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Planning a trip to Washington, D.C.? Listed below are popular visitor sites in Washington. For additional information or brochures, please contact Maura Quinn in the Medford District Office at (781) 396-2900. When planning your trip it is important to keep in mind that many of these tours are in high demand and often are booked months in advance, especially during peak tourist season- March through September. Because of this, it is best to make your arrangements at least eight weeks in advance, if not earlier. Also, when in D.C. make sure to stop by our office 2108 Rayburn House Office Building, to say hello, sign into our guest book and pick-up House Gallery passes. Maps of Washington, DC
U.S. Capitol Grounds Map
Capitol Hill Map
National Mall Map
White House Area
Here is some general information about Washington, D.C. tourist attractions that might help you decide where to visit: Sites and Major Attractions:
Public tours are First-Come, First-Served unless otherwise noted. Arlington National Cemetery
Across the Memorial Bridge in Arlington, VA. (703) 692-0931. (202) 554-5100
Metro: Arlington Cemetery.
Hours: Open daily. The largest national military shrine, Arlington Cemetery honors 20,000 military and their dependents, as well as many national heroes, including Robert and John F. Kennedy.
Tickets: Entrance to the cemetery is $5.25 for adults and $2.50 for children. Special tours by Tourmobile cost $18 for adults and $8 for children.
Botanic Gardens
Maryland Avenue and First Street, SW. (202)225-7099.
Metro: Federal Center SW or Capitol South.
Hours: Open daily, including holidays 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For a listing of current programs see their website.
Bureau of Printing and Engraving
14th and C Streets SW, one block south of the Mall. (202)874-2330
Metro: Smithsonian
Public Tours: Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Closed weekends and federal holidays. Tours depart continuously during visitors' hours and allow a glimpse of the complex process of producing every dollar of U.S. currency. During the summer season, June 3 through August 30, additional evening tours are conducted from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: will be needed April through September, and can be obtained on the 15th street side of the building, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and, during summer hours, 3:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. No tickets are required October 1 through March 31.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Due to security issues the FBI is CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
J. Edgar Hoover Building, E Street between 9th and 10th Streets NW. (202)324-3447
Metro: Metro Center.
Hours: Open Monday through Friday from 8:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.. Closed weekends and federal holidays.
Tours: depart every 20 minutes, although you should expect to wait about 1 1/2 hours. Especially popular with children, tours include a display of weapons used by gangsters, espionage devices and the serology lab where experts examine bloodstains. Tour ends with a firearms demonstration.
The Folger Shakespeare Library
201 E. Capitol Street, S.E. 2020544-7077. (202) 544-4600
Metro: Capitol South
Tours: Monday through Friday at 11:00 and 2:00. Tours on Saturday at 2:00. Closed all federal holidays. One of the world's finest collection of Renaissance books and manuscripts. Original folios and quartos of the Bard's work. Also contains working Elizabethan theater.
Ford's Theater and Lincoln Museum
511 10th Street NW. (202)426-6924 or (202)347-6262
Metro: Metro Center or Archives
Hours: Open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The performances range from contemporary comedies and musicals to the melodramas of the 19th century; the theatre itself looks much the same as it did when Lincoln visited
Tickets: Entrance to the cemetery is $5.25 for adults and $2.50 for children. Special tours by Tourmobile cost $18 for adults and $8 for children.
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
1411 W Street SE. (202) 426-5960
Metro: Annacostia and B2 metrobus line
Hours: Open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Tours: offered at 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00. Groups of 5 or more should call ahead to reserve your place. Tourmobile sightseeing is available for $4.00 a person at (202) 554-5100. This is the restored home of black abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who lived here from 1877 until his death in 1895. Douglass's books, paintings and furniture tell the story of this self-educated man who was born a slave and escaped to freedom to become a spokesman for his people.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW Old 15th Street SW between Maine Avenue and Independence Avenue. Entrance also on 14th Street, next to Bureau of Printing and Engraving (202) 488-0400
Metro: Smithsonian
Hours: Open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Closed on Yom Kippur and Christmas Day. Timed entry passes for the permanent exhibitions may be purchased in advance through Protix National Phone Charge at 1-800-400-9373, 10 a.m.- 9 p.m.
Tickets/Museum Information: Tickets can be purchased by phone are $1.75 plus to a $1.00 charge for handling. In addition, tickets are available in limited quantity on first come, first served basis on the day of your visit. The Box Office is on the 14th Street side of the Museum, and opens at 10:00 a.m. Groups of 10 or more must call to reserve an entry time. Cameras are permitted, but no flash photography or additional photographic lighting allowed. The Permanent Exhibition is recommended for ages 11 and older. Daniel's Story is recommended for ages 8 and older. The Learning Center has computer based resources. The Research Institute has scholarly materials and survivor information. Recommended visit time is 1 1/2 to 3 hours. Wheelchairs available - Handicapped accessible
The Kennedy Center
One block south of Virginia and New Hampshire Avenues, NW. (202) 416-8341
Metro: Foggy Bottom
Hours: Open Monday through Friday from 10:00 to 5:00, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 1:00.
