Updated December 2023.

Nation's Capital

​Washington, D.C. serves as the capital of the U.S.A. Tourists come here after visiting New York City, remarking about the clear skies and clean sidewalks. Besides serving as the seat of American government, D.C. also boasts the largest collection of Smithsonian museums and historic memorials.
 
Founded in 1790 and a city established within the American constitution, Washington, D.C. became the 9th and final capital of the United States. George Washington selected the site as the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. Maryland and Virginia ceded land creating a 10 by 10 mile border. Pierre Charles L’Enfant was the architect of the city, designing it after his hometown of Paris with a grid-like system centered around the Capitol building.
 
In 1847, the District of Columbia retrocession occurred. Virginia received back the land (Alexandria County) from the government, such that the shape of D.C. now resembles a square with a bite taken out of it.

D.C. is not considered a state, and many D.C> residents are frustrated for despite paying taxes, they have no representation within Congress. Don’t be dissuaded if you see “Statehood for D.C.” signs throughout the city.
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Map of DC (Source: USGS, Wikipedia Commons)

Overview

Path is ~ 9 miles of walking.
  • 8:00 - 8:30 AM: Supreme Court - highest court in the land
  • 8:30 - 10:00 AM: Capitol Building - America’s Legislative Building
  • 10:00 - 11:00 AM: Library of Congress - America’s de facto national library
  • 11:00 - 11:30 AM: East National Mall - Ulysses S. Grant Memorial
  • 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM: National Archives - location of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution
  • 12:30 - 1:30 PM: Lunch - Chinatonw/Penn Quarter
  • 1:30 - 3:30 PM: Smithsonian Museum or other museums
  • 4:00 - 5:00 PM: Washington Monument - Tallest building in D.C. honoring the first president
  • 5:30 - 6:30 PM: White House - Home of the President
  • 6:30 - 8:00 PM: Dinner - Foggy Bottom/Farragut West/Dupont Circle
  • 8:00 – 10:00 PM: Memorials Tour - Outdoor memorials around the National Mall​
​Click the star to add the map to your Google Maps!​ To view it, simply open Google Maps, navigate to the Menu, choose “Your Places,” click "Maps", and voila, the map should be added.

Transit Tips

Getting INTO D.C.
Trains
The best way to enter D.C. is through Union Station, as this is the main bus and train terminal located in the heart of the city.

When it was first opened in 1906, it was the world’s largest train station but fell into disrepair in the 1960s after air travel became more popular. It was redeveloped from 1981-1988 and is now the most visited destination in DC with over 32 million visitors each year whether taking Amtrak, the Metro rail, or the regional passenger rail.

Outside the Union Station is the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain built in 1912, since the “District of Columbia” is named after the conqueror and also a replica of the Liberty Bell found in Philadelphia since in 1950, the U.S. Department of Treasury had 55 full-sized replicas of the Liberty Bell shipped as gifts to states and territories in the U.S.
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Interior of Union Station
Airports
There are three airports close to D.C., but none of them are located within the confines of the city.
DCA (Reagan National Airport): A domestic airport that is right across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia. While there are a few direct flights here, most of the flights require one to have a layover to get here. It is a smaller airport, but it is right on the Yellow Metro Line, which takes about 15 minutes to enter D.C.

IAD (Washington Dulles International Airport): An international airport located along the Silver Metro Line in Northern Virginia. It is a little farther out and takes about 45-minutes to enter D.C., but still readily accessible
BWI (Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport): This airport is located in Baltimore and it is an hour-plus journey to enter into D.C. 

1. From the airport, there are transit shuttles from the airport that will take one to the BWI Thurgood Marshall Train Station. Look for buses that say “Amtrak/MARC Rail Station”. PROTIP: There are four shuttle stops. On busier weekends, try to head to Stops #1 or #2 to ensure you get on the bus since it will skip Stop #4 if it’s packed.

2. Once at the station, there are two types of trains to wait for:

MARC Train: Commuter rail between D.C. and Baltimore and cheaper. One should download the CharmPass app to buy tickets for ~$8 from the train station to Union Station.

Amtrak: Alternatively, on weekends, the MARC train isn’t running as frequently, so Amtrak might be the only option. Buying day-of tickets can be pricey to get to DC on Amtrak (~$30), but one can buy a $5 ticket to the New Carrollton train/metro station and take the Orange Line Metro for $2 (on weekends) to enter D.C. This method is more time-consuming, but great for people on a budget.

Getting AROUND D.C.


​BIKE
D.C. is a very bike-friendly city with lots of bike lanes and wide sidewalks if one is afraid of biking on the street. There is a great city bikeshare program called Capital Bikeshare.

One can download the app and ride all across the city. There are over 700 stations with 5,400 bikes. Each ride costs $1 to unlock and $0.05/min on regular bikes and $0.15/min on ebikes. It is extremely simple to use and much more affordable than the app bikes and scooters, although the bikes are on the heavier side, only have 3 gears, and are more cruise bikes than road bikes.
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Capital Bikeshare Stands
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Waffle-design inside underground DC Metro stations

​METRO
The DC Metro, while not as extensive as other city metros, does provide a great way to travel around the city. There are 6 different lines and one needs to either buy a Metro Card from the kiosks at each metro station or download the Metro app on one’s phone. The card (even digital) costs $2 and the cost of each trip depends on the distance travelled (flat rate of $2 on weekends though). Unlike NYC, one needs to tap to enter and exit.

Usually, even for tourists, I would recommend refilling one’s card with $10 rather than buy one of their day-pass options since it usually takes at least 4-5 trips on the Metro to make it worth the cost. 






​Charging Ports


​If you ever find your phone low on charge, the Smithsonian museums and other cafes have outlets.

However, I would recommend heading to the basement of the Hirshhorn museum. There, they have a locked phone charging station. You can plug your phone into one of the locked boxes, explore the museums, and retrieve it later in the day (before the museum closes at 5:30 PM)
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HIrshhorn Museum Charging Station

1-Day Plan

8:00 - 8:30 AM: Supreme Court
  • The “highest court in the land”, it also has a basketball court on the fourth floor which is technically the highest court in the land. Designed by Beaux-Arts architect, Cas Gilbert, and drawing upon the classical Roman temple form, the neoclassical-style Supreme Court has a portico of Corinthian columns (Italian marble signed and sent over by Fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini) with a steel-frame covered in white marble (Vermont on the exterior and Georgian marble in the courtyards to represent the Northern and Southern bounds of the 13 Colonies).
  • Court is held from October through June/July. One can enter and witness oral arguments, but they may be quiet and quite uneventful.
8:30 - 10:00 AM: Capitol Building
  • Built on the highest point in D.C. and the “center” of D.C., the Capitol building consists of the Senate to the north and the House of Representatives to the south. The two chambers each have a flagpole on the roof. When these flags are raised, the subsequent court is in session.
  • The west front (facing the Washington Monument) is where the inauguration occurs, but one can get much closer from the east front.
  • Until 1910, no building could be higher than the Capitol building (288 feet), although D.C.’s clear skyline can still be contributed to the fact that no building can be taller than twenty feet of the width of the street in front of it.

