Free Smithsonian museums and monuments. Here is when to go, what a day costs on site and what to see, then Okela composes your itinerary hour by hour.

Compose my trip to WashingtonSee Washington in Okela

When to visit Washington

Best months: March, April, May, September and October.

What to see in Washington

1. National Mall & Lincoln Memorial
   The Lincoln Memorial closes off the western end of the National Mall like a temple open to the city, and it carries the weight of American history, somewhere between quiet reflection and great public gatherings.
2. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
   At the foot of the National Mall, the museum gathers authentic aircraft and spacecraft that shaped the history of flight.
3. Musée national d'Histoire naturelle
   Set on the National Mall, this free Smithsonian museum holds some of the largest natural history collections in the world, from dinosaur skeletons to gemstones.
4. Capitole
   The Capitol is the seat of the United States Congress, and its white dome rises over Washington from a hill at the end of the National Mall.
5. Maison-Blanche
   It is both a home and a workplace, and you feel that at the fence: a fairly modest, restrained building at the heart of one of the most closely watched seats of power in the world.
6. Georgetown
   A former river port on the Potomac, Georgetown still feels like a village inside the capital, with cobbled streets, brick townhouses and a canal.
7. National Gallery of Art
   On the National Mall, this museum brings together two very different buildings, one neoclassical and one boldly modern, around a collection running from the Italian Renaissance to contemporary art.
8. Cimetière d'Arlington
   Thousands of white headstones line the Virginia hills across the river from Washington, and the quiet here is one you respect without being asked.

A sample itinerary for Washington, three days

Composed by Okela from the places in its database, with times. Yours takes your dates, pace and group into account.

Budget

Expect about €222 per person per day on site (accommodation, meals, transport and visits), depending on the comfort you choose. Okela shows the price of every step of your itinerary.

My Washington itinerary, hour by hour

More destinations: United States

Photo: Ralf Roletschek ( talk ) - Infos über Fahrräder auf fahrradmonteur.de Wikis in der Ausbildung, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.