profit from 1 day in Washington, DC

Washington, D.C., provides guests world-renowned museums and iconic landmarks just like the White Home, the Capitol and the monuments alongside the Nationwide Mall. Nevertheless, the town is not solely about historical past. There are additionally booming meals and leisure scenes.

Many Individuals first come to the nation’s capital on a faculty journey. However if you happen to’ve by no means been to Washington, it may be laborious to prioritize the highlights or take pleasure in some sights and experiences that veer off from extra well-trod itineraries.

For many who may not be conversant in the town, my colleague, Emily Thompson, and I traveled there collectively in an try to craft the right one-day subject journey to Washington. After all, your good day might differ from ours, however listed here are our must-visit locations for anybody trying to discover the town, together with some methods to maximise factors and miles alongside the best way.

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Nationwide Zoo

• Hours: 8 a.m. to six p.m.
• Price: Free, however entry passes are required for all company.
• Getting there: Three blocks from the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro station or a 15-minute Uber or Lyft trip from downtown. Should you drive your self, the Nationwide Zoo expenses $30 for parking, so we advocate benefiting from the plentiful avenue parking close by.
• Time required: One hour (8 a.m. to 9 a.m.).

Begin your day vivid and early so you may arrive at 8 a.m. for the opening of the Smithsonian’s Nationwide Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. You may doubtless see the two,200-plus animals being extra energetic within the morning than within the afternoon.

Emily and I arrived through the Connecticut Avenue entrance and walked down the Asia Path, the place we handed by the clouded leopard, sloth bear and crimson panda displays.

However the true spotlight of the zoo was seeing Xiao Qi Ji, the large panda who was born to a 22-year-old mother in 2020, making her the oldest large panda to offer start within the U.S. Whereas Xiao Qi Ji and his dad and mom returned to a panda reserve in China in late 2023, a brand new pair named Bao Li and Qing Bao made their public debut on the Nationwide Zoo in January 2025 on the newly refurbished David M. Rubenstein Household Big Panda Habitat.

After an hour or so on the zoo, you may have hopefully labored up an urge for food.

Weekend brunch in Georgetown at Founding Farmers Fishers & Bakers

• Weekend and holiday-weekday brunch buffet hours: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Price: $35.50 per particular person. Kids 3 and below are free, and kids ages 4 to 12 are $15.50.
• Getting there: A 15-minute Uber or Lyft trip, or a 45-minute downhill stroll from the zoo.
• Pay with: One in every of one of the best playing cards for eating, just like the American Specific® Gold Card.
• Time required: 1 hour and quarter-hour for brunch and a stroll alongside the Georgetown Waterfront (9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.).

Weekend brunch is an enormous deal in D.C., and Washingtonians fiercely debate about one of the best brunch spot, however I am an enormous fan of Founding Farmers Fishers & Bakers.

Serving what it calls “a pageant of meals,” Founding Farmers Fishers & Bakers provides an elaborate brunch unfold with recent, sustainable substances from native farms and producers.

The buffet contains choices just like the well-known bananas Foster French toast, a stay omelet station, molasses-glazed ham, freshly lower roast beef, spicy fried hen, seafood jambalaya, apricot-glazed salmon, chips and guacamole, and far, way more.

There are additionally chilly choices like bruleed grapefruit, housemade granola and coconut chia bowls.

The eating room is full of life and boisterous, and we estimate the restaurant serves round 500 hungry brunchers on peak weekends. Consequently, the buffet line can get a bit lengthy. Ask your server for the Bakers Pizza, Farmhouse Sushi and cinnamon rolls — these dishes are delivered to your desk upon request.

Our tip: Earlier than you permit, seize some Instagram-worthy pics on the Georgetown Waterfront.

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Nationwide Mall (Smithsonian museums)

Stretching from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol, the Nationwide Mall was designed within the 18th century by French American city planner Pierre L’Enfant. He envisioned a dramatic grand promenade much like the Tuileries Backyard in Paris.

Along with the gorgeous views of the Capitol and Washington Monument, the Nationwide Mall provides ample gardens and is fringed by a number of Smithsonian museums. Here is an summary of the museums you may entry from the Nationwide Mall:

• Nationwide Museum of African American Historical past and Tradition
• Nationwide Museum of American Historical past
• Nationwide Museum of Pure Historical past
• Nationwide Gallery of Artwork
• Nationwide Museum of the American Indian
• Nationwide Air and House Museum (open however at present present process important renovations)
• Hirshhorn Museum (the Hirshhorn’s sculpture backyard is closed till 2026 because it undergoes a $68 million revitalization)
• Freer Gallery of Artwork
• Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
• Nationwide Museum of African Artwork

The Holocaust Memorial Museum and Worldwide Spy Museum are a block south of the Nationwide Mall. The Spy Museum has an entry charge of $31.75 to $37.05 per particular person relying on how early you buy tickets.

Plan to make use of the restrooms contained in the museums, and skip the meals vans and underwhelming museum cafeterias since there are many nice eating places to take pleasure in in Washington.

