Everything in Washington is free. Getting in is the hard part.
Which Capitol tour includes the Library of Congress reading room. What the memorials look like once the buses leave. Whether Mount Vernon fits the same day as Old Town Alexandria. Reviews of every tour you can book in Washington DC.
Memorials after dark, Arlington at nine, the Capitol from the inside.
The four bookings a first Washington itinerary is built around. What each one costs, and what the people who took it say.
01The first nightDC Memorials Night Tour: Glass-Roof Convertible Upgrade OptionThe memorials are lit from below and half empty after nine. This is the loop that strings them together without a walk between each one.
02The one full dayWashington DC in One Day: Guided Sightseeing TourCapitol to Arlington in a single run, for a trip that only has one clear day. It moves fast and it does not pretend otherwise.
03The morning at nineArlington National Cemetery Walking Tour & Changing of the GuardsTime the walk for the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then come down through the sections on foot.
04The two buildingsSmall-Group Guided Tour inside US Capitol & Library of CongressThe Capitol and the Library of Congress both run on reserved entry, and the reading room is the half most people forget to book.
Two miles of lawn, sixteen memorials, and four ways to take it.
From the Lincoln steps to the Capitol is a two-mile walk with no shade in the middle. Four kinds of day cover the same ground at different speeds and prices. Pick the one that matches your legs and your calendar.
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · DC Memorials Night Tour: Glass-Roof Convertible Upgrade Option
The Mall end to endTen or more stops, on wheels, in a morning.
Memorials after darkLincoln, Korea and Vietnam lit, with the crowds gone.
Inside the CapitolReserved entry to the dome and the reading room.
Over the bridgeThe Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the hill above it.
All 70 monument and memorial tours →
Six places in Washington, and the best day out in each.
A two-mile lawn with a memorial at either end, eleven free museums along one side of it, a hillside of headstones over the river, a canal town of federal brick, cobbles in Virginia and a plantation house on a bluff above the Potomac.
The Smithsonian costs nothing and still needs booking.
Air and Space, Natural History, American History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture all sit within a few minutes of each other, all free, all running on passes that behave differently. These are the days that get you inside the ones worth queueing for.
The Washington days out more travellers take than any other.
Every Washington DC tour we have reviewed →What earns each of these its slot, what it costs, and how long it takes out of the day.
1
DC Memorials Night Tour: Glass-Roof Convertible Upgrade Option
See Washington DC’s floodlit memorials by coach, with photo stops, lively history, and an optional glass-roof upgrade.
From · $69
Read our review →
2
National Mall Monuments Night Tour with 10+ Stops, Entry Tickets
from $65
3
Washington DC Monuments by Moonlight Tour by Trolley
from $48
4
Hop-on Hop-off Sightseeing Tour by Open-top Bus with 18 Stops
from $49
5
Washington DC in One Day: Guided Sightseeing Tour
from $89
6
DC Monuments and Capitol Hill Tour by Electric Cart
from $55
7
Washington DC Moonlight Tour by Electric Cart
from $74
8
Arlington National Cemetery Walking Tour & Changing of the Guards
from $55
Washington is a different city once the lights come up on the marble.
The buses go home around six and the memorials stay open all night. Lincoln lit from inside the colonnade, the Korean patrol crossing its field of juniper, the reflecting pool holding the Monument upside down. It is the version of the Mall the guidebook photographs are taken of, and almost nobody plans for it.
Three of the best Washington days happen in Virginia and Maryland.
Georgetown was a tobacco port before the city existed and still has the canal to prove it. Old Town Alexandria is cobbles and eighteenth-century brick with a water taxi back to the Wharf. Mount Vernon sits on a bluff sixteen miles down the parkway, and Annapolis puts a working naval academy on a harbour full of masts.
Old Town Alexandria in a day →
What a day out in Washington actually costs.
Every tour on the site, grouped by price. The museums are free, so most of what you pay for here is a route, a reserved slot or a seat.
Walking tours, monument loops, cemetery trams, entry tickets and the bike hire along the Mall.
The full-day standards: Capitol and Library entry, the Mount Vernon run, night trolleys and river cruises.
Private guides, chartered cars and the reserved-entry days that cover several buildings at once.
The Washington skyline was designed to be seen from the river.
