Washington With Kids
What Washington DC with kids really looks like, from a family that plans these trips for a living.
Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel
Is Washington DC good for kids?
Yes, and it is one of the best value family cities anywhere. The Smithsonian museums and the monuments are free, the Metro is easy, and it brings school history vividly to life. Just plan to break up the long Mall for little legs.
How many days?
Three to four days for the Mall, the museums and a Mount Vernon day trip.
What is the one thing we cannot miss?
The free Air and Space Museum and a walk among the lit monuments on the Mall, plus the Natural History Museum's dinosaurs.
Do we need a car?
No. The Metro is clean, cheap and reaches everything, including the airport, and the Mall is walkable. A car is more hassle than help here.
When should we go?
Spring, with the late March and early April cherry blossoms, and fall are mild and gorgeous, the best times with kids. Summer is hot, humid and crowded, winter cold. Aim for the shoulder seasons and pack for lots of walking.
The Nation’s Capital, and a Free Museum Wonderland
Washington DC is a gift to families, because so much of it is free and so much of it is the history your kids are learning in school, standing life size in front of them. Marble monuments line a great green Mall, the Smithsonian museums cost nothing to enter, and the buildings where the country is actually run are right there. It is a field trip come to life.
The heart of it is the National Mall, the long green spine lined with monuments and museums. Downtown and Capitol Hill sit at either end, historic Georgetown lies to the west along the river, and it is all knit together by an excellent Metro. Base near a Metro stop and the whole city opens up on foot and on rail.
Getting Around
Skip the car. The Metro is clean, easy and reaches every sight, and it runs straight in from Reagan National Airport. The Mall is walkable, though long, so plan to break it up, ride the Metro between ends, and rest little legs. Everything you came for is on the Mall or a short train ride away.
Neighborhoods worth basing in
The National Mall & Downtown
The green heart of the capital and where you will spend most of your time, ringed by the monuments and the free Smithsonian museums, with downtown’s hotels and restaurants close by. Central, walkable and museum rich, the natural base for a family.
Georgetown
The historic, cobblestoned neighborhood along the Potomac, with the C&O Canal, waterfront paths, shops and famous cupcakes. Charming and pretty, a lovely area to wander, though a little removed from the Mall, so most families sleep closer to the museums.
Capitol Hill
The stately residential quarter behind the Capitol, with the building itself, the Library of Congress, Eastern Market and leafy streets. Handy for the eastern end of the Mall and full of character, a pleasant base near a Metro stop.
The Willard InterContinental
A grand, historic landmark hotel steps from the White House, all beaux arts elegance and presidential history. The blow the budget treat, in the middle of it all.
A downtown hotel
Downtown has plenty of comfortable, well located hotels near the Mall and the Metro, easy with kids and close to the museums. Practical and central, with the sights a short walk or ride away.
A Capitol Hill apartment
Downtown and Capitol Hill have apartments and suites that give a family room to spread out, handy near a Metro stop for simple meals and early nights. Good value in a busy city.
The Three I Build Every Washington DC Trip Around
The National Mall and the Monuments
Walk the National Mall, where the monuments turn history into something you stand beneath. The Lincoln Memorial gazes down the reflecting pool to the Washington Monument, the World War II and Vietnam and Korea memorials cluster nearby, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial rises by the Tidal Basin. Do it in the cool of morning or evening, when they are lit and less crowded, and let the scale sink in.
The Smithsonian Museums
The free Smithsonian museums along the Mall are the reason DC is a family paradise, and they cost nothing. The National Air and Space Museum hangs real rockets and planes overhead, the Natural History Museum has dinosaurs, a giant whale and the Hope Diamond, and the American History Museum holds the actual Star-Spangled Banner. Pick two a day, they are big, and let the kids lead.
The Capitol and the White House
See the seats of power up close. You can tour the US Capitol, with its soaring dome and Rotunda, on a free timed ticket booked ahead, and older kids feel the weight of the place. Outside, walk to the fence for a look at the White House, and let the whole idea of how the country is run become real and tangible.
Family Time, Built In: Washington DC With Kids
Washington is one big, mostly free, hands on history and science lesson. Rockets and dinosaurs in the Smithsonians, monuments to climb the steps of, pandas at the free National Zoo, and paddle boats on the Tidal Basin. Everywhere you turn, the things kids read about in school are right in front of them.
The harbor ferry to the beach
Sunday fish market
Paddle boats on the the Tidal Basin
Planten un Blomen
the Capitol plaza
PARK & DOWNTIME PICK
The National Zoo, free and home to giant pandas, or the Tidal Basin with its paddle boats and, in spring, the famous cherry blossoms. Green, easy breaks from the museum marathon, and the Mall’s own lawns for running between stops.
Five Things To Eat In Washington DC
Half-smoke
Crab cakes
Jumbo slice
Ethiopian food
CupcakesNicole’s Perspective
A capital where history is free and hands on
I taught social studies and the ancient world for eight years, and no American city makes a curriculum come alive like Washington. The documents, the monuments, the halls of government, all real, all mostly free, all within walking distance. I send families here to turn what their kids are studying into something they will never forget.
I steer families to DC for a few history rich, budget friendly days, often in spring for the cherry blossoms or fall for the cool weather. With the free museums and monuments, it is one of the best value city trips in the country, and a meaningful one.
The Day Trip: Mount Vernon
Under an hour down the Potomac sits Mount Vernon, the elegant riverside estate of George Washington, and it makes a wonderful day trip. Kids tour the mansion, roam the working farm with its animals and gardens, visit the tomb, and take in the history through hands on exhibits and a good museum. A beautiful, tangible piece of the founding story.
Things I Would Tell A Friend Before They Booked
How Many Days
Three to four days suits DC with kids. Two for the Mall, its monuments and a couple of Smithsonians a day, one for the Capitol and the zoo, and one for a Mount Vernon day trip. The museums alone could fill a week.
Day one for the western Mall, the Lincoln, the war memorials and the Air and Space Museum. Day two for the Natural History and American History museums and the Washington Monument. Day three for the Capitol and the free National Zoo, and a fourth for Mount Vernon.
Add a Mount Vernon day trip, then paddle boats on the Tidal Basin or a cupcake stroll through Georgetown.
Washington sits on the fast Northeast rail line, so it pairs easily with Philadelphia, New York or Baltimore. Give DC a few days and add a train up the coast for more history.
Washington DC With Kids, Answered
Is Washington DC good for kids?
Yes, and it is one of the best value family cities anywhere. The Smithsonian museums and the monuments are free, the Metro is easy, and it brings school history vividly to life. Just plan to break up the long Mall for little legs.
How many days?
Three to four days for the Mall, the museums and a Mount Vernon day trip.
What is the one thing we cannot miss?
The free Air and Space Museum and a walk among the lit monuments on the Mall, plus the Natural History Museum’s dinosaurs.
Do we need a car?
No. The Metro is clean, cheap and reaches everything, including the airport, and the Mall is walkable. A car is more hassle than help here.
When should we go?
Spring, with the late March and early April cherry blossoms, and fall are mild and gorgeous, the best times with kids. Summer is hot, humid and crowded, winter cold. Aim for the shoulder seasons and pack for lots of walking.
Ready To Put Washington DC On The Calendar
Send me your dates and your kids’ ages and I will map the Mall and the museums, sort a base near the Metro, book the Capitol tour, and add a Mount Vernon day and any train trips up the coast.
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