Tours are offered everyday and the entrance is on the basement level of the east side. Make tours online months in advance, but frequently, there are openings for a few people. Honestly, I found the tour a little underwhelming and one can spend time wandering around the area instead.
After the tour, one can take the underground tunnel to the Library of Congress!
10:00 - 11:00 AM: Library of Congress (Closed on Sundays and Mondays)
  • The nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, it was first built in 1800 within the Capitol building. After being burned down twice (1814 during the War of 1812 and an accidental fire on Christmas Eve 1851), it is now the “largest, costliest, and safest” library in the world when it opened in 1892 and designed to be fireproof.
  • It contains over 162 million items and 838 miles of bookshelves. Each business day, there are over 22,000 items received, mainly submissions to the Copyright department since it collects two copies of all Copyrighted materials.
  • Consisting of 3 separate libraries named after the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th U.S. presidents (Adams, Jefferson, and Madison).
  • One can enter into the main library by applying for a free library card (valid for 2 years), otherwise, there are rotating exhibits to see.
One needs reservations to enter (9 AM day of or up to 30 days in dvance).
There are also free, hour-long tours of the Jefferson Library, or one can attend a night concert here!​
11:00 - 11:30 AM: East National Mall
Along the way to the National Archives, one will walk down Capitol Hill to see the Western side of the Capitol Building, which is where the inaugurations occur and the new U.S. President gets sworn in. Before the Capitol Reflecting Pool, there is a memorial dedicated to the 18th president and the Civil War general, Ulysses S. Grant.
  • It was completed before the Lincoln memorial on the 100th anniversary of Grant’s birth on April 27, 1922.
  • Henry Merwin Shrady, the sculptor, took 20 years to build the memorial. The equestrian statue is 17’2” tall on a 22’ pedestal with Grant sitting on his war-horse Cincinnati. Beside him are two statues.
  • To the north is the “Cavalry Charge” with the leading horse stumbling and to trample a man (supposedly Shrady) and to the south is the “Artillery Cart” stuck in the mud. These two statues contrast with Grant’s stoicism while sitting on his horse. Unfortunately, Shrady’s toil and work led him to die 2 weeks before the memorial’s unveiling.
  • FUN FACT: Grant and Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial are at eye-level with each other, staring directly at one another.

The National Mall used to be a series of nature parks, but it wasn’t until 1901 was L’Enfant’s vision for a “grand avenue” was created, from the Capitol Building to the Washington Monument. The land west of the Monument was considered too marshy to build on. The term “mall” originally referred to the area to play pall-mall (a croquet-like game) that was played on rectangular grass lawns. It later evolved to mean a tree-lined park for walking and socialize.
11:30 AM - 12:15 PM: National Archives
​The Archives hold onto government materials and documents that are historical enough to keep a record. ~1-3% of all material and documents are kept here, which has over 9 billion pages of text, 7 million maps and charts, and 20 million photographs.

​Of course, it is most well-known for displaying the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, all in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom.


​Across the street is the Navy Memorial, built in 1987 to honor the Navy. The commemorative plaza shows a map of the world, Granite Sea, using an azimuthal projection centered around D.C. 26 bronze reliefs showcase events and people within the Navy.

This is the only branch of the memorial to have a memorial in D.C. Both the Air Force Memorial and Marine Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial) are located across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia.
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Navy Memorial
12:30 - 1:30 PM: Lunch
For food, I don't recommend eating on the National Mall for the only food options are overpriced food trucks.However, even a few blocks north of the National Mall, one will find some great options:
  • Penn Quarter
  • ​Chinatown
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​Depending on the time one has tickets to see the Washington Monument one can head to a Smithsonian Museum and eat in one of their cafes as well. The Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture is known for their food.
1:30 - 3:30 PM: Smithsonian Museums or Other Museums
Head to the section to read more about what Smithsonian Museums one can visit or check out another museum around the area.
4:00 - 5:00 PM: Washington Monument
​The Washington Monument is the only “monument” on the National Mall, since George Washington was still alive when it was designed.

​It took over 100 years since the proposal in 1783 with its completion in 1884. The original design by Robert Mills cost $1 million (>$20 million today), and they only raised less than 9% by 1848, which is when they laid the first stone. About 1/3 of the way up, construction stopped in 1856 when an anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant group called the Know-Nothings took control of the Society. To celebrate the Nation’s Centennial, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was hired to finish the monument, receiving stone from a different quarry leading to two types of stones.
 
When it was completed in 1884, the Monument was the tallest building in the world at 555 ft 5 1/8 inches. The specific height is because a true obelisk is defined for the height is the side of the base multiplied by 10, with each base length of 55 ft 6 ½ inches. It held the title of tallest building until 1889 when the Eiffel Tower at 1,063 ft beat it. Today, it is still the world’s tallest free-standing masonry structure, since no mortar or metal holds the load-bearing blocks together. The stones are grooved to fit perfectly and dry-stacked with mortared joints. It is also the tallest true obelisk in the world.

Today, it offers one of the best views in D.C.:
  • One will need to reserve timed tickets online at 10 AM (exactly at 10 AM and create a recreation.gov account beforehand) 24 hours or 30 days in advance for a $1 non-refundable fee (entry times are on the hour from 10 AM - 4 PM).
  • ​Day of tickets are available at the Washington Lodge (east of the Monument) at 8:45 a.m. for free, but depending on the season, one might need to get here at least an hour in advance to get a ticket.
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Washington Monument on July 4th
5:30 - 6:30 PM: White House
The White House is the home of the U.S. President and the center of the Executive Branch. It is the oldest public building in D.C. Designed by Irish architect James Hoban based off the Charleston County Courthouse in South Carolina, it was completed in 1801, although John Adams (the second president) moved in in 1800. 
 
Along with the Capitol Building and the Library of Congress, during the war of 1812, the White House was burned down and during the rebuild, wood instead of stone and brick were used. But problems arose in 1945 when President Truman moved in and his piano broke through the upper floor, leading to structural restorations.

The White House has expanded greatly before and since. President Teddy Roosevelt had 6 children and needing a place to work, built out the West Wing, which now holds the Oval Office and Situation Room. His cousin, Theodore Roosevelt built out the East Wing, which are now the official offices of the first lady. 

There are two sides of the White House one can see from the exterior. The south side has the Ellipse lawn and is where the president’s helicopter, Marine One, lands. The north side is where the motorcade exits and the side where one can get up to the gate, but the south side is my favorite.

It is difficult to obtain a tour of the White House, but usually reaching out to your representative or senator is the best way. The guided tours will only show the East Wing and one needs special permission/another tour to visit the West Wing.​
6:30 - 8:00 PM: Dinner
One can head to eat in ​Foggy Bottom/Farragut Park/Dupont Circle.

