If your bucket list includes visiting the Smithsonian museums and the war memorials in DC, I now have lots of suggestions! Here is everything I learned.
- Narrow down your trip to the National Mall area. From there you can see everything: the Capital Building, White House, museums, archives (Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc), and all the monuments (Washington, Lincoln, Vietnam Vets, etc). Perhaps a younger person could wander farther around DC, but my primary goal was to see the museums.
The buildings on either side of the green rectangle are all the museums. The Lincoln and other memorials are on the western half.
- Do not drive to the mall! You can take a bus or subway. Once at the mall, for longer jaunts I took a National Mall bus that stops at each sight. At any metro station you can buy passes. I bought a 7-day.
- Understand the Smithsonian set-up by first stopping at the Smithsonian Castle. This was the first and only Smithsonian, which now includes 19 buildings (11 on the National Mall). The Castle is a visitor center with a great 3-D map of the museums. You will get oriented there.
- Make a list of the museums you want to see. Start with the “absolute must go” and visit them first. My must do list follows.
- American History
- Natural History
- Gallery of Art (east and west buildings)
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (blah)
- National Archives
- Air and Space Museum
- Botanical Garden
- Native American Museum (a bit disappointing)
- Be flexible! I originally wanted to see the new African-American History and Culture Museum, but it still has long lines. I really wanted to see the Asian Art Museum but ran out of time.
- Be flexible, as in stretched out.Several times a day I did some basic leg and shoulder stretches.
- All museums are free, but the cost of food and water makes up for it. Typical prices: coffee $4, water $5, salad $10 and so on. I have collapsible water bottles which I filled each morning before setting out and then refilled at the water fountains. I started eating a big breakfast and dinner back at my room, and then packed a banana and PBJ for lunch on the go.
Modern buildings are elbowing in between all the Neo-classical ones.
- Be ready for security searches at every building
- Navigating around kids: in the morning, hoards of school buses drop off massive numbers of kids at the Natural History and Air and Space Museums. After lunch, the kid crowd thinned out.
- If you are not loving a museum, move
- I hit a routine: museums in the morning and early afternoon, memorials in the late afternoon, home by dark.
- Do advance research. Read up about the mall, the museums and public transportation.
- Watch for what I call self-appointed tour guides. Guys hop on the mall bus, hand out a tourist book, and then start acting as a guide, describing everything as you pass by. They are looking for money and are a bit annoying.
- Sleep in while on vacation! The museums don’t open until 10 AM.
- Wear layers
Why was this trip to DC museums on my bucket list? The Smithsonian’s are essentially large storage buildings that hold our national artifacts and collectibles. I read that someone called it our National Attic. The museums hold our history and the stuff is all ours. The garden near the National Botanical Garden is called the Nation’s Garden. I have seen and read so many things about the Smithsonian, I had to go. Just one of those things.
Our National Art Gallery
I’m glad that you mentioned that a younger person might want to venture further afield. That’s exactly what I did in my travels during my youth. I walked and walked, all day sometimes, just to see everything available. It was a hunger that I feel I’ve satisfied, and no longer have the desire. I’m glad you have the passion to do this!
Those were the days!