Unique Highlights
Here are two unique things to do that you won’t find anywhere else:
The FBI Experience
FREE*
FBI Headquarters
Depends on how much you read, how fast you read, and how long you talk. I've seen averages listed online of 60-90 minutes; I'd say 2 hours if you want to actually go through everything in detail. Grace and I spent about 4-5 hours there, since we read everything and talked to several people.
The FBI experience is 110% worth going to. Like the White House tour, *you need to go through your congressional representative, but it should be less in demand. The experience is at the FBI headquarters, and you can take your own time/pace through each of the exhibits. The exhibits cover everything from the history of the FBI, agent training and gear, its different teams and areas of expertise, the Bureau’s biggest cases, and more. There’s also a special memorial room and wall to honor the agents who lost their lives in 9/11 and its aftermath. If you like souvenirs, there’s a gift shop at the beginning and end of the tour (different shops, not the same one).
Grace and I spent several hours there altogether and got to talk to a few retired agents (!!), which I think was the best part of the experience. And if you’re lucky, you might also get to see some current agents do shooting exercises near the end of the exhibits!
The Museum of the Bible
$28.50/adult or FREE Tuesdays*
400 4th St. SW
Definitely an entire day, if you want to be thorough. If you don't have that much time, the museum maps suggest exhibits based on your interests and available time.
The Museum of the Bible is giving free admission on Tuesdays (*until May of 2027), so we took advantage of that! What I loved most was the balance of both historical artifacts and innovative exhibits that looked to the future. They had copies of old Bibles and texts (including a siddur from Kaifeng, China!), then a room displaying the languages of the world and translated Bibles, including ongoing and future work.
P.S. Like all museums, the food was expensive and reported to be not that tasty; we got pho from Cafe 59 down the street instead.
P.P.S. Also, buying America 250 merch a month past July 4th makes it so much more affordable…everything was discounted xD
The National Mall
A large swath of land in front of the White House, the National Mall is home to several of the country’s finest museums and monuments. It’s a very popular destination and certainly deserves the hype. Best of all, all the museums are free!
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
FREE*
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
I'm unsure, since we only managed to see two exhibits in maybe the 1-2 hours we were. But there are at least nine areas containing exhibits, with most areas having more than one, so I'd assume you could easily spend a full day here if you wanted to see everything.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is also worth seeing. (*You need timed tickets for the major exhibit in advance, but those are generally easy to get.) We didn’t even have enough time to make it through the main area, and there were also several side exhibits.
Like other memorials of the Shoah I’ve been to, you get a sense of heaviness and loss but also hope. There were a few special moments I remember, like taking an “identity card card-content” at the beginning of the main exhibit that tells you the life story of someone who perished or lived through the Holocaust — a card you take by chance, to read whether one lived or died.
National Museum of American History
FREE
1300 Constitution Ave NW
I'm unsure, since we only managed to see two exhibits in maybe the 1-2 hours we were. But there are at least nine areas containing exhibits, with most areas having more than one, so I'd assume you could easily spend a full day here if you wanted to see everything.
We swung by the National Museum of American History for a quick visit, and I definitely wish we’d been able to spend more time there! Seeing the original Star-Spangled Banner was kinda insane (no pictures allowed), and it was definitely bigger than I thought it would be. We also got to see the popular First Ladies’ Inaugural Dresses exhibit, which I definitely recommend.
More Sightseeing
Smithsonian National Zoo
FREE*
3001 Connecticut Ave, NW
Between half a day to a full day
Note that it’s a really bad idea to go to the Smithsonian Zoo when it’s 90+ degrees Fahrenheit outside…no further comments 🤣😩 Luckily, there were a few air-conditioned spaces, but most of it was outdoors. Also, zoo food is horrifically expensive (to be expected); instead we just went out and bought food from across the street.
*You need timed tickets.
Food
Cafe 59
Perfect location to visit, right next to the Museum of the Bible.
While we got pho bowls (which were amazing; I got beef and Grace got tofu), Cafe 59 also has a lot of other things on its menu — sandwiches, burgers, tortilla wraps, and more.
Hotels & Lodging
Club Quarters D.C.
Grace and I stayed at Club Quarters Hotel for most of our DC trip (the rest was for a conference, so it doesn’t count hehe), in the double room. While the room was small and we lived off Trader Joe’s and the fridge and microwave, the location really cannot be beat.
This hotel is right next to a metro station, and only a few minutes’ walk from nearby bus stops. We basically got to all of our sightseeing destinations within 20 minutes or less. Technically, the National Mall is actually in walking distance, but the August weather was too miserable and humid for us to trek 20 minutes in.
(I forgot to take a picture of the hotel…oops lol.)
Transportation
We took public transportation our entire time in Washington, D.C., and it was super convenient. You can pay for the metro and buses using Google Wallet, Apple Pay, etc., or using the standard SmarTrip card. The advantage of the SmarTrip card, as we were told by a bus driver, is that you get transfers for free within a certain amount of time (if I understood correctly). Otherwise, it doesn’t matter.
The bus will come when it comes 😅, but the Google Maps app will generally give you a good idea of how long you need to wait, and if there are any delays. The metro tends to be a bit more reliable in terms of timing, but rush hour can make it a bit crazy.
Do note that prices will change depending on the time of day, and day of the week.
Airports
There are three major airports around Washington, D.C. All of them are easily accessible from downtown (think National Mall area) using public transportation.
IAD
Washington Dulles International Airport
My sister and I flew into this airport straight from abroad. It’s pretty big; we had to hop on some skytrain thingy after landing to get to the immigration and passport control area.
Customs: Both Global Entry and Mobile Passport Control were very fast for us, like within-10-minutes fast, on a weekday morning.