8:00 - 10:00 PM: Memorials Tour

The best time to see the majesty of the memorials are at night, as they are all lit up and usually less crowded (be wary of middle school tour groups from late April through early July). It is about a 3-mile round-trip walk from the WWII Memorial to Lincoln Memorial south to the Jefferson Memorial to the Washington Monument.

Please note that this path can be taken backwards as well, starting at the Jefferson Memorial. And when one visits during the winter months, fountains at memorials will be turned off and drained to prevent freezing water from damaging the pipes.
WWII Memorial
  • Built in 2004, this is one of the more grandiose memorials built on the mall. Its design is unique as it was constructed to not obstruct the reflection of the Washington Monument on the Reflecting Pool and honors the 16 million Americans that served in WWII.
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  • There are 56 columns representing states and territories in the Union during WWII. These columns have inscribed names at the base. Starting from the left (when facing the Lincoln Memorial), the first state to enter the Union (Delaware) is shown and then it moves to the right with the second state (Pennsylvania). The names then jump back and forth until all of them are represented. Note that the Philippines also have a column since they were a commonwealth of the United States during WWII.​
Click here to read more about the WWII Memorial

On the exterior, behind the columns of each column, the famous “Kilroy was here” meme is hidden. It was popularized and became the universal sign of American presence during the war. Its origins stem from a British cartoon and an American shipyard inspector.

There are 24 bronze bas-relief panels showcasing the progression of the war and the American experience, 12 lining each side of the walkway to represent the two fronts of the Atlantic and Pacific.

The center lies the Rainbow Fountain, so called for when lights shine on the fountain, beautiful rainbows are formed. This fountain actually existed before the memorial was built and was dropped 6 feet along with the rest of the memorial to not obstruct the Washington Monument’s reflection on the Reflecting Pool.

The far wall is called the Freedom Wall with 4,048 gold stars. Each star represents 100 American deaths.



Signer's Island
A hidden gem in D.C., Founders’ is a quaint, manmade island in the middle of the Constitution Gardens pond where one can find the Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence. At this memorial, one can see scaled-up signatures of the original 56 delegates who signed the Declaration of Independence.
Vietnam War Veterans Memorial
  • ​Over 2.7 million Americans fought in this war, with over 58,000 soldiers giving their lives and memorialized on the wall. The names are organized chronologically by time of death and unit, such that no soldier would be forgotten or mistaken.

  • The first death in 1959 starts in the center and wraps around clockwise, such that 1959 is beside 1975, the last death "during" the war. Directories lie on either side of the wall to help people find a fallen friend or family member.
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  • As you walk along the wall, notice how your body is reflected against the surface and notice the sheer number of names. Names that have a cross are still missing in action, while those with diamonds are known to be killed. This is also the only memorial that visitors can leave gifts or items from war by the the panel of a fallen friend or loved ones. If they’re non-perishable or a U.S. flag, the Park Service rangers tags and collects the items to one-day showcase the impact of the war.
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Vietnam War Veteran's Memorial
Click here to read more about the history of the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial

The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial conflicts in America’s history. As this was the third war fought in a row over the span of 30 years, anti-war sentiment grew, especially since this was the first war that Americans at home could see how devastating war was from their T.V.s.

Coming back from the war, veterans wouldn’t receive the warm welcome they deserved, so one of these veterans, Jan Scruggs, decided to build a memorial for these veterans to heal and hosted a competition.

Out of the 1,400 submissions, the winner went to the youngest architect and the only female architect of color to have designed a memorial, 21-year-old Maya Lin, the daughter of Chinese immigrants who was studying architecture at Yale University and submitted a design for class assignment (for which she received a B- from her professor who also submitted a design).

Over the course of two years, the memorial was built (the fastest memorial to be built), but her design and Lin herself faced backlash when it was made public:

  • This is the first time black was used in a memorial on the National Mall, the color of which is commonly associated with shame, sorrow, and degradation. Maya Lin deliberately made this choice to create a reflective surface and represent this as a healing scar in America’s history.
  • The memorial sinks into the ground, compared to walking into a grave. Once again, this is to represent a low point in America’s history, but we would eventually rise. One will notice that no matter where one enters, they will first descend, then have to ascend to leave.
  • There’s a lack of patriotism or heroic elements in the memorial since it’s just a wall of names. Lin didn’t want to glorify war and was just following the design criteria of the memorial.

However, when the memorial opened on Veteran’s Day 1982, all these protests died down, as most veterans were happy to have a place to remember and heal, but Frederick Hart, the third runner-up, was hired to create the “Three Servicemen” statue to give a human face to the memorial showing the veterans’ honor, heroism, and patriotism built in 1984.

Glenna Goodacre designed the Vietnam Women’s Memorial and placed in 1993 to honor the 265,000 American women who volunteered for service, mostly serving as nurses in the backlines. Eight enlisted women died, their names on the wall and eight yellowwood trees around the statue symbolizing their deaths. The statue represents the three virtues of women loosely based off Michelangelo’s Pieta with “Charity” holding onto a wounded soldier, “Hope” looking up to the sky, and “Faith” in prayer. One can leave a hair tie at this memorial to remember them.



Albert Einstein Memorial
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Albert Einstein Memorial
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  • ​The 12-ft tall statue was designed by Robert Berks, who also designed the JFK bust in the Kennedy Center and is the only statue that can be climbed. People rub his nose for intelligence. He is holding a notebook with three famous quations: the photoelectric effect, E=MC2, and the general theory of relativity.
  • It was dedicated on April 22, 1979, the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s birth and the emerald pearl granite floor is embedded with over 2,700 metal studs to represent the night sky on the day of the memorial’s dedication with a plaque in the southwest corner showing what each of the studs represent.
  • An echo chamber is formed if one stands over the North Star (where all the lines converge) and speak to Einstein.






​Between the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam War Veterans Memorial, there is a musician who plays the saxophone most warm nights. Give him a tip and request a song!
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Saxophone Man!
Lincoln Memorial
  • The Lincoln Memorial is the first memorial on the mall and is the most visited. The building is based off the Greek Parthenon with 36 columns surrounding it to represent the 36 states in the Union during Lincoln’s 1965 assassination. Those states are on the bottom half of the roof, while the top half represents the 48 states in the Union when this was built in 1922.
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  • The plaza of the Lincoln Memorial is a famous end point for marches, with the most famous being the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech here and there is an inscription on the ground where the cement steps meet the marble steps.​
Click here to read more about the Lincoln Memorial

Henry Bacon designed both the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool, which were built in 1922. Unfortunately, the land was too swampy where they wanted to build the Lincoln Memorial, so they shortened the length of the Reflecting Pool, so it only reflects about 70% of the Washington Monument. The Reflecting Pool is only 2.5 feet deep in the center and 1.5 feet deep on the sides. It is drained and cleaned twice a year (March/April and October/November), which is for good measure, since the slowly circulated water is a mosquito and bacterial breeding ground.

NOTE: Do NOT enter the water. It is very unsanitary. It was so bad that while filming the movie, Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks’s body double got a foot infection and was taken out of film for 2 weeks!