Tours/Information: Tours are offered by the "Friends of the Kennedy Center" from 10am-5pm, Monday through Friday and from 10am-1pm on Saturdays and Sundays. The new Millenium Stage offers free performances every night at 6:00 pm for all ages. The Kennedy Center also offers dramatic performances, classical, opera and ballet.
The Library of Congress
Capitol Hill at 1st Street and Independence Ave. SE. (202) 707-5458
Metro: Capitol South
Tours/Hours: Tours of the Thomas Jefferson building are conducted Monday- Friday at 10:30, 11:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30. Saturday tours are at 10:30, 1:30, 2:30. Tours are 45 minutes. Building Highlight tours run every 15 minutes from 4:00- 5:00. Visitors should go to the Motor Parking Lobby A. Groups of 10 or more must call (202) 707-0919 for a private tour. Monday through Saturday. Ticket sales begin at 11:00 a.m. Tour the largest library in the world housed in three buildings. Tours include a viewing of the original papers of Freud and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as personal possessions of Abraham Lincoln. Tours meet in the west front entrance
Mount Vernon
Located 30 minutes south of Washington, at the end of the George Washington Memorial Parkway or Exit 56 on Rt. 395 South. (703) 780-2000
Hours: Open daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. September through March, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. April through August, and closing at 4:00 p.m. November through February
Tickets: $11.00 admission fee for adults, $10.50 for seniors, and $5.00 for children ages 6-11. Children 5 and under are free. Four hour tourmobile tours available for $20.00, including admission, through (202) 554-5100. Mt. Vernon is a southern plantation that was the home of George Washington from 1754 until his death in 1799
The National Archives
8th and Constitution Ave. NW (202) 501-5205
Metro: Archives
Hours: Open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m for self-guided tours.
Tours: Monday through Friday guided tours are available at 10:15 and 1:15, lasting 1 1/2 hours. Reservations for guided tours should be made well in advance. The National Archives is the repository of America's most precious documents -the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights.
The National Zoo
3000 block of Connecticut Ave. NW. (202)673-4800
Metro: Woodley Park
Hours: Open daily. A favorite of locals as well as visitors, the National Zoo is a neatly kept expanse of walkways, imaginatively designed animal enclosures and research facilities
The Pentagon
Located across the 14th Street Bridge in Virginia. (202)695-1776
Metro: Pentagon
Tours: Tours are available by reservation only. Call (703) 695-
The Supreme Court of the United States
1st Street and Maryland Avenue NE. (202)479-3030
Metro:Capitol South
Hours: Open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except Federal holidays. Public lectures are conducted in the courtroom every hour on the half hour, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily, except when the Court is in session
Tours:
The U.S. Capitol Building
Located at the East End of the Mall. (202) 225-6827
Metro: Capitol South
Tours/Hours: Public tours are conducted daily from 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Timed tickets are issued beginning at 9 a.m. on a first come, first served basis. The Capitol kiosks are located at the Southwest and Northwest corners of the Capitol grounds (as shown on the map) Open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m for self-guided tours. Because tickets are limited, it is strongly encouraged that you arrive at the Capitol kiosk early during the peak tour season between March and September.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Near the Lincoln Memorial in Constitution Gardens at Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street NW. (202) 426-6841
Metro:Foggy Bottom
Hours: One of Washington's most visited sights, the Memorial depicts the names of the 58,156 Americans who died or remain missing in action in Vietnam. U.S. Rangers are present from 8:00 to 12:00 daily to answer any questions.
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. (202)456-7041 or 456-2200
Metro:McPherson Square
Hours: Self-guided tours of the White House must be set up months in advance through Rep. Markey's office. To set up a tour, please contact Maura Quinn in the Medford District Office at (781) 396-2900. Additionally, if you are unable to set up a self-guided tour through our office, the White House Visitors Center, located on 15th Street, near the E Street White House entrance, is open to the public and includes numerous exhibits and videos about the White House. The National Park Service recommends spending 20 - 90 minutes at the Visitors Center before the tour to enhance understanding and enjoyment of the White House tour.
The Smithsonian Museums
The Smithsonian Museums are located on the Mall. Since parking is very limited, they are best reached by the Metro.(202)357-2700
Metro:Smithsonian
Hours/Information: All of the Smithsonians are free of charge and are open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with the hours extended July through September in some museums. Call (202)357-2700 for recorded information in concerts, lectures, films and other events.
List of Smithsonian Musuems: Arts and Industries Building - 900 Jefferson Drive SW Freer Gallery of Art - Jefferson Drive at 12th Street Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden - Independence Avenue at 7th Street SW National Air and Space Building - Independence Avenue and 6th Street SW National Museum of African Art - 950 Independence Avenue SW National Museum of American Art - 8th and G Streets NW National Museum of American History - 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW National Museum of Natural History - 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW National Portrait Gallery - 8th and F Streets NW Renwick Gallery - Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW Smithsonian Institution Building (The Castle) - 1000 Jefferson Drive SW National Gallery of Art - 4th Street between the Mall and Constitution Avenue NW
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