DC 3-day itinerary: for non-americans

If you’re visiting D.C., you might not want to figure out your own itinerary and do all of the work in figuring out what things are close, how you can make your way through the city. Especially if you are new to the city, it can be intimidating. Fortunately, we are happy to do the work for you. 

This itinerary will take you to what are perhaps the most interesting places for non-Americans to see in the city.

Day 1: 

Morning: 

National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art is the premier art museum in Washington, D.C. It is a huge museum spanning two wings, that features art from all over the world throughout history. The two wings, which are next to each other and connected by a plaza and by an underground tunnel, are primarily divided between contemporary art in the East wing and other art in the West wing. This museum is one of the largest art museums in North America, and the art that is featured is some of the world’s great art, including renaissance art, impressionist art, and others. There is also a great deal of American art featured in the museum, with some great works by Edward Hopper and others. A personal favorite of mine that is in the museum: The City from Greenwich Village (1922), by John Sloan.

The East Building features an incredible collection of contemporary and modern art, and is a large building in its own right, though not quite as large as the West Building. I would recommend taking the tunnel that connects the two, as it features a very cool lighting display in the walkway.

The West Building, where most of the collection is housed, is definitely one of the museums in which you can easily spend hours. The collection, even just in the West Building, is so large, and the works of art so important, that you could easily make most of your day around the National Gallery of Art. However, if you are not as much of an art fan, you can pick and choose the highlights.

Afternoon:

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is one of the best museums in the city. Many would even say it is the best museum in the city, and it is hard to disagree. This museum, devoted to the Holocaust, features several floors of exhibits that take you through the timeline of the Holocaust, from the rise of Hitler to the Final Solution and the aftermath of the Holocaust.  This is one of the most emotional museums in the city, and the scenes of the museum are somber. Everything about this museum is well-designed and powerful, and it should be experienced by anyone that visits the city.

A word of warning: if you have small children, this may not be the best museum to visit. Between the somber tone of the museum and the violence and brutality it shows, it is not good for young children. However, if you have older children, this can be a very important museum to show the power of history and the danger and consequences of violent ideology. 

The museum also examines the violence against homosexuals, people with disabilities, the Roma people, and other groups, but not in quite as much detail as the violence against Jewish people.

Evening:

Monuments and memorials 

One of the greatest things about visiting D.C. is the plethora of memorials, monuments, statues, and parks that there are to visit.  There are so many that listing them all would be take several articles on their own. So, for the purposes of this article, we’ll list some of the best.

Visiting the monuments is good at any time of day.  At night, my personal favorite time to visit, it is quiet and you can have the monuments mostly to yourselves.  The brightness of the monuments creates a sharp contrast against the dark sky and landscape, and the views are stunning.  During the day, it is a great hike for you to take. Regardless of when you go, there is an order in which you can see a number of the best and most popular monuments in one or two hours.  It is a big hike, but the monuments are pretty accessible for those with more limited mobility.

For the first stop in this tour, walk from the White House to the Washington Monument.  On the way, you’ll pass a number of important and cool buildings. While you’re at the Washington Monument, you can enjoy the views of the U.S. Capitol Building, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and many other parts of the city, while standing next to the tallest structure in the city.  Note: the grounds right at the monument are closed until late 2018 or 2019.

From the Washington Monument, walk toward the Lincoln Memorial.  After you cross the street, you’ll be at the World War II Memorial.  This memorial, recently added, is beautiful especially in the warmer times of the year when the fountains are going.  The World War II Memorial features monuments to both the Atlantic and Pacific fronts of the war, as well as honoring the U.S. states and territories that participated in the war efforts.  

After that, keep walking toward the Lincoln Memorial, along the Reflecting Pool.  Facing the Lincoln Memorial, you can walk on the left of the pool or the right. Whichever you choose, you can see memorials and then walk back on the other side.  On the left side you can see the Korean War Memorial, which features haunting figures of soldiers rising from the ground (this memorial is especially effective at night).  On the right side, there is the Vietnam War Memorial, one of the most somber spots in the city (again, this is better at night). As you descend deeper, the black wall of the memorial covers you more fully in emotion.  There are a number of other memorials scattered around, as well.

