Washington DC: 1 day Itinerary

Washington DC is U.S. capital city and one of the biggest cities in the country. The main points of interest are located within the National Mall which is a large lawn pedestrian area that stretches from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol Building and includes Historical sites (like the White House), iconic memorials (Martin Luther king, Washington among others) and FREE amazing Smithsonian museums including the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History and the Portrait Gallery. 

WHEN TO GO:

Washington DC in a year-round destination, but it gets prettier in Spring (cherry blossom festival) and Autumn for the colorful fall foliage. Avoid August as it is very crowded and very hot and humid. Best months to go to avoid crowds and still enjoy some nice weather: September and October.

Watch out for the crowded Holidays and Festivities: Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Cherry Blossom Festival in March and April. We were there of the 4th of July which was an amazing experience despite crowds. Planning and making reservations months earlier allowed us to see main attractions and soak in the patriotic festive mood with some parades and amazing fireworks at night😊

HOW TO GET THERE:

We rented a car in New York JFK airport for a road trip with our kids (10 and 13 years old) to visit several states and cities on the northwest coast of US, so for us it was very convenient to get to Washington DC while making some stops on the way. But if you are flying to New York City to visit the big apple and still have 1 or 2 days to spare, then Washington DC is one of the cities we highly recommend visiting. 

If your base is New York the best option time wise is to take a direct train (2H54), from Penn station (1 min walk from time square) to Washington union station (15 min walk to the Capitol), but it may be expensive even when booking very early ($146 adult avg, kids 0-4 years FREE, kids 5-12 year 50% discount, Student 17-24 years 15% discount), check timetables and prices here. 

Bus (4H35) is the cheapest option with tickets averaging $32 per adult one way, there are tickets as cheap as $9.49 one way. Check timetables and prices here to see what is the best option for you. All buses go to Washington union station (15 min walk to the Capitol), but they depart from different places in New York, these are the closest options to the city centre:

New York Port Authority Bus Terminal (6 min walk from time square)

NYC Midtown (31st St & 8th Avenue) (17 min walk from time square)

NYC Chinatown (28 Allen St) (1H10 walk from time square min or 20 min metro)

Flying from NY (1H15) is not a good option since you have to add the time and cost to get to the airport and then in Washington to the city centre. There are tickets from $70 one way.

If you are a group and arriving at or leaving from one of the NYC airports renting a car can be very good option. Make a cost estimation on tolls, fuel, rental fee, insurance and parking in Washington DC to make the cost/benefit effective decision. We normally use rentalcar.com (can also be booked with booking.com) and sometimes discovercars.com to check for the best deal. On average it would be the around the same price range to rent a car on any of the 3 New York airports, in total it should cost around $277 with full coverage insurance for 2 days plus tolls and fuel estimation that can be calculated here.

Do not forget to plan where to park in Washington ideally book an hotel with free parking or a fix fee for your full stay, it is better to move around by foot or use local public transportation. If you have kids, consider also the extra cost of the booster or chair ($28 each as extra cost). For navigation we always use googlemaps which works really well in USA.

So in a nutshell if you are travelling alone the most affordable way to go to Washington DC from NYC is by bus although it is not the fastest way. If you are travelling in a group of more than 2 adults you should consider renting a car, factor in all the cost as shown above to have a better view on how it would look like in your case.

WHERE TO STAY:

In our case it was not easy to find an affordable place to stay with free parking on the 4th of July, so we decided to stay at Rosslyn, Arlington with direct access by Metrorail to Washington DC capitol south station (17 min walk) which was very convenient for us.

We do not recommend the hotel we stayed in but there are others with great reviews. Besides this area is worth visiting since it has also some iconic memorials like the Iwo Jima memorial.

If you are coming by train or bus you can stay near the train station (Union Station) which is near the Capitol and a good starting point (12 min walk).

For this trip we made all our booking reservations through booking.com platform that we use regularly and allows free cancellation.

WHAT TO DO AND SEE:

There is really a lot to see and do in this city! Since I am a history lover, I had to include the most iconic places of the American history, but you can cover also a little more of the other themes like art, so I have made also a summary at the end, with the other places to visit with basic info so you can better plan your own itinerary.

This was our 2H plus walking trail to cover all the National Mall area, we started at the South Capitol Metro-rail station (7 min walk to the capitol) and ended at the Smithsonian station.

Depending on where you decide to stay, Washington DC has a good Metrorail system with direct connections to this area. See Metro-rail map and info on tickets here.

