Things to Do in Washington

Open to the public since 1974, this distinctive round building on the National Mall is dedicated to contemporary and modern art in the United States. From the outside, the museum appears to be a solid, windowless concrete cylinder perched on four squat blocks; the interior, though, features a hollow cylinder lined with windows which look onto a central courtyard and allow in natural light.

Designed by an art collector for an art collector, the Hirshhorn was originally conceived by architect Gordon Bunshaft to house a bequest of 6,000 artworks by financier Joseph Hirshhorn. Hirshhorn’s art collection is composed of work by the greatest living artists of his 20th century life: Picasso, Matisse, Willem de Kooning, Louise Nevelson, Jackson Pollock and many more. The museum is surrounded by a four-acre, two-level sculpture garden highlighting works by Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, and more recently, Jeff Koons.

The museum today features rotating exhibits by the world’s most accomplished and controversial artists, like Chinese dissident Ai Wei Wei. One of the most popular outdoor attractions here is a Wishing Tree by Yoko Ono, a live tree to which you’re invited to pin a piece of paper with your fondest wish.

This moving monument that features a bronze sculpture of two Japanese cranes trapped in barbed wire pays homage to the Japanese Americans, veterans and those who were kept in internment camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Visitors will find a massive granite wall with names of the 10 camps where more than 120,000 people were held captive on American soil, as well as three panels covered in names honoring Japanese Americans who died while fighting World War II. There are also dozens of quotes from Japanese American writers gracing the unique memorial.

Travelers say this small gem, hidden among more epic D.C. structures is a sad but moving memorial that serves as a reminder of the horrors of war, the ugliness of humanity and the power of the human spirit to overcome even the most difficult adversities.

Lush green streets and idyllic Victorian houses are just part of what lends the Georgetown neighborhood of D.C. its classic east coast charm. And while there’s plenty to see in this trendy part of town, it’s the well-known Georgetown University that’s the real star of the show.

Founded in 1789, Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution in America. This elite college of higher learning is home to the famous Hoyas, as well as some of the best examples of Romanesque revival style architecture on the East Coast. Approximately 7,000 undergraduates and 10,000 post-graduate students attend Georgetown University, and notable alumni include former president Bill Clinton. The school has four distinct university campuses, which include the Law Center, the undergraduate campus, the Medical Center, and the School of Continuing Studies, located in Chinatown.

Affiliated with but not a part of the Smithsonian, the National Gallery needs two buildings (connected by an underground tunnel) to house its stunning collections (more than 110,000 objects) of painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the present. Kids love the walking escalator that traverses the two buildings and conveniently empties into the airy cafeteria where you can press your nose against the giant sheet of glass and look out onto a cascading waterfall.

The original neoclassical building, known as the West Building, exhibits primarily European works, from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, including pieces by El Greco, Monet, and Cézanne. Don't miss the room full of Renoirs, including the famous Girl with a Hoop.

Across 4th Street NW, the angular East Building is where you'll find the Calder mobile along with other abstract and modern works. Across 7th Street from the West Wing sits the National Gallery Sculpture Garden, a beautifully landscaped park of open lawns, a pool with a spouting fountain, and 17 sculptures. In warm weather, people linger for lunch on the wide rim of the pool.

Largely geared toward children but still enjoyable for adults, this small museum at National Geographic’s headquarters offers a handful of rotating exhibits combining the magazine’s exciting photography with discoveries in history, science and/or technology. Past exhibitions have included technology gleaned from the ancient Muslim world, and photos of the sunken Titanic.

Unlike her lifelike figures, Madame Tussaud was a real human being, a wax sculptor in 1770s Paris who became an art tutor at the Palace Of Versailles. During the French Revolution, she was forced to prove her allegiance to King Louis IVX by making death masks of executed aristocrats; lauded for her work, she eventually left for Britain with many of her works in tow. In the early 19th century, a showcase for her wax likenesses of famous -- and infamous -- contemporary figures was built in London; the Madame Tussauds brand has since become a popular global franchise, spreading across Europe to Asia, Australia and several American cities.

The Madame Tussauds in D.C. focuses largely on famous political figures; one of the most photographed wax figures here depicts Marion Barry, the city’s controversial (and now deceased) former mayor. All 44 past presidents are represented, as well as President Barack Obama. And in addition to famous Hollywood and sports stars, you’ll find a figure of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. Each hyper-detailed wax likeness at the museum is assembled by a team of sculptors and requires approximately 100 hours to create; for instance, each strand of a figure's hair must be individually set by hand.

The flagship of the US Government's National Archives and Records Administration, this Greek Revival building in DC's Federal Triangle was created in 1934 to house records of America's military, civic and diplomatic origins and activities. Home to the Charters of Freedom (the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights) the Archives offer a comprehensive visitor experience that includes the charters themselves, as well as a peek into the public research vaults and a film about the relationship between public records and democracy.

Dedicated in 1995, this memorial to the troops who fought in the Korean War (1950-1953) lies adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial in West Potomac Park, at the south end of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. Created by sculptors Louis Nelson and Frank Gaylord, this depiction of a walled triangle intersecting a circle is assembled from over 100 tons of granite and includes 19 stainless steel statues, each over seven feet tall, which symbolize a patrol squad assembled from every branch of the armed forces.

These steel statues, when reflected on the walled triangle, appear to be 38 figures, representing the 38th parallel, Korea’s location on a map. The wall of the triangle itself incorporates over 2,500 sandblasted photographic images depicting scenes from the Korean War. The memorial’s circle encloses a reflecting pool, a grove of trees, and a ring of benches, as well as inscriptions of the numbers of people who were wounded, killed, missing in action, and more. Juniper and Rose of Sharon bushes planted around the memorial symbolize the South Korean landscape.

The closest Metrorail station is Foggy Bottom at 23rd and I Streets, approximately 7/10 of a mile away and serving the Orange and Blue Lines.

The man whose dream changed America lives eternally in Washington DC. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial opened in October 2011, a few months after the 48th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I have a dream" speech. Set in the greater National Mall area, the memorial occupies four acres of land in West Potomac Park and looks out over Tidal Basin near the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

One of the most iconic and impressive structures in Washington D.C., the Library of Congress contains a staggering 120 million items, including 22 million books plus manuscripts, maps, photographs, films and prints. But don't expect to see many books: Most are shelved on more than 500 miles of closed library stacks housed in the three different buildings. The Library - the world’s largest - is still nonetheless fascinating.

The centerpiece of the LOC experience is the historic 1897 Jefferson Building, where you can wander around the spectacular Great Hall, ornate with stained glass and marble. The artwork of the Great Hall reflects the beauty that emerges from such amassed wisdom, such as the goddesses and cherubs who represent different fields of knowledge. Multimedia kiosk provide the minutest details of the library’s awe-inspiring collection.

Anyone over the age of 18 carrying photo ID can use the library, and more than a million people do so each year. The Main Reading Room is in the Jefferson building, but it is just one of 22 reading rooms. The Library of Congress is a research library, meaning you can't check the books out, but you can read away inside its confines.

Set on the south bank of the Tidal Basin amid the cherry trees, the Jefferson Memorial honors the third president of the United States, drafter of the Declaration of Independence and founder of the University of Virginia: Thomas Jefferson. Designed by John Russell Pope to resemble Jefferson's library, the memorial's columned rotunda is similar in style to the Pantheon in Rome.