At the end of the Reflecting Pool is the Lincoln Memorial.  This memorial features some of the finest Greco-Roman architecture in the city.  Up the steps is the chamber with the statue of Abraham Lincoln, as well as the words of the Gettysburg Address on the wall.  Below this is a small museum to the monument. While standing at the top of the stairs, look for the plaque marking where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream.”

Day 2: 

Morning:

National Air and Space Museum

The National Air and Space Museum is one of the most popular museums in the Smithsonian, and for good reason.  In its massive exhibit, you can see everything from planes to rockets to scientific displays and flight simulators.  While that last one costs money, most of the museum is absolutely free to see! This museum is also one of the best ones to take a whole family to, as there is so much to see and do, with parts of the museum featuring hands-on exhibitions perfect for kids of all ages.  This is one of the most popular museums, so arriving early in the day is recommended, especially if it is during the summer or the popular times for tour groups. Also, this museum can easily take up a whole afternoon, so definitely try to give it plenty of time in your schedule.  The museum also has a second component with a tremendous collection of historic planes and spacecraft near Dulles International Airport, but this is far from the downtown area and needs its own trip out, especially as public transportation to the airport is not yet complete.

National Museum of the American Indian

The National Museum of the American Indian, while not quite as large as some of the others, is still a very cool museum to visit. Devoted to Native Americans, it examines a wide range of topics. These include the differences between Native American groups around the country, political issues from before European colonizers arrived to the present day, the treatment of Native Americans by the colonizers and the United States, and aspects of Native American culture.

The museum has a very cool design, which was based on traditional Native American architecture and design. Furthermore, it has one of the most interesting and unique cafes of any museum in D.C. The cafe has food that is either traditional Native American food or based on Native American food.

In all, it is a very different museum from many of the others in D.C., and it comes highly recommended.

Afternoon:

National Museum of American History

The National Museum of American History is one of the premier American history museums in the country.  Its exhibits feature relics from America’s past including the lunch counter from the Greensboro Sit Ins of the Civil Rights Movement, flags from the beginning of American history, and other exhibits that capture the spirit of American history and present it in a captivating format.  This museum is great for kids of all ages, great for adults, and great for anyone who loves history. It is located on the National Mall, along with most of the other Smithsonian museums, so it is very easy to incorporate it into your schedule. This is definitely one of the best museums that the Smithsonian has to offer, so make sure to check it out in your trips to Washington.

Evening:

Tidal Basin

The Tidal Basin, for most of the year, is a somewhat neglected part of the city.  Home to several great monuments such as the Jefferson Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, and other smaller memorials, the Tidal Basin is a circular basin surrounded by walkways.  It is most well known for the annual Cherry Blossom festival in late March and early April, when the basin is surrounded by beautiful pink and white cherry blossoms. This is the best time of the year to see the Tidal Basin, but also by far the busiest time to visit there and one of the busier times in D.C., period.  However, even in the rest of the year when it is quiet and calm, the Tidal Basin remains one of the best parts of the city not only for its monuments but for the beauty of the water and the trees around it. It is great to visit during both the day and the night. In the day, especially on nice days, the Tidal Basin is radiant and beautiful.  At night, the monuments create a very striking picture with the water and their reflections.

If you start at the northernmost parts of the Tidal Basin, you can walk in a circle around the Basin. Start with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. At this monument, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s figure stands overlooking the Basin, surrounded by his words in the stone around him. The monument attracted some controversy when it was built, with some saying that his statue was too imposing or angry-looking. However, having visited multiple times, it is a very good monument that is definitely worth visiting. 

After the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is the monument to Franklin D. Roosevelt. This memorial features beautiful stone work and water features (if you are there when they are running). Throughout the monument are quotes of his and memorials to eras of his long tenure as president, including the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the New Deal. There is also a memorial to Eleanor Roosevelt, whose accomplishments are numerous and influential. Two of my favorite features of the memorial are the ways in which Eleanor is honored for her own work, rather than just being included as a side part of her husband’s life, and the way that Franklin is portrayed in his wheelchair. 

