Here are, according to us and our local team, the things to do and see in Washington DC in order to get the real vibe, real essence of the city.
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1. Of course you could do all of the following or just register to our cultural scavenger hunt!
2. Take a look to this map of the city, to have a real idea on how it is built and organized.
3. United States Capitol and Capitol Hill
The Capitol is the seat of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The huge dome, based on the dome of St. Peter's in Rome, stands out above all other Washington buildings. Like Washington itself, the building has grown over the years since the central portion was built between 1793 and 1812. The last addition, in 1958-62, enlarged the main façade where presidents take the oath. On the other side, a marble terrace offers beautiful views over the mall and the city. The interior is resplendent with frescoes, reliefs, and paintings, especially the rotunda under the great cast-iron dome with a ceiling painting by Constantino Brumidi and huge paintings of scenes from American history on the walls. Beside it is the former Chamber of the House of Representatives, with statues of leading historical figures. The small Senate Rotunda leads into the beautifully restored Old Senate Chamber, where the Senate met until 1859, and the Supreme Court until 1935. Free tours, which can be reserved online, begin at the visitor center on the lower floor, where there is an interesting exhibition on the building's history. Free tours on weekday afternoons explore the ornate paintings on the walls and ceilings of the corridors in the Senate wing, designed by Brumidi between 1857 and 1859. To visit the Senate or House in session, you need to contact your Senator or Representative for a pass; foreign visitors can arrange visits through the visitor center.
An underground passage with historical exhibits leads from the Capitol to the Library of Congress, the world's largest library, modeled on the Opera House in Paris. You can visit portions on your own, but free tours disclose even more of its beautiful interior. Displayed here are one of the three surviving complete Gutenberg Bibles, an earlier hand-printed Bible, Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson's personal library, and galleries filled with exhibits focusing on topics as varied as the musical careers of the Gershwin brothers and the work of editorial cartoonists and graphic artists.
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4. The White House
The White House is the official residence of the President of the United States. The home of every president except George Washington, it was originally built by James Hoban in 1792, and after being burned down by British forces in 1814 was rebuilt in 1818. Although tours of the interior that include the East, Blue, Green, and Red Rooms; the Ballroom; and the State Dining Room must be reserved well in advance through your Congressional office or embassy, every tourist to Washington will want to see this iconic building, at least from the outside.
The free White House Visitor Center, a short distance away, has excellent interactive exhibits that show details about the White House and the presidential families. It includes furniture of past presidents, a model of the residence, historical changes, and videos with insights from presidents about their time living there. The Ellipse, a 54-acre stretch of lawn stretching to Constitution Avenue, hosts summer concerts by the US Army Band. Next door to the White House are the elaborate 1833 Greek Revival Treasury Building and the 1871 Executive Office Building, one of the most striking old government buildings in Washington. From Lafayette Square, one of the city's best-known, statues of Andrew Jackson, Lafayette, and others overlook the White House.
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5. The Lincoln Memorial
The best-loved of all Washington's memorials, the Lincoln Memorial stands at the far end of the mall, separated from the Washington Monument by the Reflecting Pool. At its center is a 19-foot marble statue of a seated and pensive President Abraham Lincoln surrounded by 36 columns, one for each of the states that existed at the time of Lincoln's death. This is the most famous work designed by noted sculptor Daniel Chester French. Jules Guerin painted the murals on the inside walls, showing important events in Lincoln's life. Since its completion in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial has been the scene of a number of historic events. 1n 1939, when the all-white Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to let celebrated African-American singer Marian Anderson perform at a concert in nearby Constitution Hall, President Franklin Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt arranged for her to give an open-air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, attended by 75,000 people and broadcast to millions of radio listeners. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I have a dream..." speech from the memorial steps in 1963, again making history here.
