There are so many things to do in Washington DC, and most for free, that I could not simply include them all in this presentation. This brief introduction to what you can do in the nation's capital should spark your interest into planning a stellar trip to DC!
All photographs in this presentation are my own.
2. Memorials Free
Museums!
Monuments History
Culture Politics
3. Public Officials
www.house.gov
Look up your representative by zip code
From their page you can request tours to
The White House
US Capital
Mint
Supreme Court
Pentagon
Kennedy Center
*Tour requests are not guaranteed and
subject to background check approval
4. Getting Around Town
Tourmobile Sightseeing Bus
http://www.tourmobile.com/pdf/brochure.pdf
http://www.tourmobile.com/pdf/map.pdf
Get on and off all day long for one fare. Great for getting to further out
locations such as the Jefferson and Roosevelt Memorials.
Nighttime tours also available- ask at kiosk inside Union Station
Metrorail Subway
www.wmata.com
Timetables, routes, rates
Walking ! !
5. http://www.wmata.com/rail/docs/colormap_lettersize.pdf? Look for
these
pillars to
enter the
Metro
Stations.
The color
bands
around
the top
indicate
the
subway
line
servicing
that
station.
Double
circles on
the map
indicate
transfer
points
6. Interior of Smithsonian Subway Station
Doors.
Closing.
Step Back.
Please
Allow the
Doors to
Close
See it?
Say it.
7. Best interactive 3D map of the city!
http://dcpages.com/Tourism/Maps/Washingtong_DC_Map/
http://www.nps.gov/PWR/state/DC/upload/NPS-Map-Washington-DC.pdf Detailed Map of the city for printing
8. The Capitol is open
to the public for guided
tours-conducted 9:00 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. Mon-Sat
Visitors must obtain free
tickets for tours on a
first-come basis, at the Capitol
Guide Service kiosk located along
the curving sidewalk southwest of
the Capitol (intersection of First
Street, S.W., & Independence Ave
Ticket distribution begins at 9:00
a.m. daily.
http://www.aoc.gov/cc/visit/index.cfm
9. Daily tours available.
Access to Jefferson Reading
Room for research is by special
reader’s card only, it can be
obtained in the Madison Building
www.loc.gov
Library of Congress 1st & Independence Streets
10. The Supreme Court
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/visiting/visiting.html
The Supreme Court offers a variety of educational
programs. Exhibits, which are changed periodically, and
a theater, where a film on the Supreme Court is shown,
are located on the ground floor. Courtroom lectures are
held every hour on the half-hour, on days that the Court
is not sitting, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and concluding at
3:30 p.m.
1st & East Capital Street, down the road from the
Library of Congress.
The building is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday. It is closed Saturdays, Sundays,
and federal holidays.
11. 7th and Constitution
Streets
Arrive early- usual
30 minute wait
outside.
No flash
photography
Explore the public
vaults, Charters of
Freedom, and
special exhibits.
www.archives.gov
18. The Washington Monument is open daily
http://www.nps.gov/wamo/index.htm during the summer season from 9:00 A.M.
to 10:00 P.M., with the last tour beginning
before 9:45 P.M. The days for scheduled
closings are July 4, 2009 and December 25,
2009.
Washington Monument admission is free,
but does require a ticket. The Washington
Monument Lodge, located along 15th
Street, opens at 8:30 A.M. for distribution of
free, same day, timed tickets on a first
come first serve basis. One person may
pick up as many as six tickets as well as
select their preferred ticket time from what
remains available for that operating day. All
individuals (including children) must have a
ticket. During the spring and summer,
tickets run out quickly and the line for tickets
forms as early as 7:00 A.M.; please plan
accordingly.
If you wish to reserve tickets, you may do
so by visiting the National Park Service
ticket website at http://www.recreation.gov,
or by calling 1.877.444.6777 for individual
tickets or 1.877.559.6777 for group
reservations. There is a $1.50 service
charge per ticket. These tickets may be
picked up at the “will call” window of the
Washington Monument Lodge on the day of
your tour. Please be aware that during peak
season of April-September, tickets
frequently are reserved months in advance.
