World City Guide

Key Attractions

White House
The most famous building in the city is the White House, home to the first family and a high spot on any visit to Washington, DC. Very little of the building is on show but most enjoy the opportunity to enter the powerhouse of the USA. A self-guided tour takes around 15-20 minutes passing by the Vermeil Room and Library and through the rooms on the State floor. Information on the rooms can be obtained from the US Secret Service Tour Officers stationed there. Additional information on the architecture, first families, social events and son on, can be obtained from the White House Visitor Information Center (daily 0730-1600) on the southeast corner of 15th and E Streets. The centre also features a 30-minute video and White House exhibits including first families and furnishings.

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Tel: (202) 456 7041. Fax: (202) 456 2461.
Website: www.whitehouse.gov/history/tours
Transport: Federal Triangle and Metro Center Metro stations.
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1200 (occasionally closed at short notice for official events), Visitor Center: daily 0730-1130.
Admission: Free. White House visitors request passes from their Congressmen (US citizens) or respective embassy (overseas visitors).

White House tourist information can be obtained from:
White House Visitor Information Center
US Department of Commerce Building 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Tel: (202) 208 1631.
Website: www.nps.gov/whho
Opening hours: Daily 0730-1600.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
A fascinating place to visit when in the city is the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the headquarters of the famous US law enforcement agency, the FBI. A one-hour guided tour includes crime laboratories where scientific examinations take place, historic exhibits of famous cases and a firearms demonstration by a special agent. The tour is closed for renovation at present. Check website for proposed tour resumption.

J Edgar Hoover FBI Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Tel: (202) 324 3447.
Website: www.fbi.gov
Transport: Metro Center, Gallery Place/Chinatown.
Opening hours: Currently closed.
Admission: Free.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial depicts the 32nd US president in his wheelchair and honours his services to the country during four terms of office. In addition, there are also bronze sculptures of Eleanor Roosevelt, events from the Great Depression and World War II.

1850 West Basin Drive, SW
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/frde
Transport: Smithsonian Metro station.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-2400.
Admission: Free.

International Spy Museum
All is not what it seems at one of Washington’s most fun museums. Through multimedia presentations, hands-on exhibits and audiovisual effects, focus is on educating the public about espionage’s impact on current and historic events. Spy paraphernalia such as decoder machines, miniature cameras, a lipstick pistol and even James Bond’s Astin Martin with machine gun headlights are on display. Visitors can assume a cover, break codes and identify spies. Each period of espionage history is showcased in an appropriate setting: Mata Hari and The Sisterhood of Spies are set in a boudoir; a European farmhouse documents the activities of the OSS (the Office of the Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA), and a fallout shelter chronicles the Cold War.

800 F Street, NW
Tel: (866) SPYMUSEUM (779 687386) or (202) EYE SPY U (393 7798) for all up-to-date information.
Website: www.spymuseum.org
Transport: Gallery Place/Chinatown or National Archives/Navy Memorial.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1900 (Apr-Oct) 1000-1700 (Nov-Mar).
Admission: $13, concessions available.

Korean War Veterans Memorial
Located adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the marble and limestone Korean War Veterans Memorial was built entirely with funds donated from individuals and dedicated in 1995. Sitting on a 0.89-hectare (2.2 acres) site, the sculpture features 19-foot soldiers in combat, with the American flag as their symbolic objective. A mural wall is inscribed with the words ‘Freedom is not free’ and the images of thousands of the ordinary personnel who supported the combat troops in the military operation.

Independence Avenue at the Lincoln Memorial
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/kwvm
Transport: Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro station.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-2400.
Admission: Free.

Lincoln Memorial
The imposing 5.8m (19ft) marble statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, gazes from the Lincoln Memorial across the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument. The style of the memorial is that of a Greek temple with 36 Doric columns, but it is the statue of Lincoln, sculpted by Daniel Chester French, that steals the show. On the interior walls, there are inscriptions from the Gettysburg Address and his second inaugural speech.

West Potomac Park at 23rd Street, NW
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/linc
Transport: Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro station.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-2400.
Admission: Free.

