60+ Washington DC Free Attractions

Anyone who has been to Washington DC knows that it can be a pretty expensive city to visit.  Most studies rank it somewhere in the top ten list of the most expensive American cities. For someone who is making a non-DC salary and visiting the nation’s capital, the expense of everything can be daunting.

Fortunately, Washington DC free attractions are plentiful.  Here are over 60 places you can explore without paying for admission, listed by neighborhood:

The National Mall Area

1. Abraham Lincoln Memorial
2. World War II Memorial
3. National Museum of American History
4. National Air & Space Museum
5. Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden – modern art
6. National Museum of African Art
7. National Museum of Natural History
8. Smithsonian Castle
9. Washington Monument – currently closed for elevator upgrade – check before you go
10. National Archives
11. National Gallery of Art
12. Multiverse Light Sculpture between National Gallery East & West Buildings
13. Freer Gallery – Asian art (closed until October 14, 2017)
14. Sackler Gallery – Asian art
15. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
16. Korean War Veterans Memorial
17. Vietnam War Veterans Memorial
18. Thomas Jefferson Memorial
19. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
20. American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial
21. US Holocaust Memorial Museum – free but requires timed tickets March through August
22. National Museum of the American Indian
23. National Museum of African American History & Culture
24. Albert Einstein Memorial
25. Bureau of Engraving & Printing (free, but reservations required through September 1)
26. National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden

 

Brookland Area

1. Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
2. Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America

 

Capitol Hill

1. National Postal Museum
2. Library of Congress
3. US Capitol
4. US Botanic Garden
5. Folger Shakespeare Library
6. Historic Congressional Cemetery

 

Capitol Riverfront

1. Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
2. National Museum of the US Navy
3. Yards Park

 

Anacostia

1. Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens
2. Anacostia Community Museum

 

Upper Northwest

1. National Cathedral

 

Georgetown

1. C&O Canal Paths
2. Old Stone House (the oldest home in DC)
3. Theodore Roosevelt Island
4. Rock Creek Park

 

Penn Quarter/Chinatown

1. National Portrait Gallery
2. Smithsonian American Art Museum
3. Lunder Conservation Center
4. Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site
5. Archives of American Art Gallery

 

Dupont Circle

1. Anderson House

 

Woodley Park

1. National Zoo

 

Foggy Bottom

1. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (free tour)
2. Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center (free performances)

 

Downtown

1. White House Visitor Center
2. White House tour (request through Congressional representative at least 3 months in advance)
3. Renwick Gallery – American contemporary art

 

Shaw

1. African American Civil War Memorial
2. African American Civil War Museum

 

H Street NE

1. US National Arboretum
2. National Bonsai & Penjing Museum – inside National Arboretum

 

Arlington, Virginia (technically not DC, but just across the river)

 

1. US Air Force Memorial
2. US Marine Corps Memorial (aka Statue of Iwo Jima)
3. Arlington House, former home of Robert E Lee
4. Arlington National Cemetery
5. National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial

 

As you can see, there are plenty of Washington DC free must-see attractions… and a few that are a little off the beaten path.  With so many choices for things to see and do at no expense, Washington DC can be an affordable vacation destination after all.