Lincoln Memorial
National Mall · 45 min
Free and open day and night. At 7:30 a.m. the Reflecting Pool is still and the school groups have not arrived; stand where King stood, the step is marked.
Washington DC · United States · 3 days
3 days in Washington DC
Three days built around free museums and three timed tickets: the Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol, the White House, Dupont and Georgetown with a sunset from the Kennedy Center roof, then Arlington, the African American History museum and the monuments lit at night.
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Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
- 3 days
- 22 stops
- 2 with a ticket
- from $90 a day
When to go
Late March to mid-April is cherry blossom: the Tidal Basin peaked on March 26 in 2026 and the National Cherry Blossom Festival runs March 20 to April 11, 2027, so hotels fill and prices double. September and October are clear and warm. July and August sit well above 86°F (30°C) with heavy humidity and afternoon storms; the Mall has little shade. Winter is cold, cheap and quiet except around Presidents Day and the inauguration every four years.
Where to base yourself
Penn Quarter or downtown around Metro Center for every line and the Mall on foot. Dupont or Logan Circle for restaurants and evenings. Capitol Hill for quiet streets and Eastern Market. Georgetown has no Metro station.
Getting around
Tap a contactless card or your phone at the Metro gate and tap out with the same one; weekday fares run $2.25 to $6.75 by distance, $2.25 to $2.50 after 9:30 p.m. and all weekend. A SmarTrip card is $2 if you want one. The Mall itself is three kilometers end to end and only walkable, so bring water. Buses are $2.25; Capital Bikeshare is good for Georgetown and the river.
Day 1
The Mall, end to end
- FromYour hotel in Penn Quarter and downtown
- 1
- 4 min · walk
- 2
Vietnam Veterans and Korean War memorials
National Mall · 45 min
One on each side of the Lincoln. The wall is read in silence from the shallow end; the Korean steel soldiers are best in low light or mist.
- 16 min · walk
- 3
Washington Monument
National Mall · 60 min
Free, but you need a timed ticket (release details are in the tips); same-day tickets are handed out at the Lodge on 15th Street from 8:45 a.m. and go fast. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed July 4, December 25 and one maintenance day a month.
$1
- 16 min · walk
- 4
National Museum of American History or Natural History
National Mall · 105 min
Next door to each other, free, no pass, open from 10 a.m. The Star-Spangled Banner and the First Ladies' gowns in one; the Hope Diamond and the dinosaur hall in the other. Pick one and give it the time.
- 14 min · walk
- 5
Mitsitam Cafe, National Museum of the American Indian
National Mall · 60 min
Inside the curved stone museum at the Capitol end of the Mall: native dishes by region, such as fry bread tacos, bison and cedar-planked salmon. Plan the lunch around it.
- 12 min · walk
- 6
US Capitol tour
Capitol Hill · 75 min
Free, but reserve a timed tour at tours.visitthecapitol.gov before you fly; without one, join the same-day line at the Visitor Center as early as you can and no later than 2:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed Sundays and major holidays.
- 16 min · walk
- 7
National Gallery of Art
National Mall · 105 min
Free, daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed December 25 and January 1. West Building for the Vermeers and the only Leonardo in the Americas, East Building for Calder and Rothko, joined by an underground walkway.
- 2.1 km · transit or taxi
- 8
Eastern Market and Barracks Row
Capitol Hill · 90 min
The market hall shuts at 6 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday, so eat on 8th Street SE: Rose's Luxury if you have a reservation, or Ted's Bulletin for a diner plate and a homemade pop tart. Come back Saturday morning for the crab cake counter and the flea market.
Day 2
The White House, Dupont and Georgetown
- FromYour hotel in Penn Quarter and downtown
- 1
The White House from Lafayette Square
Downtown · 30 min
The north front from the square, the south lawn from the Ellipse behind. A tour inside is free but requested 7 to 90 days ahead through a Member of Congress (non-Americans ask their own embassy in Washington, with no guarantee); tours run Tuesday to Saturday mornings only.
- 9 min · walk
- 2
White House Visitor Center
Downtown · 45 min
Free, at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue, with airport-style screening at the door. About 100 objects from the house, a touchscreen tour of the rooms and a 14-minute film: the closest most visitors get to the inside.
- 19 min · walk
- 3
Daikaya, Chinatown
Chinatown · 60 min
A 15-minute walk east for Sapporo-style miso ramen on the first floor, no reservations and a line that moves. If it is long, Chinatown Express on H Street pulls noodles in the window.
- 5 min · walk
- 4
National Portrait Gallery
Penn Quarter · 90 min
Free, in the old Patent Office at 8th and G, open 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., which is why it sits after lunch. Every president in one run of rooms, the Obama portraits, and the glass-roofed Kogod Courtyard if it rains.
- 2.6 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Dupont Circle and the Phillips Collection
Dupont Circle · 90 min
Two Red Line stops from Gallery Place. Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party and the Rothko Room in a town house; Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from 11, closed Monday, and free on the third Thursday evening from 5 p.m.
$20
- 23 min · walk
- 6
Georgetown and the C&O Canal
Georgetown · 90 min
A 25-minute walk down P Street, or a taxi; there is no Metro. Shop on M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, then drop to the canal towpath and follow it to Waterfront Park; the Exorcist steps are at 36th and Prospect.
- 16 min · walk
- 7
Kennedy Center roof terrace
Foggy Bottom · 45 min
Fifteen minutes along the river from the Georgetown waterfront. The terrace wraps the whole building and faces the Potomac for sunset; the building is open daily until 11 p.m., and the Millennium Stage gives free performances at 6 p.m. on some days.