National Mall
Many of Washington’s most important monuments and institutions, described individually below, are located in the National Mall, a green park area extending three kilometres (two miles) from the US Capitol to the Washington Monument. Major Pierre L’Enfant originally planned the Mall as a grand avenue lined with mansions, but lack of funds meant that the site was just left as an open area used for grazing animals. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century, when many more public institutions and monuments had been constructed in the immediate area (including the White House), that they were linked with the series of gardens that now make up the Mall. It is an ideal place for people watching from one of the many benches shaded by 200-year-old elm trees and is also the site for many celebrations throughout the year, such as the Independence Day Celebrations on 4 July.

Between Constitution and Independence Avenues, SW
Tel: (202) 485 9880.
Website: www.nps.gov/nama
Transport: Smithsonian Metro station.
Admission: Free.

National WW II Memorial
The newest addition to the National Mall, which will be dedicated on 29 May 2004, is a commemoration to World War II soldiers, the home front and the nation. The monument will consist of fountains and pools surrounded by pillars, pathways and two large arches which represent the Pacific and Atlantic.

Off Independence Avenue, just south of 17th Street on the National Mall
Tel: (800) 639 4WW2 (4992) or (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.wwiimemorial.com
Transport: Smithsonian Metro station.
Admission: Free.

Smithsonian Institution Museums
The Smithsonian Institution (website: www.si.edu ) encompasses many museum and research centres around the city which are: Anacostia Museum and Center for African-American History, Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Arts & Industries Building, Freer Gallery of Art, Hirschorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, the two National Air and Space Museums which includes the facility on 6th Street and Independence Avenue and the new Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, near Dulles Airport, National Museum of African Art, National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of the American Indian (scheduled to open in September 2004), National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian National Postal Museum, National Zoological Park, Renwick Gallery of Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Some key ones are detailed below. At the time of writing, the Smithsonian is implementing an extensive programme of redevelopment, so some museums are closed, such as the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum (both are scheduled to reopen in 2006). Visitors should check the general website for information.

Smithsonian Information Center
Located in the red sandstone building known as the Castle, the centre has two orientation theatres, wall maps and interactive touch-screens in six languages.

Jefferson Drive on the National Mall
Tel: (202) 357 2700.
E-mail: info@si.edu
Website: www.si.edu/visit
Transport: Smithsonian Metro station.
Opening hours: 0900-1730.
Admission: Free.

National Air and Space Museum
The most popular of all the Smithsonian Museums, the National Air and Space Museum traces the development of air and space travel. It is home to the original Wright Brothers’ 1903 Flyer, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St Louis, the Bell X-1, the plane that broke the sound barrier in 1947, the Apollo 11 lunar command module and a vast collection of aviation and space technology memorabilia. Free 90-minute tours trace the history of air and space. The museum also houses an IMAX film theatre and the Albert Einstein Planetarium.

6th Street and Independence Avenue, SW
Tel: (202) 357 1400.
Website: www.nasm.si.edu
Transport: L’Enfant Plaza and Smithsonian Metro stations.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1730.
Admission: Free (museum); US$8 (planetarium); US$8 (IMAX); US$13 (combined ticket).

National Museum of Natural History
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a superb collection of dinosaur fossils, an insect zoo, the world’s largest preserved bush elephant, the 45.5-carat Hope Diamond and an IMAX film theatre. The recently opened Mammal Hall is devoted to mammal and human diversity, evolution and adaptation.

10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Tel: (202) 357 2700.
Website: www.mnh.si.edu
Transport: Federal Triangle or Smithsonian Metro station.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1730.
Admission: Free (museum); US$8 (IMAX); (US$13 double feature).

National Zoological Park
The National Zoological Park is also part of the Smithsonian Institution and is famous throughout the world for its work in species preservation and conservation research. Originally founded in 1889, the zoo, which covers the steep slopes of the gorge cut by Rock Creek, has introduced simulations of the habitats of many of its animals. Habitats include an outdoor primate enclosure, a wetlands area, a pollinarium for humming-birds and butterflies, a reptile centre and Amazonia, a recreation of the world’s largest tropical rain forest. The zoo’s two giant pandas are one of its most popular attractions.