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6. The Washington Monument
The 555-foot white shaft of the Washington Monument is a familiar icon of the National Mall, and a beautiful sight, especially when mirrored in the long Reflecting Pool at its foot. Construction of the obelisk to honor the nation's first president did not proceed smoothly. The plan was approved by Congress in 1783, but ground wasn't broken until 1848. When the tower reached 156 feet in height in 1854, political wrangling and lack of funds stopped the project for several years, and the Civil War caused further interruption so that the tower was not capped until 1885, when it was finally completed by the Army Corps of Engineers. You can still see the separate stages of its building by three changes in the color of its facing stones; inside are engraved stones from various states, cities, foreign countries, individuals, and civic groups, many of them donors who helped in its private funding stages. You can take an elevator to the very top for aerial views over the mall and much of Washington. The base of the monument is surrounded by a circle of 50 American Flags.
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7. National Mall and Veterans Memorials
The spacious swath of lawns and pools that forms a wide greenbelt from the Capitol Building to the Lincoln Memorial is also the site of many of Washington's landmark buildings and monuments. Most prominent at its center point is the Washington Monument, and war memorials include those to veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
a poignant wall inscribed with the names of all American servicemen and
women who lost their lives or are missing, is one of Washington's most
visited memorials. The nearby Vietnam Women's Memorial has a bronze sculpture of three servicewomen helping a wounded soldier. The Korean War Veterans Memorial contains 19 steel sculptures of soldiers. The newest, American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial was dedicated in 2014.
Along with providing a park for walking, running, and picnicking, the mall is a place for celebrations and festivals. Best known of these is the annual Independence Day celebration with fireworks around the Washington Monument. Also in July, the Smithsonian American Folk Life Festival fills the mall with music, crafts, performances, storytelling, cultural programs, and food from various regions around the country. The Smithsonian Kite Festival is held here in late March or early April.
Get Google maps directions> Along with providing a park for walking, running, and picnicking, the mall is a place for celebrations and festivals. Best known of these is the annual Independence Day celebration with fireworks around the Washington Monument. Also in July, the Smithsonian American Folk Life Festival fills the mall with music, crafts, performances, storytelling, cultural programs, and food from various regions around the country. The Smithsonian Kite Festival is held here in late March or early April.
Location: Between Constitution Avenue and Independence Avenue, Washington, D.C.
8. National Museum of American History
One of the most popular of the Smithsonian's many museums that line the mall, The National Museum of American History traces the political, cultural, scientific, and technological history of the U.S. since the Revolution. It displays important pieces of Americana, including Thomas Jefferson's desk, one of Edison's light bulbs, and the original flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words to The Star Spangled Banner. But beyond these treasured national artifacts, exhibits also examine how people lived, what they ate, where they worked, how they played, what they wore, how they traveled, how they worshiped, and how they governed themselves. Illustrating these multiple themes are artifacts that include everything from gowns, work by First Ladies, and Julia Child's complete kitchen to the Muppets and the actual ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in the film Wizard of Oz. Get Google maps directions>
9. National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum is one of the world's most popular museums, with a collection of history-making air and spacecraft that includes the original 1903 Wright Brothers Flyer, and Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the first plane to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. More recent flight history is represented here by the Apollo 11 command module, part of the first manned lunar landing mission. Permanent and changing exhibitions illustrate the science, history, and technology of aviation and space flight, covering topics like the use of air power in both world wars, the space race, flight pioneers, and up-to-the-minute flight and space technology. Many of the exhibits are interactive and all contain actual historical objects, such as a moon rock you can touch. Not only do permanent exhibits illustrate history, they show the how and why of flight and space science, explaining how things fly, how jet engines work, and what keeps the International Space Station in orbit.