From the Reflecting Pool, there are 87 steps leading up to the Lincoln Memorial. The number of steps is based on Lincoln’s most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address, which he gave in 1863, 87 years after the founding of America and during a pivotal point in America’s history. Inside the Lincoln Memorial, to the left of the entrance, the Gettysburg Address is written out. On the other side of the memorial is his Second Inaugural Address. There is a fun typo here where in the second paragraph, they misspell the word “FUTURE”. They carved an “E” instead of an “F” at the front. They tried to fix it, but it’s hard to fix a mistake carved into stone.

In the center of the memorial sits a 19-ft statue of Abraham Lincoln designed by Daniel Chester French and sculpted over 4 years with the help of his two assistants. A fun theory is that his face represents the toll of the presidency. His left half represents the stress and aging process of being the country’s leader, while the right half represents his youth and vigor beforehand.

Korean War Veterans Memorial
  • The memorial was completed in 1995 with 19 stainless steel soldiers sculpted by Frank Gaylord that are each 7-feet tall. The intention was to have 38 soldiers to represent the 38th parallel, the line of latitude separated North and South Korea, but the lack of space led to the creation of 19, with the other 19 reflected on the black-granite wall, which is sand-blasted with 2,400 faces and represent the mountainous terrain and the beams before the soldiers represent additional hurdles of wading through rice paddies with sunken land mines.
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  • About 1.8 million soldiers served in the Korean War with 37,000 Americans and 7,000 Korean augmentees giving their lives. This casualty rate is among the worst in U.S. military history. The names of the fallen soldiers are on the new Memorial Wall added in July 2022 along with “The Remembrance Pool”. 
Click here to read more about the Korean War Veterans Memorial

Fought from June 1950 through July 1953, the Korean War is oftentimes known as the “Forgotten War” for its brevity and overshadowed by WWII before and the Vietnam War after. Technically not a “war” but a U.N. “peacekeeping action”, America was aided by 21 other countries to support South Korea with their names on the left side of the northern path.

Along the path, no matter where one stands, there is at least one soldier looking at you with a ghostlike, weary, or shocked expression. At night, lights only illuminate the soldiers’ faces, adding to the terror and eeriness of the memorial.



D.C. World War I Memorial
  • Built in 1931, the white marble Doric temple honors the 26,000 men and women from DC who served in WWI. Their names are recorded and preserved in a cornerstone It wasn’t until 2015, on the war’s centennial, was a commission created to build out a National WWI Memorial, which is now located in Pershing Park, by the White House.
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  • This is one of three areas on the National Mall where one can get married. The others are the George Mason Memorial and the west lawn of the Jefferson Memorial.
Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Memorial
  • The first memorial on the mall to be dedicated to a person of color, built in 2011. It is also the fourth to be dedicated to a non-president.
  • The design is based off a line from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech: “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” The intention is for one to walk through two large pieces of granite which represent the “mountain of despair” to see the stone of hope that is MLK, which is a 30 ft-tall relief of MLK holding his famous speech.​
Click here to read more about the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

MLK is facing the Jefferson Memorial, as if asking the Founding Fathers, “What did you mean when you said all men were created equal?” but his eyes are actually looking towards the Eleanor Roosevelt statue in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial as if asking “How can we ensure freedom for not just people in America, but across the entire world?” since Eleanor Roosevelt was the first delegate to the UN from the United States.

There are 14 quotes around the memorial, 6 to the left and 8 to the right, ’68 representing the year in which MLK was assassinated. The cherry blossoms also symbolically blossom the brightest around the time of his death. A time capsule buried here in 2011 will be unveiled in 2061.

The official address is 1964 Independence Avenue to honor MLK's contribution to the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Along the path, no matter where one stands, there is at least one soldier looking at you with a ghostlike, weary, or shocked expression. At night, lights only illuminate the soldiers’ faces, adding to the terror and eeriness of the memorial.



Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial
  • The largest memorial on the National Mall, this memorial is dedicated to the 32nd and longest-serving president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). He was elected for four terms, so there are four open-air rooms, each representing one of his terms.
    • Prologue Room: This additional room was added in 2001 because there were no statues in the memorial displaying FRD with his disability. This room has a life-size FDR in his patented wheelchair.
    • Room One: Taking office during the darkest days of the Great Depression, FDR enacted his New Deal to provide restructuring of America through new federal programs. The water feature here represents the “Crash of 1929” that led him to office. Note his famous quote of “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
    • Room Two: Three sculptures by George Segal showcase the difficulties of the Great Depression: “The Rural Couple” showcasing Dust Bowl conditions, “The Breadline” showing urban area settings, and a statue of the “Fireside Chats”, which is how FDR talked to radios and reassured the people. On the other side, five copper murals by Robert Graham depict the economic upsurge from the New Deal with the water feature representing the dam to create power and jobs for people in the Tennessee Valley through the TVA.
    • Room Three: Elected for a third term due to the start of WWII, FDR was a pacifist, but felt we had no choice but to enter WWII after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The room’s design showcases the destruction and chaos of war as an aftermath of a bombing. The statue in the room showcases FDR towards the end of his life and the weariness of the war. He is joined by Fala, a Scottish terrier who traveled with FDR to major events and became a beacon of hope during the war.
    • Room Four: The largest of the four rooms, this room is a memorial to FDR and his legacy. The openness and emptiness of the room indicates the void left by FDR as he died only a few months into his fourth term. There is also a statue of the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, who helped carry on FDR’s legacy and served to implement the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
George Mason Memorial
  • The “Forgotten Founding Father”, George Mason was the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which inspired Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence. While as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, he was the only delegate to not sign the Constitution and walk out of Independence Hall unless they abolished slavery and protected individuals more from the federal government.
  • The memorial opened in 2002. The simple design reflects Mason’s unpretentious character and its closeness to the Jefferson memorial showcases the closeness of their relationship.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
  • Built in 1943, this memorial honors the third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson, well-known for writing the Declaration of Independence (check him out on the pediment) and the Louisiana Purchase. The bronze statue in the center of Jefferson is 19 feet tall with a direct line of sight to the White House across the Tidal Basin.

  • The design is based off the Roman Pantheon, which Jefferson considered “the world’s perfect round building” and modeled his home in Monticello after it as well.

Other Memorials

Kennedy Center
A living memorial to the 35th president, John F. Kennedy, this performing arts center hosts all types of performances, from musicals and operas to orchestra concerts and ballets in each of the seven theatres. Every night, there are free performances at 6 PM at Millenium Stage in the Grand Foyer. Otherwise, one can buy tickets for shows.