- 3.3 km · transit or taxi
- 8
Ben's Chili Bowl, U Street
U Street · 75 min
A half-smoke with chili, mustard and onions at the counter that has been there since 1958; open to 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday. For a table, the Ethiopian restaurants around 9th and U are the city's own cuisine.
Day 3
Across the river, and the museum that needs a pass
- FromYour hotel in Penn Quarter and downtown
- 1
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington · 150 min
Take the Blue Line to Arlington Cemetery station, five minutes to the Welcome Center and a bag check; free, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a 15-minute uphill walk, with the guard changing every half hour April to September and on the hour October to March.
- 3.7 km · transit or taxi
- 2
Sweet Home Cafe, NMAAHC
National Mall · 60 min
Back on the Blue Line to Smithsonian station. Eat first, since your timed pass gets you into the museum: Southern food by region, from Carolina shrimp and grits to Creole gumbo and fried catfish.
- Next door
- 3
National Museum of African American History and Culture
National Mall · 150 min
Free, but everyone needs a timed pass (release times are in the tips); on weekdays walk-ups are let in after 1 p.m., while weekends need a pass all day. Take the elevator down to the slavery and freedom floors and work up to the culture galleries.
- 19 min · walk
- 4
National Air and Space Museum
National Mall · 90 min
Twenty minutes east along the Mall; free timed passes again, with same-day passes at 8:30 a.m. The Wright Flyer and the Apollo 11 capsule are here; the Udvar-Hazy annex near Dulles has the shuttle Discovery, no pass needed and $15 parking, better saved for the way to a Dulles flight.
- 20 min · walk
- 5
The Wharf
Southwest Waterfront · 90 min
Fifteen minutes south on foot past L'Enfant Plaza. Oysters at Rappahannock or Hank's on the piers, or a crab or fish sandwich eaten standing at the Municipal Fish Market stalls, the oldest in the country.
- 21 min · walk
- 6
The monuments at night
National Mall · 90 min
From the Wharf it is 15 minutes to the Jefferson Memorial, then the Tidal Basin path to the Martin Luther King and Roosevelt memorials and on to the Lincoln, all lit and open round the clock. Wear flat shoes and take a taxi home from 23rd Street.
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Pins are approximate. Tap one for the stop; the directions links open Google Maps.
The practical bits
From the airport
From Dulles (IAD), the Silver Line station is a five-minute indoor walk from baggage claim; about 55 minutes to Metro Center for $6.75 at weekday peak, $2.50 or less evenings and weekends. From National (DCA), the Blue and Yellow lines leave from the terminal and reach L'Enfant Plaza in about 15 minutes. From Baltimore (BWI), the MARC train to Union Station takes about 35 minutes for under $10, Amtrak less time for more money.
What a day costs
About $90 to $150 a day per person, because almost every museum and memorial is free. A sit-down dinner is $35 to $60 with tip, lunch $15 to $20, the Metro $2.25 to $6.75 a ride, the Phillips $20 and the Washington Monument $1. The Arlington tram ($21.50) and Udvar-Hazy parking ($15) are the only other real tickets.
Where to stay
Got a day to spare?
Worth knowing
- Three things need a free ticket booked ahead: the Washington Monument (30 days out, 10 a.m. Eastern, $1 fee), the African American History museum (30 days out, 8 a.m. Eastern) and Air and Space (six-week blocks, noon Eastern). Set alarms in Eastern time before you fly.
- Tap-to-pay arrived on Metro in 2025: a contactless card or phone works at every rail gate and bus reader, tap out with the same card. You do not need a SmarTrip card unless you want a day pass.
- Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery are free and open every day of the year except December 25 (the Gallery also closes January 1), including federal holidays. The Capitol is closed Sundays and the Washington Monument closes July 4, so put them on weekdays.
- Restaurants expect 18 to 20 percent and bars a dollar a drink. Tax is added at the till, so the menu price is not the price.
- The Mall has almost no shade and few shops. Carry a refillable bottle (every museum has fountains), a hat in summer and a real coat from December to February; the wind off the river is colder than the forecast.
Things you can ask once it’s in the app
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
Which museums on day 3 need a timed pass and when do they release?We land at Dulles at 3 p.m., how do we get to Capitol Hill?Swap Arlington for something indoors, Maya is nine and it is rainingIs the Capitol open on Columbus Day?Jonah paid for the Wharf dinner, split it three ways
Questions
Is three days enough for Washington?
Yes, for the Mall, the three timed museums, Arlington and one evening in each of the neighborhoods. A fourth day adds the Holocaust Museum and the Library of Congress; a fifth, Mount Vernon or Old Town Alexandria.
Which day works in the rain?
Day 2: the Visitor Center, the Portrait Gallery's covered courtyard and the Phillips are all indoors, and Georgetown can shrink to its shops. Waystop's rain plan can add a version of the day with the memorials moved to a dry evening.
Can a non-American tour the White House or the Capitol?
The Capitol, yes: book a free timed tour online like anyone else. The White House is a request through your embassy in Washington, 7 to 90 days ahead on the current rules, and many embassies get few places; treat it as a bonus and plan around the Visitor Center.
Do I need a car?
No. Both airports are on the Metro, every day here is one ride and a walk, and parking near the Mall is scarce and expensive. Rent one only for Mount Vernon or Annapolis.
Before you go
Nearby
Same country first, then the cities people tend to pair with Washington DC. Want two or three in one go? String them together in the trip builder.
Your version
Now make it fit your trip.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.