
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
- Abraham Lincoln Memorial
- World War II Memorial
- National Museum of American History
- National Air & Space Museum
- Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden – modern art
- National Museum of African Art
- National Museum of Natural History
- Smithsonian Castle
- Washington Monument – currently closed for elevator upgrade – check before you go
- National Archives
- National Gallery of Art
- Multiverse Light Sculpture between National Gallery East & West Buildings
- Freer Gallery – Asian art (closed until October 14, 2017)
- Sackler Gallery – Asian art
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
- Korean War Veterans Memorial
- Vietnam War Veterans Memorial
- Thomas Jefferson Memorial
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
- American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial
- US Holocaust Memorial Museum – free but requires timed tickets March through August
- National Museum of the American Indian
- National Museum of African American History & Culture
- Albert Einstein Memorial
- Bureau of Engraving & Printing (free, but reservations required through September 1)
- National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden
Brookland Area
- Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
- Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America
Capitol Hill
- National Postal Museum
- Library of Congress
- US Capitol
- US Botanic Garden
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Historic Congressional Cemetery
Capitol Riverfront
Anacostia
Upper Northwest
Georgetown
- C&O Canal Paths
- Old Stone House (the oldest home in DC)
- Theodore Roosevelt Island
- Rock Creek Park
Penn Quarter/Chinatown
- National Portrait Gallery
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Lunder Conservation Center
- Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site
- Archives of American Art Gallery
Dupont Circle
Woodley Park
Foggy Bottom
- Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (free tour)
- Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center (free performances)
Downtown
- White House Visitor Center
- White House tour (request through Congressional representative at least 3 months in advance)
- Renwick Gallery – American contemporary art
Shaw
H Street NE
- US National Arboretum
- National Bonsai & Penjing Museum – inside National Arboretum
Arlington, Virginia (technically not DC, but just across the river)
- US Air Force Memorial
- US Marine Corps Memorial (aka Statue of Iwo Jima)
- Arlington House, former home of Robert E Lee
- Arlington National Cemetery
- 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.