My Washington D.C. Travel Journal: An Itinerary for History Enthusiasts

Washington D.C. is at the top of the list of favorite cities that I’ve been to. If you love history, your country, and historical buildings, you’ll find something there that interests you, if not makes you walk away with a feeling of awe and inspiration. It’s thrilling to be walking and standing in places that so much history has unfolded in. Even though I’ve only been there twice (not counting airport lay overs,) both times were on family vacations where we had time to explore. The most recent time I was there, I felt like I deeply experienced the city. This article is based off my travel journal where I logged what my family and I did each day while we were there. I hope that it might be helpful to someone who also wants to experience the wonder of this awesome city. Whether you’re only there for a day or two or you’ll be staying for weeks, I hope this helps you make the most of the time you’ll be there. From best attractions, museums, and places to eat, to what to pack, transportation, and even the downsides of D.C., I’ll share what made my trip there one I’ll never forget.

Side note: This post is describing my trip from back in 2017. Some of the tours and museums may not be available right now because of Covid, so please always check each attraction’s website for the latest information on their schedule.

Side side note: This post has a lot of pictures because I’m a photographer and I love to take lots of picture when I travel! Some of them were taken with my cell phone and some with my DSLR camera. Also, the video below was just a quick fun video took with my handheld iPhone so please don’t judge the quality too hard. :)

 

 

Day 1

My family and I flew into the DCA Reagan International Airport midday. We stayed at a hotel in Arlington for the first few nights because it less expensive to stay slightly outside the city and take transportation into it every day. We took a Lyft to the National Mall and visited the Jefferson Memorial. That night we got some groceries near our hotel to save money on breakfasts and snacks and also got something for dinner there.

 

Day 2

We took the Metro into downtown D.C. in the morning. Being from the South and not having any underground transportation systems in Florida, I’ve always enjoyed riding them. You can also get some pretty cool pictures if you pay attention to light and textures around you. We ate lunch at a French cafe called PAUL. If you’re in the mood for lighter fare, it was absolutely delicious. They had salads, sandwiches, and various pastries and their food was presented with care. There’s some interesting shops along there and is in general a good street to stroll with the big city feel. We also made a mistake that day; we thought that our White House tour tickets were for that day but they weren’t. They were for later in the week, or so we found out after we had already shown up and stood in line. I know, I know — a classic tourist blunder. That afternoon, we visited Arlington National Cemetery which is a must visit stop. We saw the changing of the guards ceremony, took the tour of the cemetery, saw President Kennedy’s undying flame, and visited the Iwo Jima Memorial across the street. There is a small indoor museum at the cemetery and the tour takes you past famous graves and stops at the tomb of the unknown soldier and a historic house and garden on the grounds that you can tour which beautifully overlooks downtown DC.

 

Day 3

Today we actually toured the White House. It was incredible and definitely an opportunity that you won’t want to miss! You’ll get to see many of the famous rooms, decorated according to the tastes of the current first family and walk through rooms that you’ve seen famous pictures of presidents taken in. The White House Tour is something you’ll want to schedule as soon as you know which days you’ll be traveling to DC because it needs to be approved several months in advance. Many places in Washington DC don’t need reservations scheduled far in advance but the White House Tour and Capitol building tour both should be scheduled in advance through your congresspeople. That afternoon, we visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Even if you’re not a big aviation fan like I am, if you appreciate history, in my opinion, it’s a must visit. You’ll see classic exhibits like The Spirit of St. Louis and the Apollo 11 capsule that landed on the moon.

 

Day 4

This morning we visited the National Zoo, which is slightly removed from the central downtown area. It was very good and I enjoyed seeing the animals and the habitats but I’m a little partial because I think that the zoo that we have in Tampa is better. It’s a fun place for families and kids but I think that if I had to forgo one of the Smithsonian museums that we visited (and we didn’t have time to go to them all) this would have been the one I would have left out. That afternoon we took the metro to Union Station to join one of the open air rooftop bus tours around the city. Yes, it might sound a little touristy but it was lots of fun and you get to have a sweeping view of the city and get to see the monuments at sunset when they are lit up at night. If you think the Lincoln Memorial looks majestic during the day, wait until you stand on the steps looking up at it with a painted sky behind it. You can get off the bus and walk around the monuments and then get back on or choose to wait on the bus. The late afternoon and evening light is also a great time to photograph the monuments, avoiding the harsh light of midday. Some Tips: We grabbed some French fries and concretes from the Shake Shack right inside Union Station to take on our bus ride because we hadn’t had dinner yet. It made for fun memories. Also plan to bring a light sweater because the tour starts out in the late afternoon but ends after dark and you might get a bit chilly driving through the evening air.

 

Day 5

This morning was the day for our tour of the Capitol Building. It is such a magnificent and beautiful building — in my opinion one of the most iconic and stunning buildings in the world. The tour was lots of fun and informative so be prepared to take in a lot of history. After the tour, we ate at the Capitol’s cafeteria which is open to people taking the tour and it was surprisingly good and had lots of choices. That afternoon we stuck close to Capitol Hill and visited the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court.

 

Day 6

Today we visited the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and the National History Museum. You could spend more time at each than we did but we were trying to fit in as much as possible. We may have also visited the National Archives that day but I can’t remember for sure. Anyway, it’s definitely a must see stop and doesn’t have to take a lot of time. I think that everyone, no matter their age, is in awe the first time they see the authentic Declaration of Independence!

 

Day 7

Today was a long but good day! We started off by visiting the International Spy Museum. It was a blast and would be lots of fun for older kids and teens. It was a bit pricey though, considering that most of the other museums and tours you’ll want to do are free, but it was worth it. My family and I are big fans of escape rooms, so I’d definitely recommend the spy experience that they offer (although it might be different now than when I was there) as it’s similar to an escape room but even a little more creative with more rooms and a hands on experience. In the afternoon we toured Ford’s Theater where President Lincoln was assassinated and the house across the street where he died. Walking by the Trump Hotel which is a very grand, beautiful old building we decided to go into the Starbucks that’s inside and get some coffee. Since it used to be an old post office there’s a wall of old antique mailboxes near the Starbucks at the side entrance that’s a cool Instagram photo op. That evening we walked around the National Mall and I photographed many of the monuments (World War II, Korean War, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial…) Photographer’s Tip: Many people might document their whole vacation with their iPhone camera and there’s nothing wrong with that but being a photographer I wanted to get some amazing shots with my DSLR camera too. However I didn’t want to carry it everywhere and also couldn’t bring it in everywhere (some of the tours are very particular about what they allow you to bring with you: i.e. there’s very high security in the White House, etc.) so I would plan if I wanted to bring it or not depending on what we were doing that day. Sometimes we went back to the hotel room to rest a bit and I would bring it with me for the rest of the day. In the end though, my opinion is the best camera is the one that you have with you and if that’s just your cell phone you might be amazed at what kind of pictures you can take with it if you put in the extra effort.

 

Day 8

This morning we started off at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It is a fun tour where you learn about how money is made and even get to see part of the process behind glass windows. After lunch, which we ate in one of the Smithsonian museum cafes because there weren’t many restaurants around those few blocks, we headed to the Holocaust Museum. It was very informative and well done although also very serious and sobering. You can’t go through it without facing hard realities and it really gets you thinking. Although most of the museum may not be the best for small kids, they did have a substantial exhibit for children when I was there that explained things in an age-sensitive way. That afternoon we headed to Georgetown which is slightly west of downtown and drove around, looking at some of the shops. By this point, we had moved hotels and rented a car which we would use for the later part of the trip. We drove by the National Cathedral but didn’t go inside. I think it may have already been closed. Another place we stopped in Georgetown was a little cupcake and coffee shop called Baked and Wired. They had lots of flavors of cute gourmet cupcakes. We may have also driven down Embassy Row that afternoon, I can’t remember for sure which day it was, but it’s fun to see all the different old historic houses that have been turned into embassies for other countries. That evening, we went to the Gravelly Point which is right across a tiny bit of the Potomac from the start of one of the runways at the DCA airport. It turned out to be a popular place. You can get some pretty cool shots of the airplanes coming in to land right over your head and it’s a fun way to watch the sunset. After dark, we visited the 9/11 Memorial on the Pentagon grounds. It’s not one of the most famous memorials, but it’s so beautiful lit up at night and memorializes the lives that were tragically lost when the commercial jet was crashed into the side of the Pentagon on September 11th. It did feel a little eerie walking around after dark in one of the highest security areas in the world though!

 

Day 9

This was our last full day in the DC area! We tried to fit in as many things as we could that we hadn’t gotten to yet. It was a hot day outside too! We visited the United States Botanic Garden in the morning. They have a beautiful array of plants in the conservatory inside and also in the outdoor gardens. Afterwards, we drove outside of DC to Chantilly, Virginia where the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum has an annex called the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. It’s a very large hangar at the airport filled to the brim with all kinds of aircraft on display, including a SR-71 Blackbird jet, one of the commercial Concorde jets, and the Discovery space shuttle. They also have a theater where they show aviation themed films, like the main Air and Space Museum also does. If you love aviation, it’s definitely worth going out of your way to visit. They also have a observatory in an old air traffic control tower that you can take an elevator up in and get a view of the surrounding countryside and the planes taking off at the airport. That evening, we went to the Air Force Memorial in Arlington. We sadly drove out of the city for the last time that night but first stopped to snap some epic twilight pictures of the Capitol Building and drove through the Chinatown arch on the way out. It was hard to say goodbye to such an incredible city.

 

 

Extras:

In the next few following days, we visited the Mt. Vernon estate, historical Williamsburg, and the Virginia State Capitol building. These were all very fun and are great DC trip add-ons since they’re fairly close (within a few hours)! I think we covered a ton of ground (literally) while we were there but there’s a few places we didn’t get to but I really wished we had:

• The FBI tour: I didn’t even know that the FBI had a tour when we were there but if I would have this would have been at the top of my list. Keep in mind that most of the government tours need to be scheduled a certain amount of time in advance (check their websites for each one’s specifics.)
• State Department tour : I find government fascinating so I wish I would’ve known about this one too.
• Museum of the Bible: I don’t think this was open yet the last time I was there or we would have gone.
• Treasury Department tour
• Pentagon tour

 

 

What To Pack:

Other than the basics of comfortable clothes for the particular season you’re planning to visit, here are some other specific things you might want to bring along.

• Good walking shoes: One thing that my family noticed the first time we came here was that the city block were really big. Plan to do a LOT of walking and bring comfortable shoes that don’t hurt your feet. Even if you take public transportation, it can still be a long walk to the metro station and you’ll be walking and standing a lot if you spend time at the monuments and museums. Even through a lot of the attractions are on the National Mall, they can be a lot farther away from each other than they seem.
• A lightweight jacket/sweater: Even in the summer, it can get chilly in museums and you’ll be switching back and forth from air conditioning to being outdoors.
• Snacks: Many of the museums and tours have special rules about what you can bring with you and some of them are very strict so remember to check them before you pack your bag (or pockets) for the day. The first time my family visited DC, my dad had to throw away his money clip because they wouldn’t let him bring it on a tour at the Washington Monument. (Which on a side note, they haven’t offered in a number of years. Hopefully they will open it again some day). Many of them don’t allow food but we had to bring some gluten free snacks for health reasons so it’s worth considering if you have dietary restrictions.
• Charging pods/cord: If you’re walking around all day without a place to charge your phone, a charging pod that you recharge each night and then take with you during the day can be really helpful, especially if your phone battery is getting drained from all the navigation.
• Camera and camera bag: Like I said earlier, the best camera is the one you have with you! Cell phone cameras can do an amazing job sometimes, but there’s so many amazing things to photograph in DC, and if you choose to bring a mirrorless or DSLR camera with you, you’ll want to put some thought into exactly what gear you want to bring. Although I love being prepared for anything with my camera gear, I found it necessary to pare my gear down that I would carry with me for the day because when you’re walking around all day, it gets heavy fast. I found that a wide angle lens and a 50mm lens were usually all I needed and they’re both fairly small. A 24-70mm type or similar length zoom lens would also be great as a one-lens option. I also brought a comfortable messenger-type camera bag to carry it all in. I didn’t bring my camera with me all the time, just on certain days where I knew that it wouldn’t conflict with tour restrictions.

 

 

Downsides to traveling in DC:

Since Washington DC is such an amazing city, there aren’t really many downsides to it, but here are some you might want to consider.

• Price: Let’s face it—it’s an expensive city. I think most big cities are expensive to some degree. Don’t let that deter you though because there’s ways to get around that. It may be expensive to live there but it doesn’t have to be to vacation there. On a positive note, since many of the tours and museums are free, the main thing to plan for is your lodging. Hotels and AirBnBs in the city are pricy but if you stay in one of the suburbs and take the metro into downtown every day, you can save money that way. Food is expensive at the Smithsonian museums but there are also plenty of affordable options around.
• Transportation: DC is a busy city and parking places are hard to come by. Even if you drive there, it may be easiest to leave your car at your hotel and take the Metro or an Uber or Lyft to get from place to place instead of trying to find a place to park everywhere you go which can be a nightmare. When my family went, we did rent a car for the last part of our stay. It made it easier to get to certain places like the Air and Space Museum annex and driving through Georgetown but I’d recommend the other options for most of the central downtown sightseeing.

 

 

Where To Eat:

• Good Stuff Eatery: This is a small chain that features burgers, fries, and milkshakes and it was so good that we went there several times. You should really try it if you’re into that kind of thing!
• PAUL Parisian Cafe: Mentioned above, this French cafe and pastry shop was one of my favorite places we ate although probably also one of the most expensive.
• Peet’s Coffee: It’s a chain coffee shop but we don’t have one in Florida near where we live so we enjoyed getting coffee there a few times.
• Shake Shack (in Union Station): This is where we got the fries and concretes that we took on the bus tour.
• Gusto Gourmet Pizza: This is actually in Silver Spring which is North of DC and where where our hotel was for the second part of the trip. They have gourmet looking salads and personal pizzas and even offer cauliflower crust.
• Baked & Wired: This cupcake and coffee shop in Georgetown had a lot of fun flavors.
• US Capitol Cafeteria: This is a good place to stop when you’re finished with your tour.
• Cosi: This was a lot like a Panera. a good stop in Arlington for a fairly affordable meal, it was good but not extraordinary.
• The Happy Tart: This is about 20 minutes west of downtown DC. We stopped there because they’re a gluten free patisserie shop and it’s really hard to find places like that. It was delicious and a great place to visit.

 

 

This was a long post but if you got through it, good job! I hope that it helps you learn more about Washington D.C. or even plan the trip of a lifetime! I’d love to hear your travel suggestions or favorite memories from DC in the comments!