This itinerary focuses on 3 days of time in Washington, District of Columbia! Though the title says 3 days, It really only fills in 1/2 of the first day, but “My 2 and 1/2 day Itinerary of Washington DC” doesn’t sound right. Notice that some of these require timed entry passes to buy at least 2 weeks in advance.
Day One
Today you will go to the Library of Congress! This requires a timed entry pass but it is really cool. If you want to go to the main reading room of the Jefferson Library, you can go Mon-Fri at 9-10am and 4-5pm. If not, you can overlook it, see the quotes, look at the Head Librarian’s office, or see many other things! The Jefferson Library has stone heads on the walls if you are looking for it! The others are close by. After some time there you can go to Planet Word, which doesn’t require a ticket but the lines are shorter if you get them. At Planet Word you can see Lexicon Lane, a donated family library, and many computers that teach you interesting things about your own speech you never noticed before! This place has a gift shop if you’re interested. Afterwards, you can go to Immigrant Food, a place with all kinds of delicious foods! It is in the same building as Planet Word.
Day Two
Today will start with you going to the Smithsonian African American Museum. This place requires tickets. Here there are 7 floors, but 3 are underground. The 4 above ground include things about sports, music, cinema, and more that came from the African Americans! The three below are called concourses and they tell us about the history of slaves. The below ground levels only have one entrance at the very bottom and one exit at the very top so if you want to see one underground level, you have to see them all. After, you will go to the National Gallery, which is completely free and requires no tickets but you have to tag your water bottles. Here there are many sculptures and paintings. The National Gallery also owns the Sculpture Garden adjacent to it that has many abstract sculptures and a water fountain. Lastly, you will go to the Smithsonian Air & Space. The entrance is on Independence Avenue and the museum requires tickets. If you arrive less than one hour late, that is okay but if not, the tickets are cancelled! This place has planes you can go in, information about space, a planetarium, and a gift shop.
Day Three
On your last day, you will start with a hike. If you first go to the Hotel Washington, then to the Washington Memorial, to the Vietnam War Memorial, to the World War II Memorial, and finally to the Lincoln Memorial, and back passing the same monuments, you will have seen a lot (like the White House) and gotten a good exercise in. Afterwards, you will take a tour of the US Capitol Building (tickets required). Here you can learn about the statues there, the paintings, the Dome, and much more. There are 2 gift shops, the northern one being less crowded.
The End