1 DAY ITINERARY:

08:30 – Start your day visiting the Capitol in a timed ticket FREE tour and learn about the US government history (make your reservation well in advance here, see below more info 4 history lovers). Expect to spend around 2 hours here considering the security control check out and ticket redemption inside. We had breakfast inside the capitol while waiting for our turn, it was mainly convenient not a must do. We had an amazing Scottish guide that explained all the history of the building with some surprising jokes that made us laugh all through the tour😊.

11:00- Use your googlemaps to get to Smithsonian museums area (around 10 min walk) and select which museum best fit your interests (more info 4 museum lovers below). In our case we wanted to visit the National Air and Space Museum which was recommended to us but unfortunately it was closed for renovation, so we decided to follow our teenagers’ “demands” and went to the National museum of Natural history which was quite impressive. We had lunch at the museum (fast food) so we could make the most of our time, the museum is quite big so select the areas you want to see, you can spend a full day here! It is a minimum 2 hours visit. There are several museums in this area and the challenge is to choose one. The portrait gallery was on my list but we had not time to do it, maybe next time!

14:30 – From the National Museum of Natural history it is a 9 min walk to Ford's Theatre National Historic Site to visit the place where Lincoln was shot (Theatre) and where he died (Petersen House) which is just across the street. There are details like the gun used, the bed were he died, details on the assassination conspiracy led by John Wilkes Booth, the Civil war milestones and Lincoln’s presidency. I was nice to know more about the man and his legacy before visiting his memorial. You will need around 2 hours to visit the museum if you are a fast reader or only want to see main topics. Since it is a very popular spot we booked our tickets in advance here it is $3.50 each ticket.

Good to know: In general, it is possible to buy tickets on the spot but they may sold out by morning.  Plan in advance and guarantee timed entries on what you really want to see, leave enough space in between activities to make sure you have time to get there. We booked way in advance the Capitol and the Ford's Theatre National Historic Site which were a must see to us.  

16:30 – Walk 15 minutes via F St. NW direction to the Ellipse (south lawn) to see the white house, for a better view of the white house walk in direction the Washington monument (the 555' tall obelisk, the pinnacle of the city’s skyline) you just need to get a FREE ticket and use the elevator to go up the monument (it is $1 fee per ticket if you make a reservation in advance here, which we highly recommend). It should take you one hour for the full visit.

Good to know: The Washington Monument is open from 09:00 to 17:00 and it is closed 1 day per month for maintenance, so please check which day is that here. Besides that it is closed on the 25th of December and the 4th of July. (needless to say it was closed when we were there☹).

18:00 - Walk in the direction of National World War II Memorial to see it and continue walking alongside the reflecting pool towards the iconic Abraham Lincoln Memorial.  It is a majestic and beautiful monument during the day and so magical during the night!

Since this was the 4th of July we decided to base ourselves in this area, so we just grabbed some hot dogs and ice cream and sat on the grass feeling the festive mood and waiting for the fireworks to start. But it is also the best starting point to see the rest of the most important memorials all in a short walking distance except the Thomas Jefferson Memorial that you are able to see from afar across the lake. On the right side of Lincoln’s memorial you will find the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and on the opposite side you will see first the Korean Veterans Memorial (which was impressive), than the Martin Luther King Memorial and on your way to the Smithsonian station you will see the District War memorial.  

21:00 – For dinner you can either go to the hip and historic Georgetown neighborhood using metro-rail from the Smithsonian station (8 min metro-rail + 21 min walk). Check here some of the restaurant suggestions.

Or you can continue walking from Martin Luther King memorial to Jefferson Memorial (17 min walk) and continue 17 min more walking till you get to the Wharf where you have a wide selection of restaurants check them here.

MORE INFO 4 MUSEUM LOVERS

The Smithsonian Museums are FREE and open every day except the 25th of December and the majority are open from 10:00 to 17:30 (please see exceptions below). The two most popular museums require free timed entry passes ticket:

Air and Space Museum: book your timed entry passe here

More info of the museum and what to see here.

Highlights: “Walking on Other Worlds” interactive experience / Apollo 11 command module Columbia and Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit / Wright Flyer / Science Fiction Artifacts like star wars and start trek space ships and much more.

National Museum of Natural History

More info of the museum and what to see here:

African-American History Museum: book your timed entry passe here

More info of the museum and what to see here:

opening hours exceptions: 12:00 to 17:30 Monday (federal holidays at 10:00)

American History Museum:

More info of the museum and what to see here:

Portrait Museum

more info of the museum and what to see here:

opening hours: 11:30 to 19:00

Highlights: America’s Presidents, the nation’s only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House including the Obama portraits

You can get more info for the other Smithsonian Museums including the zoo here.