzziest food hall: dozens of vendors slinging oysters, arepas, pasta, and ice cream in a revived 1930s market.
Transit: reachable by public transit
1.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Eat & Drink
Walk among ponds of lotus and water lilies and look for herons and beavers in Washington's largest remaining tidal marsh.
1.5 mi awayMore like this
A 2.5-acre community park in the NoMa area of Washington, D.C., with a large lawn, playground, dog park, gardens, and a cafe space.
1.6 mi awayMore like this
Stroll Capitol Hill's largest park to see the 1876 Emancipation statue and the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial.
1.9 mi awayMore like this
Visit the 1876 Lincoln statue paid for by freed slaves in Lincoln Park on Capitol Hill, and read the debate it still stirs.
1.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
A 204-room hotel in NoMa next to the Red Line Metro, about a mile from Union Station, with an indoor pool and hot tub.
Transit: reachable by public transit
1.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay