Washington DC Official Visitors Guide - Washington DC Official Visitors Guide Fall/Winter 2026
10 Free Places to Visit
2026-09-15 15:21:52
DC is the only place to experience marvelous museums, stately memorials and stunning landmarks without paying a cent. And there’s much more where that came from: visit washington.org/free.
Seven reimagined galleries await you inside this wonder on the National Mall, where you can journey from first flight to the first steps on the moon and well beyond. At Home in Space even shows how humans can live and work outside of Earth’s orbit.
2 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL
Pay tribute to the civil rights icon at an immaculately designed memorial site. A 30-foot statue of King is carved into the Stone of Hope, which emerges from two boulders known as the Mountain of Despair.
3 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ASIAN ART
Dozens of territories, cultures and eras are represented. Guided tours include a sketch-and-discover experience every first Sunday of the month (11 a.m.–12 p.m.). Don’t skip the Peacock Room or the brand-new Moongate Cafe.
4 FREDERICK DOUGLASS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Commonly known as Cedar Hill, the expansive estate once home to Frederick Douglass offers guided tours Tuesday through Saturday each week. Its collection includes thousands of Douglass family items.
The first federally funded community museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Its new exhibit, We Make History, showcases impactful community-based stories in honor of America’s anniversary.
The iconic 19-foot-tall statue of Honest Abe sits inside a 190-foot-long marble memorial. A new underground museum known as the Undercroft offers 15,000 square feet of exhibit space and allows visitors to examine statue replicas.
7 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Snap a photo of the Hope Diamond, encounter eons of planetary changes in the Hall of Fossils and meet three larger-than-life bronze bison statues before exploring the Bison: Standing Strong exhibit.
8 HIRSHHORN MUSEUM & SCULPTURE GARDEN
No art connoisseur will want to miss the debut of the Hirshhorn’s revitalized sculpture garden, an outdoor feast for the eyes. Inside the museum, marvel at some of the wildest art the world has to offer.
9 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY & CULTURE
The five-floor Smithsonian site, which celebrates its 10th anniversary with programming throughout the fall and winter, offers a rich tapestry through its showcase of Black struggle, history and culture.
10 NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY/ SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM (SAAM)
One building, two art museums, thousands of iconic works, free admission. The Portrait Gallery displays 50 years of photography in a new exhibit (opens Nov. 14) and SAAM showcases photographical surveys of the U.S. Bicentennial (opens Sept. 18).
AFFORDABLE Activities
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