The National Mall
Two miles of museums and monuments in Washington D.C.
This truly magnificent complex of free museums, monuments and parklands stretching more than two miles from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial is Washington's greatest treasure, but it also can be a tremendous source of frustration. The dilemma is that there's simply too much to see and experience in the course of a brief stay in D.C., and the more popular sites often get so swamped with visitors that you're left feeling exhausted, boxed-in and overwhelmed. The best strategy is to arm yourself with information, lace on your most comfortable pair of walking shoes, and observe these basic tips:
— A highly selective approach is best. Before you go, spend some time reading up on the various attractions and set some realistic priorities about what you want to see. Detailed information is available online at the Smithsonian Institution website (www.si.edu), including schedules for special exhibitions and seasonal opening hours for the various museums. For information about sites that are not part of the Smithsonian, consult the National Park Service website at www.nps.gov.
— As a general rule, the museums and monuments are most crowded during the summer months when Washington weather is at its muggiest. Most other times of year the Mall is a more pleasant place to visit. Weekends tend to be busier than weekdays, and peak visiting hours are in the middle of the day, so if you want to avoid the crowds, plan to go early in the morning and again late in the afternoon. Begin your day at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, for example, which can be viewed 24 hours a day (rangers are on duty to answer questions from 9:30 am to 11:30 pm daily) then walk over to the Lincoln memorial before hitting the museums when they open at 10 am. Take a break during the afternoon, then return later to spend another hour or two in the museums before closing time.
— For some especially popular temporary exhibits (or for the magnificent new National Museum of the American Indian), free entry passes for specific entry times may be required. Consult the Smithsonian website for updates on which attractions currently require timed passes, and details about where and when the passes are distributed.
— Don't pressure yourself into seeing every gallery of every museum you visit, and remember to take breaks throughout the day. There's plenty of green space outside where you can toss a Frisbee around or relax in the shade of a tree, and you'll find some pleasant food and beverage outlets inside the museums. In late spring and summer, the seasonal outdoor café at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is a lovely spot.
| 
)