In addition to the exhibits, there is the Albert Einstein Planetarium, an IMAX theater, and the Public Observatory on the east terrace, where you can examine lunar craters and see planets and other astronomical features through telescopes. Flight simulators (fee charged) allow kids and adults to fly combat missions with aerial maneuvers like 360-degree barrel rolls or experience naval aviation in an F-18 Super Hornet. In addition to the museum on the mall, the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, adjacent to Dulles Airport, has even more historic aircraft and space exploration artifacts, including a Concorde and the space shuttle Discovery. You can watch from observation walkways through the hangars where experts are restoring historic aircraft. Get Google maps directions>
10. National Gallery of Art
Housed in two separate buildings connected by a tunnel, the National Gallery of Art is one of the world's premier art museums and one of the most popular in the U.S. Based on the sizable collection of financier and later Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, its large and diverse collection includes masterpieces of European and American paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts. Frequent temporary exhibitions add to this outstanding permanent collection to highlight arts from cultures around the world. Among the highlights is Ginevra de Benci, the only Da Vinci painting in any American museum. Others include works by major French Impressionists -- Monet, Degas, and Renoir -- and other masterpieces by Rembrandt, El Greco, and Vermeer. The newer East Wing features sculptures by Henry Moore, a mobile by Alexander Calder, and other modern works.
Also part of the Smithsonian Institution and located on the mall are several other art museums. The Freer Gallery of Art houses nearly 30,000 pieces of Asian artworks, one of the most extensive collections in the world, including Buddhist sculptures and Persian manuscripts. The Freer also features 19th-century and early 20th-century American art, most notably a large collection of work by James McNeill Whistler. Connected to it, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery houses more than 1000 pieces, principally Chinese jade and bronze, Chinese paintings and lacquerware, and ancient Near Eastern ceramics and metal ware. The drum-shaped Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden traces the history of modern art from the mid-1800s, through more than 12,000 pieces of art and sculpture. One of the highlights of the garden is Rodin's Burghers of Calais. The National Museum of African Art displays thousands of objects representing the diverse artistic styles throughout the African continent, including sculptures, masks, costumes, household objects, and ceramics.
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11. National Museum of Natural History
The Museum of Natural History explores the natural world with permanent and changing exhibits to interest all ages. Most popular exhibits include the renowned Hope Diamond and the dazzling collection of gems and minerals around it; Ocean Hall with its stunning underwater photography and replica of a 45-foot North Atlantic Right Whale; and the Hall of Human Origins, which follows human evolution over six million years in response to a changing world. Children will especially like the dinosaur exhibits and the interactive Discovery Room where they can touch and play with various artifacts. Get Google maps directions>
12. Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin
The design for the domed white memorial to Thomas Jefferson, the third US president, is based on the Roman Pantheon, its low dome supported by 54 Ionic columns. Inside, appearing in a dramatic silhouette through the columns, is a 19-foot statue of a standing Jefferson, and around are engraved excerpts of the Declaration of Independence and other writings. The monument stands alone at the far end of the Tidal Pool, which reflects the monument in its surface, and all around the edge of the water are cherry trees, a gift from Japan. These are one of Washington's greatest attractions when they bloom each spring, surrounding the basin with a cloud of pink flowers and celebrated with the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Along the Cherry Tree Walk around the Tidal Basin, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial reflects twelve years of American History through four outdoor rooms. Each one is devoted to one of FDR's terms of office as he guided the country through the Great Depression and World War II.
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13. Newseum
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Caitlin is our Washington DC local representative, we asked her what an ideal day of leisure in Washington DC could look like, what would she suggest doing from early morning to late at night?
Here is what she suggests. Don't hesitate to contact Caitlin on Twitter @bigcitychase #Caitlin #questionforCaitlin if you have questions for her, we may publish your conversation in this blog if she thinks it might be useful to other Washington DC visitors.
Caitlin from Washington DC for Big City Chase Washington DC :
"Hi guys, my Name is Caitlin, I'm an attorney and I lived all my life in Washington DC, I love my city and my country and I will be more than happy to share tips with you so that you can enjoy this great historical city Washington DC is, even if it's just for leisure.
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