Since time is proscribed (and also you want a few days to see all these museums), we advocate deciding on one or two museums that curiosity you essentially the most. As an aviation fanatic, I wanted to maintain my eyes on the time on the Air and House Museum so I did not miss out on our different stops.

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Afternoon tea at The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon Metropolis

Since you’ve got been on the go for a number of hours on the Nationwide Mall, a complicated afternoon tea throughout the river in Arlington, Virginia, is the right strategy to recharge for the afternoon and night actions forward.

The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon Metropolis provides probably the most decadent afternoon teas within the space. Although costly, it is a surprisingly good worth because it’s troublesome to seek out comparable experiences for below $90 in Washington.

Between March 14 and April 13, a barely enhanced Cherry Blossom Tea can be served Friday by means of Sunday for $88, together with a glass of glowing wine. When Emily and I went, the tea sandwiches and pastries have been delicious, and the selfmade scones served with clotted cream and native jam paired excellently with the sakura cherry rose white tea.

Arlington Nationwide Cemetery

• Hours: 8 a.m. to five p.m.
• Price: Free for all, however it’s essential to current an ID.
• Getting there: 10-minute Uber or Lyft trip from Pentagon Metropolis.
• Time required: 1 hour and quarter-hour (3:45 p.m. to five p.m.).

The ultimate resting place of some 400,000 veterans and their dependents, Arlington Nationwide Cemetery is a spot to acknowledge the sacrifices made by those that have served our nation.

Cease by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, devoted to unidentified troopers who misplaced their lives in service to the nation. The Altering of the Guard ceremony, which takes place on the tomb, is a solemn and shifting occasion each half-hour from April 1 by means of Sept. 30 and on the hour from Oct. 1 by means of March 31.

One other must-see website at Arlington Nationwide Cemetery is the John F. Kennedy Gravesite. An everlasting flame marks the gravesite of President Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963. The flame symbolizes the president’s enduring legacy and is a poignant reminder of his service to the nation.

Guests preferring a narrated hop-on, hop-off bus tour can reserve a ticket, although a ticket is not required to enter the cemetery.

After, take slightly break to clean up at your lodge earlier than the night actions.

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Evening monument tour

• Touring hours: 7:30 or 8 p.m. till 10-10:30 p.m.
• Price: From $53 per particular person.
• Getting there: Excursions depart from varied landmarks so finances 15-20 minutes to take an Uber or Lyft trip or public transit to the place to begin.
• Time required: Two to 3 hours within the night.
• Pay with: E-book utilizing Viator. Provoke your buy utilizing your favourite buying portal to earn additional factors. Then, pay with a bank card that earns properly on basic journey purchases.

You probably have slightly time earlier than the tour (as we did), cease by the foyer atrium of the Waldorf Astoria for drinks and tapas at The Bazaar by José Andrés.

Then, it’s going to be time in your monument tour. Each evening, Washington’s monuments come to life with dramatic lighting shows.

After I had household and buddies go to me once I was a pupil at American College, this was my favourite go-to night tour. You possibly can go for an open-air trolly, electrical cart or bus, which all supply comparable experiences. The electrical cart is a extra intimate expertise with fewer folks, however it is a bit shorter than the others.

Whichever tour you choose, it’s going to hit the highlights, just like the Capitol, White Home, World Warfare II Memorial, Korean Warfare Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. Be sure to guide a tour that permits you to get out and take photographs as a substitute of 1 that simply rapidly drives by.

Since our go to fell throughout peak cherry blossom season, petals rained down on us as we handed by MLK’s quotes — really a unprecedented reminiscence of our epic day.

Ben’s Chili Bowl

• Hours: Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 a.m.
• Price: $10 to $20 for an entire meal.
• Getting there: 10-minute Uber or Lyft trip.
• Time required: half-hour (10:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.).

Few issues are extra D.C. than Ben’s Chili Bowl.

Based in 1958 by Ben Ali and his spouse Virginia, Ben’s Chili Bowl grew to become a preferred gathering place for civil rights activists in the course of the Sixties. The U Road Hall, often called Black Broadway, is rooted within the thriving African American arts and leisure scene exterior Ben’s doorways.

Ben’s has gone hand-in-hand with civil rights in D.C. by donating meals and offering shelter to these in want in the course of the 1963 March on Washington and 1968 riots.

The restaurant remains to be well-known for its Half Smoke chili canine, fries and milkshakes. However greater than the meals, it is in regards to the institution’s legacy as a gathering place for civil rights activists in the course of the Sixties.

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Backside line

Feeling a yawn approaching?

Should you made it this far, you’ve got been out of your lodge room for round 15 hours, as Emily and I have been, however hopefully, the remaining stops all through the day have made it extra manageable.

Honestly, there is not any strategy to see all the things in in the future. In any case, you probably have the time, I might reserve a complete day on the Nationwide Mall alone, hopping from museum to museum.

However a correct subject journey to Washington goes past the museums and monuments, highlighting American tradition and the town’s vibrant neighborhoods, together with Georgetown, the U Road Hall and Columbia Heights. Hopefully, you may be wanting to plan your subsequent journey to Washington earlier than this one is over.

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