During the day, one can also walk through the center at any time, walk through the Hall of States and Hall of Nations, head to the top floor to learn about JFK’s legacy, stroll across the roof for beautiful views of Teddy Roosevelt Island and Georgetown or take a 75-minute tour. Inside, there is a bust of JFK sculpted by Robert Berks (who also did the Einstein Memorial) and outside, there is a statue of JFK sculpted for the 50th anniversary by StudioEIS.
Marine Corps War Memorial (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial)
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Marine Corps War Memorial
  • Based off the iconic picture taken by Joe Rosenthal of the six soldiers raising the second American flag at Iwo Jima to signify the conclusion of the American campaign in the Pacific during WWII, this memorial honors the U.S. Marine Corps and all the sacrifices.
  • The image is rather contentious, as the battle at Iwo Jima was brutal and ill-prepared as James Bradley’s novel, Flags of Our Fathers, depicts the atrocities, as the soldiers represented didn’t want the fame and didn’t feel accurately represented.
  • The bronze statues are 32-ft high, raising a 60-ft bronze flagpole. With the granite base naming and dating every Marine Corps engagement since the founding of the Marine Corps.
  • When one circles the memorial, it will appear as if the flag is being raised.
  • From this memorial, one has a beautiful panoramic view of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and Capitol Building.​
Located in Arlington Virginia, by the Arlington Cemetery, this memorial is a 10-15 minute from either the Rosslyn metro station or the Arlington Cemetery metro station.
Japanese American Internment Memorial (technically the Memorial to Japanese American Patriotism in WWII or the National Japanese American Memorial) 
  • This memorial is to remember the travesty of the false imprisonment of 120,000 Japanese, over 60% of whom were Americans, by FDR’s Executive Order 9066 in 1942.
  • Built in 2001, the curved granite wall has names of the internment camps with states and the number of people in each. The walls create a feeling of confinement with a ring of Japanese cherry trees around the outside that symbolize the delicate beauty of life and its fleetingness.
  • The center is a gold-plated bronze statue of two cranes symbolizing longevity and peace as they struggle to fly free of barbed wire and there is a thin pool of water with five boulders recognizing the islands of Japan and the five living generations of Japanese Americans since the Memorial’s dedication. By the pool’s edge is an inscription acknowledging the government’s folly and injustice in imprisoning their own citizens.
  • The names of the Japanese Americans who gave their lives during WWII are engraved on the south side 
World War I Memorial
  • The newest memorial built on November 11, 2021, it was formally Pershing park, dedicated to General John J Pershing and the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during WWI.
  • Adapting the previous memorial, architect Joe Weishaar added in new features, such as Sabin Howard’s A Soldier’s Journey to represent the American Experience during the war with the Peace Fountain on the reverse side with water cascading over “The Young Dead Soldiers” poem.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial
  • Opened in September 2020 to honor the 34th president, the memorial is designed by Frank Gehry with the sculptures created by Sergey Eylanbekov. Divided into three scenes and a tapestry, the first scene is young Eisenhower with his Abilene Homecoming Speech in 1945. The second scene is Eisenhower addressing the troops before they parachute into France with the relief of the beaches of Normandy and the tapestry representing the cliffs of Normandy with 600 panels of 80 million cables of braided stainless steel. The third scene is Eisenhower standing in the Oval Office as president.
  • Eisenhower is notable as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in WWII and leading the Normandy D-Day invasion. He ended the Korean War, signed the 1957 Civil Rights Act laying the foundation for the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and deployed the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the integration and protect the 9 black students in Little Rock when the Arkansas governor used the national guard to oppose the integration.
  • The government agency buildings around the memorial (Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Aviation Administration, and NASA/National Air and Space Museum) originated during Eisenhower’s administration.
Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt Island
  • Mason’s Island, in the center of the Potomac River, was overgrown and neglected farmland that was transformed to honor the 26th president, Teddy Roosevelt, known for being an outdoorsman and the “Great Conservationist”, credited for starting the National Parks. There are three trails through the island showcasing three environments of the tidal marsh, the upland forest, and the swamp.
  • The memorial is located right after the pedestrian bridge. Designed by architect Eric Gugler, it is a large clearing on the island with a granite-paved oval plaza with two pools with fountains. A water-filled moat surrounds the memorial with footbridges.
  • Four 21-foot granite tablets inscribed with quotations from his writings surround a 17-foot bronze statue of Roosevelt sculpted by Paul Manship. The statue has one arm raised in his “characteristic speaking pose”.
Note that the Teddy Roosevelt Memorial is a little hard to get to as there is only one way off and on the island (through the pedestrian bridge). It's about 20 minutes away from Georgetown across the Francis Scott Key bridge or one can walk from the Rosslyn Metro Station.
National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial
Opened in 2008, this memorial remembers the lives of the 184 people who lost their lives during the 9/11 attack.

The design is very intentional. Each person who lost their lives has a bench organized based on the year each victim was born and 85 crepe myrtle trees surround the memorial. Water flows beneath the benches and light up at night. Each person's name is inscribed into the side of the bench and the direction they're facing represents where they were when the plan crashed. If the name faces the Pentagon, they were on the plane.

​There is a 24-minute audio tour on the memorial website that I would highly recommend one listen to while strolling through the memorial.

Smithsonian Museums

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Side of the Air & Space Museum
The Smithsonian Institution has an interesting history and is named after its founder, James Smithson who was a wealthy Englishman and the illegitimate heir to the First Duke of Northumberland. He devoted his life to research and from his mother, inherited a very large fortune. Since he didn’t have any heirs, he decided to donate about half a million dollars (~$15 million today) to America, to fund an institution that would:
  1. Increase the diffusion of knowledge,
  2. Free and open to the public, forever.
No one knows why he decided to leave his fortune to the United States. It could have been a way to spurn the aristocratic system and immortalize his name elsewhere.
​
Today, the 19 official Smithsonian museums are the world’s largest museum complex with 200 affiliate museums and 9 research centers.
  1. Museum of African American History and Culture: 5 stories aboveground and 5 below dedicated to the history, culture, and art of African-Americans. Timed tickets are required. With day-of tickets released starting at 8 AM (not as competitive as the Washington Monument) or 30 days out.
  2. Hirschhorn Museum: Modern art museum housed in a contemporary hollow cylinder building.
  3. Natural History Museum: World’s largest collection of natural science specimens and cultural artifacts (over 128 million, although only 1%) and second most visited Smithsonian Museum. It has fossils, taxidermied animals, a gem collection, and the famous Hope Diamond, the largest blue diamond in the world.
  4. National Air & Space Museum: 5th most visited museum in the world that houses the history of flight from the Wright Brothers to space exploration. An observatory is being installed and due to the museum’s popularity, tickets can be booked online at 8:30 AM day-of or any day up to a month in advance.
  5. National Zoo: Free outdoor zoo that’s home to over 2,700 animals and especially known for their Giant Pandas. Passes are required.
  6. National Museum of American History: Showcases America’s history with famous historic memorabilia such as Abraham Lincoln’s top hat, the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem, Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, Julia Child’s kitchen.
  7. The Freer Gallery holds the largest collection of James Whistler paintings and the famous Peacock Room, originally intended to be a mural in a London dining room.
  8. The Sackler Gallery has over 250,000 items with Asian and Middle Eastern art. Collectively, the Freer and Sackler galleries form the National Museum of Asian Art. These two galleries (and Smithsonian Museums) of Freer and Sackler house the largest Asian art research library in America.
  9. National Museum of African Art: The largest publicly held collection of contemporary African art with over 9,000 objects of African heritage from sculptures to costumes and jewelry and over 32,000 volumes of African Art and Culture in its library.
  10. Renwick Gallery: Showcases contemporary American craftwork from furniture to pottery and modern art. It has rotating exhibits
  11. National Postal Museum: The original building was a USPS distribution center from 1914-1986 which is now a museum with the largest stamp collection in the world and historical information about the postal service.
  12. Smithsonian Castle (Smithsonian Institution Building): Besides being a beautiful Gothic and Romanesque style building designed by James Renwick, this is the original Smithsonian building built in 1855 and serves as a visitor center providing history of the Smithsonian Institution.
  13. Smithsonian American Art Museum: Nation's first collection of American art with unique sections dedicated to folk art and video games.
  14. National Portrait Gallery: In the same building but on the other side of the American Art Museum, it houses portraits of people who have contributed to American history. The presidential portraits are a major highlight!
  15. National Museum of the American Indian: Largest and most extensive collection of Native American and indigenous art and artifacts from across the Americas with over 800,000 objects in the museums’ collections. Its design of limestone walls resemble a river gorge with small waterfalls on the side.
  16. Art + Industries Building: The second oldest Smithsonian Museum that showcased exhibits for revolutionary inventions (lightbulb, telephone, and Apollo Rocket) and others that later became their own museums. It was also designed by James Renwick and was closed in 2004 due to structural concerns with temporary re-openings for events.
Other Museums
National Gallery of Art
  • Consisting of two buildings, the National Gallery of Art. The West Building is built in the neoclassical style and designed by John Russell Pope, who also designed the Jefferson Memorial, while the East Building was designed by I.M. Pei who is notable for the glass pyramid at the Louvre. The two buildings are connected by an underground tunnel. It is free to enter and has over 150,000 art pieces.
  • The West Building has art pieces from the Medieval Period through the late 19th-century with famous paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh, and da Vinci, while the East Building focuses on contemporary art with works by Picasso, Matisse, Pollock, and Warhol.
United States Holocaust Museum