24. The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt is the
only one in existence of a First Lady
25. To access viewing of the White House South
Lawn, enter via 15th and E streets.
Looks like a park, has a parking lot and a small
building (has a bathroom and snacks as well
as White House info)
To access viewing of the White
House North Lawn, enter 15th
and Pennsylvania (street closed
to traffic)
26.
27.
28.
29. Public tours of the White House are available. Requests must be submitted through one's Member of
Congress and are accepted up to six months in advance. These self-guided tours are available from 7:30
a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Fridays, and 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Saturdays (excluding federal holidays). Tour hours will be extended when possible based on the official
White House schedule. Tours are scheduled on a first come, first served basis. Requests can be
submitted up to six months in advance and no less than 30 days in advance. You are encouraged to
submit your request as early as possible since a limited number of tours are available. All White House
tours are free of charge. For the most current tour information, please call the 24-hour line at 202-456-
7041. Please note that White House tours may be subject to last minute cancellation.
White House Visitor Center (in commerce building)
All tours are significantly enhanced if visitors stop by the White House Visitor Center located at the
southeast corner of 15th and E Streets, before or after their tour. The Center is open seven days a week
from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and features many aspects of the White House, including its architecture,
furnishings, first families, social events, and relations with the press and world leaders, as well as a thirty-
minute video. Allow between 20 minutes to one hour to explore the exhibits. The White House Historical
Association also sponsors a sales area
30.
31. Old Post Office
Pavilion and
Tower-
Tower is an
alternative to
viewing the city
when tickets to
the
Washington
Monument are
not available
http://www.oldpostofficedc.com/
1100 Pennsylvania Ave
Shopping/Dinning
38. No photography allowed
(they’re watching so
don’t try it!)
Admission Charged
http://www.spymuseum.org/
800 F Street (Across
from the Portrait
Gallery)
39. National Portrait
Gallery
Presidential Portraits
Modern Art
Historical Artifacts
Best Art Museum in town
40. National Museum of
Crime and Punishment
http://www.crimemuseum.org/
Admission Charged
575 7th St. NW between E and F Streets
Inside is the set where America’s Most
Wanted is filmed
41. Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center
At the conclusion of WWII, the divided city of Berlin became the focal point of tension
between East and West and a symbol of the continuing Cold War.
August 1961, East Germany’s ruling Socialist Party constructed a 103-mile long wall
surrounding West Berlin, which had remained “free” since the end of WWII. The wall’s
purpose was to prevent East Germans from leaving the east, in search of freedom in the
western part of the city.
On June 12, 1987, President Reagan visited West Berlin, stood before the Brandenburg
”Mr.
Gate and sent a message to the General Secretary of the Soviet Union:
Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
Less than 2 ½ years later on November
9, 1989, the Berlin wall was opened and
the city of Berlin was free to unite once
again.
This section on display was cut from an
inner city section of the wall very near
the Brandenburg Gate. The graffiti is
original and appears as it did on
November 11, 1989 when the eastern
part of the city was reopened
42. To get to the Zoo Via Metro- Red Line to “Woodley Park/Zoo/Adams Morgan” stop.
Get off the escalator, turn around and walk away from the restaurants (north) up
Connecticut Ave. Zoo will be up the hill on the right.
43. Food, Shopping, Gifts
etc.
• Pentagon City Fashion Mall
(Blue Line)
• Crystal City (Blue Line)
• Old Post Office Pavilion
• Union Station
• Across from Ford’s Theater
• Chinatown
• Watergate (if open)
• Old Town Alexandria
44. Misc. Info
Walk along embassy row http://www.embassy.org/embassies/
Woodrow Wilson House located not far from embassy row
Holocaust Museum
Post Office located next to Union Station
Eastern Market (metro stop) Flea Market open weekends
Behind the scenes tours of Washington Nationals Baseball Stadium
Spirit Cruise Lines boat tour down the Potomac to the shore of Mt. Vernon
(Green line Metro stop to Waterfront- need to walk to the docks)