WASHINGTON D.C.: A 5-Day Plan to See All The Sights

Here’s a 5-day Washington D.C. plan to help you see all the sights for an unforgettable trip.

WASHINGTON D.C. PLAN

Day 1 –	White House / Ford’s Theater / National Air & Space Museum / National Mall
Day 2 –	Arlington National Cemetery / Pentagon / Holocaust Museum / Spy Museum
Day 3 –	FBI Experience / Smithsonian Museums
Day 4 –	Capitol / Old Towne Alexandria / Mount Vernon
Day 5 –	National Zoo

Where to Stay and Get Around

My first recommendation during this Washington D.C. plan is to stay at a hotel just outside the city if you’re looking to save a bit of money. The hotels right in D.C. are incredibly expensive. We stayed at the Homewood Suites by Hilton – Arlington Rosslyn Key Bridge. It was great. Besides the perk of free breakfast every morning, it was just over the river in Arlington from all the D.C. sites, so just a 10 minute Uber ride.

Speaking of Uber, plan on using that or Lyft to get around. A rental car would be a pain due to having to find parking at all the sites. Or, utilize the Metrorail and Metrobus.

Day 1

Start your trip off with the premier site: the White House. You may find it surprising that the tour is FREE, but you need to make a request through your member of Congress. It’s recommended you submit that up to three months in advance and no later than 21 days prior to your visit.

The self-guided tour only takes about 45 minutes, but don’t miss the Visitor’s Center too to learn more history of the home of the U.S. presidents.

*IMPORTANT: tours only run between 8 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays so plan your days in D.C. accordingly.

Next, walk just 10 minutes to Ford’s Theater. Famous for the place where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, the tour provides in-depth storytelling about that historic event.

Booth where Lincoln shot at Ford's Theater

The tour includes a visit to the home across the street where the president was taken and later died. Buy tickets online in advance.

After a break for lunch, walk to the National Air & Space Museum (just 18 minutes from Ford’s Theater). One could spend all day here! The extra cost to see a show in the IMAX theater or the planetarium are worth it. Buy tickets in advance for the museum, but show tickets are sold on site.

End your day by walking to the National Mall.

Must-see sites include stops at place like:

Vietnam Memorial

WWII Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument

Day 2

Arrive at Arlington National Cemetery, the country’s largest cemetery, as soon as it opens in the morning. There’s a tram that departs every 20 minutes but you can also just walk to various notable spots. We purchased the tram tickets online and were thankful for those as we got to see more of the cemetery.

First, head to watch the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. This ceremony happens every hour on the house from Oct. 1 – March 31, and every half hour from April 1 through Sept. 30.

The most notable gravesite is that of President John F. Kennedy where an eternal flame has burned since he was buried there in 1963.

Hop on the tram if it happens to come by at some point, and ride it up the hill to the Arlington House, former home of Robert E. Lee to take a tour and learn about the rich history there.

My family spent our entire morning at Arlington, which we didn’t anticipate. But this final resting place of over 400,000 servicemen & women and their family members was truly a beautiful and peaceful place to visit.

Call an Uber to take you to your next stop: the Pentagon.

While we didn’t go inside, we did visit the 9/11 Memorial there. Download the audio tour on your phone, and listen to the 24-minute narrative of the events of September 11, 2001 as you walk through the memorial grounds. It’s an experience you won’t forget.

Another sobering, yet deeply impactful place to visit in the afternoon is the Holocaust Memorial Museum. This is just a 10-minute Uber from the Pentagon. Admission is free. Anticipate about a 90-minute visit.

Leave enough time in your day to explore the Spy Museum, which was one of the highlights of our trip for sure. It closes at 6:00 p.m. so I’d recommend arriving by 4:00p.m. so you have a full two hours to explore. A must-do experience! Buy tickets on site.

Lastly, walk the 10 minutes to the Jefferson Memorial to watch the sunset.

Day 3

The FBI Experience Tour takes about 90-minutes if there’s an interest in that. It’s FREE but also has to be reserved through your member of congress.

From there, walk less than five minutes to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Next, head to the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History. Visit these in the reverse order, depending on what you’re most interested in. Both museums are FREE.

Day 4

Another reservation to request through your member of Congress is the Library of Congress and U.S. Capital Tour. A must-do in D.C., in my opinion!

After spending a couple hours in the morning at these places, Uber to Old Town Alexandria and pick up a rental bike at Unlimited Biking. (Advanced online reservations required).

The bike path will bring you to Old Town which has a bunch of restaurants to choose from for lunch. This is a quaint, unique area that I wish I had had more time to explore.

A scenic one-hour bike ride on a paved path brings you up to Mount Vernon, which is the home and final resting place of George and Martha Washington.

While you can certainly Uber to Mount Vernon, the bike ride was a neat way to see the area just outside the nation’s capital city. Many of the homes you pass by are spectacular!

In the evening after dinner, if you still have just enough energy, Uber back to the National Mall and walk around to see the monuments at night. It’s truly magical and was another huge highlight for our family.

Day 5

On your final day in D.C., I recommend booking an afternoon flight so you can squeeze in a visit to the National Zoo. It’s FREE and just a couple hours max would be needed to see most all of it.

More time in Washington D.C.?

Monuments Night Tour – take a guided tour via a van or bus. Lots of options and you’ll learn a ton about the D.C. area and history.
Washington Monument – go to the top to view the city from above. **Tickets are required and available 24 hours in advance, so plan accordingly!
National Archives Museum — here’s where you can see the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution. This too is FREE and no reservations are needed.

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Tags: Capital, Itinerary, Pentagon, Smithsonian, White House

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WASHINGTON D.C.: A 5-Day Plan to See All The Sights

WASHINGTON D.C. PLAN