​One of the most intense museums that will leave one speechless and emotionally-drained. It details the atrocities of the Holocaust during World War II with heart-wrenching exhibits.

Timed-entry tickets are required to enter, and one should book them a few days (if not weeks in advance). Same-day tickets are released at 7 AM.
Planet Word: 
A fun, interactive museum that explores etymology, poetry, public speaking, and languages.

​There's an interactive video coupled with an incredible sculpture, a room for karaoke, a library that makes books come alive, and a room dedicated to teaching others different languages around the world.

Admission is free, but one should reserve tickets online in advance.
  • National Building Museum: ​Changing exhibits showcase information about architecture, design, and construction. There are interactive exhibits (great for kids). Housed in a historic building with 19 presidential inaugural balls, the interior is a fantastic space. Tickets are $10.
  • The Phillips Collection: First museum of modern art in the U.S. known for Renoir’s impressionist piece, Luncheon of the Boating Party
  • Folger Shakespeare Library: The largest collection of Shakespeare artifacts in the world. It is currently closed for renovation and to be open in November of 2023.
  • International Spy Museum: Family-friendly museum with interactive activities, spy devices, and famous spy figures. Cost is $26-$31 depending on how far in advance one buys tickets.

Historic Attractions

Arlington Cemetery
The national cemetery where veterans and other famous officials are buried such as the Kennedy family and Supreme Court Justices. There are over 400,000 graves with more added daily. On any given day, there can be up to 30 funerals.

It is free to visit, but one does need to go through the Welcome Center and undergo a security screening. Afterwards, one can pay ~$20 to ride the Hop-on, Hop-off bus to avoid walking through the hills. However, I’d recommend simply walking and taking in the scenery.
 
Main Stops:
  • President John F. Kennedy Gravesite: An eternal flame burns here for the Kennedy family who have their own plot of land. Nearby, Senator Robert Kennedy’s grave lies.
  • Arlington House: Following the Custis Walk, one can take the path up to the iconic Arlington House, which was the former residency of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Nearby, one can also learn the history of the slaves on this plantation at the South Slave Quarters. This also provides a panoramic view of D.C. Further south, there is also the Civil War Unknowns Memorial to remember over 2,000 unidentified Civil War soldiers.
  • The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: Dedicated in 1921, the tomb honors unidentified military personnel during WWI, but remains of other soldiers from WWII and the Korean War are also interred here. What is most notable about this tomb is that a guard (called a Sentinel) from the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment (“The Old Guard”) stands at attention. A special ceremony, the Changing of the Guard occurs at the top of each hour, and during the summer, every half hour.

Note: There are water drinking fountains all across the park to ensure people stay hydrated.
Old Post Office Tower
​Now the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, this historic building was created in the late 1890s as an office building of the U.S. Postal Service. The clock tower is run by the National Park Service with a separate entrance in the back of the building with an elevator ride up to 270 feet for the second-best view in the city. The 10 Congress Bells inside are replicas of those in London’s Westminster Abbey, gifted from the UK in 1976 as a symbol of friendship. One doesn’t need tickets to enter and is a great substitute if one doesn't get tickets to the Washington Monument.
Georgetown

​The oldest neighborhood in D.C. that is hard to get to by Metro (20-minute walk from the Foggy Bottom metro station) and offers more than just shopping. In fact, one can go boating on the Potomac River, eat delicious food and baked goods, visit the Dumbarton Oaks gardens, or see Georgetown University. One can check out Georgetown’s separate travel site.
National Cathedral
The neo-Gothic National Cathedral is the second-largest cathedral in the United States. Its formal name is the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington. 

Construction started in 1907, but it wasn’t completed until 1990. But starting in 1912, services began. State funerals, memorial services, and presidential prayer services have been held for multiple presidents and famous figures and events such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, and the 9/11 attack. Helen Keller and president Woodrow Wilson are buried in the crypt, but the nave level has 9 bays, 215 stained glass windows (one with a cool moon rock), and beautiful chapels. Martin Luther King Jr. also gave his final Sunday sermon here before he was assassinated four days later.

The 2011 earthquake damaged the Cathedral and even to this day, it suffers from the cost of the damage and continues to fundraise for the repairs. 

​To visit, one needs to buy tickets for general sightseeing from 10 – 5 PM ($12 for adults), climb the tower at 10:30 AM (Bell Tower or Angels & Monsters Tower for $50 or $60 respectively or the Combination), attend one of the services for free, or join a concert. Note that tower climbs should be booked at least two months in advance. 