3001 Connecticut Avenue
Tel: (202) 673 4717 or (202) 673 4800 (recorded information line).
E-mail: nationalzoo@nzp.si.edu
Website: www.natzoo.si.edu
Transport: Woodley Park-Zoo or Adams Morgan Metro station.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1630 (until 1800 in the summer); grounds open 0600-1800 (until 2000 in the summer).
Admission: Free.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is a 5.8m (19ft) statue of the third US president. Surrounded by passages from the 1776 Declaration of Independence, his memorial was not erected until over 100 years after his death. Built in a neo-classical style and framed by the cherry trees along the Tidal Basin, it is one of the most attractive on National Mall, especially at night.

Tidal Basin South end of 15th Street, SW
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/thje
Transport: Smithsonian Metro station.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-2400.
Admission: Free.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Though simply designed, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the most moving. Opened in 1982, the 70 separate panels of the V-shaped black granite walls, 150m (493ft) in length, are inscribed with the names of the 58,209 Americans missing or killed in the Vietnam War. What makes the site even more poignant is the common occurrence of relatives making rubbings of their loved ones names.

Constitution Avenue and Henry Bacon Drive, NW
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/vive
Transport: Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro station.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-2400.
Admission: Free.

US Capitol
US legislative policy is shaped under the magnificent 55m (180ft) white dome of the US Capitol. The cornerstone of the US Capitol, home to the Senate and the House of Representatives, was laid in 1793. It was not until 1800 that Congress moved into its new home, even though only the north wing was finished completely. The white-painted dome is visible from all parts of the city and is topped by a 5.8m (19ft) Statue of Freedom. Several areas of the building are open to the public, including Statuary Hall, the original Supreme Court Chamber and the Crypt (the intended burial place of George Washington and his wife).

Capitol Hill
Tel: (202) 225 6827. Fax: (202) 228 0603.
Website: www.aoc.gov (click on ‘Visiting’)
Transport: Capitol South and Union Station Metro stations.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1630 (until 2000 in summer). Guided tours: Mon-Sat every 30 minutes. Tours are available on a first-come first-served basis, but it does not hurt to contact your ambassador or congressman regarding a pass.
Admission: Free.

Washington Monument
Dedicated to the first president of the United States, the Washington Monument dates from 1885 and is 169m (555ft) tall. A lift takes visitors to the top to enjoy spectacular views of the surrounding area. Recent improvements to the monument include the 193 restored Memorial Stones, which have been donated over the years (from July 1848) by states, cities and foreign countries to pay tribute to George Washington, as well as new exhibits about the nation’s Founding Father and the history of the monument.

15th Street, SW
Tel: (202) 426 6841.
Website: www.nps.gov/wamo
Transport: Smithsonian Metro station.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1645.
Admission: Entrance by timed tickets only. Free on the day of admission on a first-come first-served basis at the kiosk on the Washington Monument grounds at 15th Street and Madison Drive. Advance tickets are available for $1.50 plus $.50 service charge (tel: (800) 967 2283).

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The films, photos, eyewitness testimonies and artefacts that tell the story of the Holocaust often leave visitors dabbing their eyes at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Three rooms cover life in the 1930s, continue through the Nazi rise to power and the subsequent genocide and conclude with the liberation and the aftermath of the Holocaust. No passes are required for Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story, a sensitive exhibit geared to help children understand the horrors of the Holocaust.

100 Raoul Wallenburg Place, SW
Tel: (202) 488 0400. Fax: (202) 488 2695.
E-mail: visitorsmail@ushmm.org
Website: www.ushmm.org
Transport: Smithsonian Metro station.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1730, closed on Yom Kippur and Christmas Day.
Admission: Free. Timed passes are required for access to the permanent exhibition. Tickets are free on the day of admission on a first-come first-served basis or in advance (tel: (800) 400 9373; website: www.tickets.com) for a service charge of $1.75.