After these, you come to a couple smaller memorials, including one for George Mason, one of Virginia’s founding fathers. Following this, you eventually come to the Jefferson Memorial. Featuring beautiful architecture, this is worth a visit just for the views and the architecture (even if you are not a fan of Jefferson himself, for various reasons including his slave ownership). Picturesque especially in the Cherry Blossom season, this is one of the most beautiful monuments in the city. 

Day 3: 

Morning:

U.S. Capitol Building

The U.S. Capitol Building, home to the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, is a fantastic place to visit.  This building, one of the largest in the city, takes a little extra effort to visit but is absolutely free. If you do a tour through the Capitol Visitors Center, you can see an intro movie before moving through the Capitol Building.  The rotunda, one of the most famous sights in the city, is always awe-inspiring to walk into. There are other ways to schedule a visit, too. If you live in the United States, you can schedule a tour through the office of your U.S. Senator or Representative, and a staff member can give you a tour.  Furthermore, you can contact one of those offices to get gallery passes for the Senate and House chambers, and watch D.C.’s lawmakers debate and take action live in person. The Capitol building is definitely worth the extra effort to visit, and you should check it out if you get a chance. Do know this, when you visit you will have to go through airport-style security and there are tight restrictions on what you can bring in, so it will take extra time to get inside the building and you may have to leave some of your things in your hotel or home.

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress, one of the largest libraries in the world, is one of the most fantastic things about the city’s place in the world. Its collections are enormous, with more books than almost any other library in the world. While not all of them are on the shelves permanently (many are stored outside the city, in different warehouses), and you cannot withdraw books from their collection, it is very easy to get lost in their collections. If you are a student or in the city to research, it is not difficult to get a reader’s card that grants you access to almost the entire collection, including their collection of rare books and maps. There are three buildings: Madison, Adams, and Jefferson.

For those not interested in going through the process of getting a reader’s card, there is an exhibition space in the Jefferson building. This is what people tend to refer to when discussing visiting the Library of Congress. The building itself is magnificent. It is one of the most beautifully designed buildings in the city, inside and out. It has a number of incredible artifacts on display: multiple ancient manuscripts, including the Gutenberg bible. It also has exhibitions on Civil Rights, and a recreation of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library (which has all of his original books).

A lot of people would consider the Library of Congress’ Jefferson Building one of the best sites in the city, and most people that I know that have gone have rated it as one of the best things they did while in the city.

Afternoon:

Evening:

American Art Museum

The last two in this article are actually physically the same building, but in different halves of the building. The American Art Museum is devoted entirely to art either by Americans or about America. It has a surprisingly large collection, with art ranging from 18th Century art to contemporary art and everything in between. There are some of the most impressive landscape paintings you will find in the city, along with all sorts of art by American artists, both about America and other places around the world.

It is divided into three floors. The first two are about American art from mostly the 18th and 19th centuries. The third is focused on contemporary art, and includes a wide range of interesting works. In all, the museum does a very good job of exhibiting American art, and if you like art at all you’ll enjoy it.

It is connected to the National Portrait Gallery, and they definitely compliment each other. However, they are definitely different museums, and you do not need to visit both to make a trip worthwhile. 

National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery, the other half of the building from the American Art Museum, is the only museum in D.C. devoted entirely to portraits. The majority are focused on individuals that had a role in the United States, but there is a large variety from around the world. Like the American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery is divided into three floors. On one of the floors, there is an extensive set of portraits of every President of the United States. Additionally, there is a growing number of portraits of African Americans and other under represented populations within the United States. The National Portrait Gallery has been very popular recently, as the official portraits of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama just went up last month. 

The National Portrait Gallery does not sound tremendously exciting but it is very much worth a trip. I know a number of people, including myself, who discounted the museum because it did not sound too interesting. However, the variety of portrait styles and subjects makes the museum very much worth a trip, especially if you were also planning on visiting the American Art Museum.

Between the two halves of the building is a covered courtyard. This is a beautiful place to sit and have a snack from the cafe or even just relax. It is covered by a roof made of glass and metal, and there are fountains on the floor. If you are looking for a place to do some work, this could be a great place if it is not too crowded (or, if you don’t mind a crowd, even if it was crowded).