​One can also walk around to see the Bishop’s Garden, enjoy delicious lemonade at the café, spend time at the outdoor amphitheater, walk through the Olmstead Woods filled with oaks and birch trees, or visit the Cathedral Garth and All Souls Memorial Garden to see a fun abstract fountain.​ One of the gargoyles on the northwest side is the helmet of Darth Vader, while another one of the 112 gargoyles is a hippie.
Mount Vernon
Historic home of George and Martha Washington while Washington was president and D.C. was being built. One can tour his mansion (through a guided tour), tomb, outbuildings, gardens, and farm. There is also a museum and an education center to visit. One should buy a ticket online for $28 

It is located in Mount Vernon, Virginia, which is about 18 miles south of D.C. One can visit by biking along the Mt. Vernon trail or take a Fairfax Connector Bus from Huntington metro station or take a Potomac River cruise from D.C. Historic home of George and Martha Washington while Washington was president and D.C. was being built. One can tour his mansion (through a guided tour), tomb, outbuildings, gardens, and farm. There is also a museum and an education center to visit. One should buy a ticket online for $28 

It is located in Mount Vernon, Virginia, which is about 18 miles south of D.C. One can visit by biking along the Mt. Vernon trail or take a Fairfax Connector Bus from Huntington metro station or take a Potomac River cruise from D.C. 
  • Lock Keeper’s House: This building is the last remnant of the Washington City Canal that connected the Tiber Creek and flow into the Anacostia. The canal, which now constitutes Constitution Avenue, was completed in 1815 and once the Tiber Creek connected to the C&O (Chesapeake & Ohio) Canal in Georgetown, the Lock Keeper’s house was built in 1835 to manage the water levels and maintain records. Supposedly, the man, his wife and 13 children lived in the house until 1855 when the canal was closed down due to issues with flooding, accidents since the canal wasn’t wide enough, odors, and cost of maintenance.
  • Ford’s Theatre Museum and Education Center: One can visit the theater where President Lincoln was assassinated. The free museum (one can book online for an additional fee) has the gun that John Wilkes Booth used, the coat and top hat of Lincoln, and if there are no productions, visit the place where Lincoln was shot. One should also head across the street to the Petersen House (included in the ticket) to see where Lincoln took his final breath and the effects of the assassination.
  • Freedom Plaza: Most of the important marches start in this plaza. The most famous being the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 28, 1963. When not in use for demonstrations, it serves as a skate park. One will also head across the street to see the Petersen House where Lincoln took his last breath and to learn more about the consequences of the assassination.
  • Willard Hotel: Historic city hotel that in 1861, was the site of the Peace Congress, a gathering to prevent the Civil War. This is also where Julia Ward Howe wrote the “Battle Hymn of the Republic”, Abraham Lincoln stayed in a guarded room before his 1861 inauguration due to death threats, and Martin Luther King wrote parts of his “Dream” speech. President Grant frequented the lobby to smoke cigars and drink brandy, where brokers would approach the president in the lobby, popularizing the term “lobbyists.”

Natural Attractions

  • Rock Creek Park: 2.74 square mile urban park (twice the size of NYC’s central park) in the Northwest quadrant of D.C. It was created by Congress in 1890 and has over 32 miles of hiking trails with a nature center and planetarium.
  • The U.S. National Arboretum: Created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in 1927, the arboretum is over 451 acres filled with different plant gardens, grove of state trees, the original columns used in the Capitol Building, and the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum.
  • Botanical Garden: The botanical gardens have been in operation since 1850 with over 26,000 plants with changing seasonal displays. It is also free to visit.
  • C&O Canal: 185 miles long, this canal allowed communities along the Potomac River to sell their goods. One can bike along this path and head to Great Falls Park in Maryland or enjoy the natural setting along the canal.

Cherry Blossom Festival

Every year, around the end of March/early April, Japanese cherry trees bloom all around the Tidal Basin and throughout D.C. Over 1 million people attend the festival to see the cherry blossoms.

The cherry trees came from Japan, with 2,000 cherry trees donated on behalf of Tokyo as a symbol of friendship. The first shipment arrived in 1910, but the 2,000 trees were diseased and subsequently burned to prevent possible infection. The second shipment arrived in 1912, with 3,000 healthy trees. The first two Yoshino cherry trees are planted on the northern bank of the Tidal Basin beside the Japanese Stone Lantern, which is where a ceremonial lantern-lightin takes place.

Throughout the festival, there are many different events that vary based on when the cherry blossoms bloom from the Blossom Kite Festival to Petalpalooza. 
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The most popular place to view the cherry blossoms is along the tidal basin.

​ There are 12 different varieties of cherry blossoms, but the most common ones are the following four:
​
  • Yoshino: Solid white petals with pink buds. 70% of the trees around the tidal basin are this variety
  • Akebono: Pale pink petals that bloom the same time as the Yoshino cherry blossoms
  • Weeping Cherry: Usually the first to bloom, they look like willow trees
  • Kanzan: Bright pink petals with double blossoms that bloom 1-2 weeks after the Yoshino.
Tips:
Over a million people attend this festival, so there will be a lot of crowds. One should wake up early to avoid the crowds around the Tidal Basin or Washington Monument. Otherwise, one can visit some of the less crowded areas of the Congressional Cemetery or the Arboretum. One can also head to Hains Point, which is best accessed by bike, and the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers.

The Park Service has a "Bloom Watch" where they forecast the "peak bloom" of the cherry blossoms. This is a great way to plan one's trip for the highest odds of seeing the cherry blossoms. However, this forecast is based on the peak bloom of the Yoshino cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin. For weeks after (and maybe a few days before) there will be cherry blossoms throughout D.C.

Food

As a D.C. local, I have tried over 150 restaurants and have barely scratched the surface. The following list are the places I believe have the best food based on price and quality of food:
  • *Underlined restaurants with asterisks* are ones that are my favorite restaurants
  • Italicized restaurants are inexpensive/affordable eats with plates costing less than $15 per person.

Dining in D.C. truly depends on the location with good food throughout all the different neighborhoods.