There is a height limit on every building in the District, so the view from the water is all sky, dome and marble. Sightseeing boats run from the Wharf and Georgetown, dinner cruises push down past National Airport, and the water taxi is a genuine way to reach Old Town Alexandria rather than a novelty.
- 1National Mall Tour with 10+ Stops, Boat Cruise, Entry Ticketsfrom $87
- 2City Cruises Buffet Brunch, Lunch, or Dinner Cruisefrom $65
- 3Full-Day Tour with a Scenic River Cruisefrom $71
Three things that only happen in Washington.
Every capital has museums and statues. A guard changing on the hour in front of a tomb nobody can name, four sheets of parchment under armoured glass, and a Japanese gift of three thousand trees are particular to this one.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
A sentinel has walked the mat in front of the tomb without a break since 1937, through hurricanes and shutdowns. Twenty-one steps, a twenty-one second pause, a turn. The guard changes every hour in winter and every half hour in summer, and the whole hillside goes quiet for it.
- 1Arlington National Cemetery Walking Tour & Changing of the Guards★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 2,566 reviews
- 2Arlington National Cemetery Hop-On Hop-Off Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 744 reviews
- 3Arlington Nat. Cemetery Ticket & Tram Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 544 reviews
The Charters of Freedom
The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are displayed together in a domed rotunda kept dim and filled with argon. The Declaration has faded almost to the paper it was written on. You get about ten minutes at the glass, and the queue outside can run to an hour.
- 1VIP Best of DC with US Capitol + National Archives Reserved Entry★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 2,491 reviews
- 2Skip-the-line National Archives Building Exclusive Guided Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 381 reviews
- 3National Archives Skip the Line Guided Tour Semi-Private 6ppl Max★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 196 reviews
The Tidal Basin blossom
Japan sent three thousand cherry trees in 1912 and they were planted round the Tidal Basin, where they now open for roughly a fortnight and draw a million and a half people. Peak bloom is called a few weeks out and moves with the winter. Everything within walking distance books out with the announcement.
- 1The DC Cherry Blossom Bus Tour with Tidal Basin Guided Walk★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 151 reviews
- 2National Mall & Cherry Blossoms Tour with Optional Museum Tickets★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 112 reviews
- 3National Mall & Cherry Blossoms with Washington Monument Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 21 reviews
Four Washington bookings that will not wait until you land.
Most of this city can be arranged the night before over a plate of half-smokes. These four run on federal ticket systems, congressional offices and a bloom date nobody controls.
- 01Washington Monument Direct Entry with GuidebookThe elevator runs on timed entry and the free same-day tickets are gone within minutes of release. A reserved slot is the reliable way to the top.
- 02Small-Group Guided Tour inside US Capitol & Library of CongressThe Capitol and the Library of Congress are separate reserved tickets on separate systems. The tunnel between them only helps if you hold both.
- 03White House, National Mall and Lincoln Memorial TourA White House tour is requested through a congressional office months ahead. Everything else stops at the fence on Pennsylvania Avenue.
- 04The DC Cherry Blossom Bus Tour with Tidal Basin Guided WalkPeak bloom lasts about a fortnight and the date is announced weeks out. Every tour near the Tidal Basin sells out on the announcement.
Washington was built on a swamp and July has never let anyone forget it.
The Mall is two miles of open lawn with almost no shade, and the humidity holds into the evening. Afternoon thunderstorms arrive fast and clear fast. The answer is the same either way: do the marble early, then go indoors. Eleven free museums sit along the north side of the same lawn.
By place, the District and the belt around it
By kind of day, on foot, on the water or after dark
The Mall, the museums, then over the river: the run almost everybody does first.
The SmithsoniansThe newest Washington DC tour reviews.
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America’s Main Street and White House Private Full-Day Tour
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Washington DC Neighborhoods Personalized Self-Guided App Tour
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Sushi Masterclass in Washington D.C. (Includes 4-Course Meal)
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250th: National Archives & American History Museum Guided Tour
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Private Washington DC Grand Tour with Changing of the Guard.
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Washington D.C. Lincoln Assassination History Walking Tour
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Premium Virginia Wine Country Tour with Tastings
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Afternoon Mount Vernon and Alexandria Tour plus DC Night Tour
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