​PROTIP: D.C. is known for its Ethiopian food, so be sure to check out one of these restaurants to enjoy injera (sourdough-like bread)!
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Injera at Ethiopic on H Street
Chinatown/Penn Quarter: There are limited options for food on the National Mall with either overpriced food trucks or eating at museums, so this is the closest area to eat some great food. Note that while there are a few Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, this area has become heavily commercialized with more chains. “To preserve the spirit of the Chinese”, there are Chinese characters next to store names, but if one can read the language, they’re usually not the best translations.
  • Wasai: Chinese noodle shop with low prices and delicious noodles. Also recommend their dumplings and sesame balls.
  • Teaism: Delicious milk tea and Japanese-fusion bento boxes with plenty of seating options in the basement.
  • Bantam King: Great place with delicious fried chicken dishes and ramen. Recommend the Nashville Fried Chicken.
  • Absolute Thai: Authentic Thai food in a cozy space with a crispy Pad Thai that is incredibly delicious.
  • Baan Siam: Northern Thai food that has some really spicy dishes. Recommend their fried mushroom appetizer, shrimp fried rice, and khao soi (coconut curry noodle soup).
  • Rumi’s Kitchen: A Persian restaurant that first originated in Atlanta with incredible food. It is a higher-end restaurant and I recommend their toasted cauliflower, shallot torshi (pickled vegetables), and ghormeh sabzi (Persian herb stew).
  • Rasika: Indian restaurant with two locations in D.C. Another higher-end restaurant with flavorful dishes. The best being their Palak Chaat, an appetizer of perfectly crispy spinach in a delectable sauce.
  • *Dolcezza*: One of my favorite ice cream places in D.C. with lots of seasonal flavors. It’s right beside Palmer Alley which has beautiful decorations hanging down all year-round and is open until midnight.
  • Pitango Gelato: Delicious gelato place with non-dairy and dairy options.
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There are also some fancier Jose Andrés Michelin star restaurants if one is interested in trying these more high-end restaurants. The only one I’ve tried is China Chilcano which I’d recommend for their gold flake Dorado Siu Mai, Ceviche Clasico, and Dancing Yucca.
Foggy Bottom/Farragut Park/Dupont Circle: These three neighborhoods are around the White House and are all close to Metro Stops. Foggy Bottom is also where George Washington University is located.
  • *Nooshi*: A noodle and sushi restaurant that offers an incredible Happy Hour deal everyday from 4-7 PM. Recommend their Seven Spices Tofu Fries and Curry Laksa, which has a delectable sauce.
  • *Old Ebbit Grill*: On the east side of the White House, this is Washington’s oldest bar and restaurant. They have a happy hour for oysters from 3-5 PM and 10PM-1AM that is well-worth it. I would recommend the Duroc Pork Chop or their Alaskan Salmon as a main course. Given its popularity, reservations are recommended.
  • Duke's Grocery: Known for their delicious burgers, especially the Proper Burger.
  • Immigrant Food: Restaurant that celebrates immigrant cuisine serving one of the best Havana Sandwiches and my favorite drink, the Café Calma, which tastes like a coffee milkshake made with oat milk, Peruvian coffee, and dates.
  • Ching Ching Cha: Chinese teahouse for a nice relaxing tea break.
Cleveland Park/Woodley Park: Located close to the Smithsonian Zoo, the following two restaurants are great options for a quick bite:
  • *Duke’s Counter*: Part of the Duke’s Grocery local chain. This location is right across the street from the Smithsonian Zoo and provides a great lunch option after the zoo.
  • Sakusaku Flakerie: Bakery serving Asian desserts (open 8 AM – 3 PM)
U Street/Shaw/Logan Circle: These neighborhoods are known for its night life with a multitude of bars. The food here is on the pricier side, but there are a few good restaurant options and lots of night life.
  • *Habesha Market Carry Out & Restaurant*: Affordable Ethiopian food that also sells ingredients to make one’s own Ethiopian food. They have a great vegetarian special where one can select the sides from a display. There are indoor dining options but also provides a lot of carry-out. One should order at the counter.
  • Family Ethiopian: An Ethiopian restaurant that is a little more expensive, but their fried catfish (Asa Tibs) are some of the best I’ve ever had. I also recommend their Derek Tibs (charred beef).
  • Busboys and Poets: Burger restaurant inside of a bookstore that has half-off burgers on Mondays.
  • Colada Shop: One of many Colada shops, this one has a beautiful rooftop area and is a great café to work and enjoy Cuban food and delicious cocktails and coffee.
  • Gypsy Kitchen DC: Greek food tapas known for their spritzes.
  • Barcelona Wine Bar: Spanish tapas with delicious Sangria.
  • Ted’s Bulletin: Classic American diner with delicious boozy milkshakes.
  • Chaplin’s Restaurant: Ramen restaurant that closes at midnight but also serves a bar. Recommend the Chaplin ramen which has a black sesame broth. They have a great happy hour and alcohol-infused dumplings.
  • Emmy Squared Pizza: Detroit-style square pizza with a delicious fried chicken pizza.
  • Maydan: A North African/Lebanese restaurant that serves incredible food. On the pricier side, I would recommend their Tawle menu for $75 per person, which provides a little bit of everything.​
Georgetown: Historic neighborhood in D.C. known for shopping
  • The Sovereign: A Belgian bar with a good variety of drinks to choose from.
  • Falafel Inc: For those on a budget, this falafel shop sells shawarma and sandwiches for ~$5.
  • Farmers Fishers Bakers: Part of the chain restaurants owned by the Farmers Restaurant Group, I find that these restaurants are overrated and pricey, but this one in particular has a “First Bake” selection of affordable breakfast options on weekdays from 8 – 10:30 AM with “tapa”-like dishes for $2-$6. An incredible deal! It is right on the waterfront which could be quite appealing.
  • Baked & Wired: My preferred Georgetown cupcake store.
  • Georgetown Cupcakes: A staple in Georgetown for those craving a cupcake.
  • Levain Bakery: Delicious bakery that started in NYC with filling cookies
  • Van Leeuwen Ice Cream: With another location in Union Market (Noma-Gallaudet), this ice cream shop also started in NYC before opening in DC.
Noma-Gallaudet/H Street: A newly developed area close to Union Station. There is the Union Market food hall for fun quick bites but there’s a lot of places to eat around the area:
  • Cotton & Reed Distillery*: An amazing rum distillery that has great rum slushies.
  • Toki Underground: Despite the name, the restaurant is located upstairs with tight seating but amazing ramen. Recommend their appetizers, especially the miso garlic butter corn and fried chicken roulade with eel sauce.
  • Mozzeria: Oven-baked pizza staffed with local deaf servers. Recommend the Fichi pizza.
  • Maketto: Chinese fusion known for their delicious house-fried chicken.
  • Shouk: Affordable eatery with hummus and falafels.
Columbia Heights/Mt. Pleasant: Northern areas of D.C. that are a little harder to get to, but they do have great Latin American food.
  • ​*Keren Café & Restaurant*: Favorite restaurant in D.C. that serves Eritrean food (similar to Ethiopian). The food is well-priced and delicious.
  • Thip Khao: Authentic Laotian food. Recommend the Khaonom Mun Falang (potato dumplings in a sweet and sour sauce) and the Laksa.
  • Mi Cuba Cafe: Delicious Cuban food with incredible daily specials
  • Timber Pizza Company: One of the best pizza places in D.C. and empanadas.
  • Purple Patch: Filipino restaurant known for their breakfast special of Ube waffles and fried chicken.
  • Mount Desert Island Ice Cream: Great assortment of ice cream with fun flavors like Girl Scout and Bay of Figs.
Rosslyn/Clarendon, Arlington: For those who may venture out of the city into northern Arlington, there are a few great restaurants around the Rosslyn, Courthouse, and Clarendon metro stops.
  • *Inca Social*: Modern-Peruvian cuisine. Recommend the cocktails (don’t get their homemade Chicha Morada), Miraflores sushi, Anticucho (beef heart), and all their ceviche. They have weekday deals and a great happy hour selection.
  • Smokecraft Modern Barbecue: A smaller restaurant that I think has some of the best BBQ in the area, although others would argue Federalist Pig has some great options.
  • Pho 75: A bustling pho shop that only accepts cash and has fantastic food options.

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