For Spring Break this year, we skipped the beach and headed north to Washington, D.C.

I had not been to D.C. since high school, which was over 20 years ago. Geez. And it was a location that my husband and son had never seen.

What is there to do in D.C.? So much! And my tips for seeing D.C. are included at the end.

As we typically do, we hit the ground running. After landing and checking in to our hotel that was close to the White House, that was our first stop. In the evening when we would turn in, you could see protests happening in support of help for Ukraine.

After seeing the White House, we headed toward the National Mall. We spent the first evening seeing the Washington Monument, the National WW2 Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.

Close by is also the Korean War Veterans Memorial and Vietnam Veteran Memorial.

The next morning it started snowing. So much snow. It felt like a blizzard to us, but the locals were unaffected. :)

All the snow made it a great day for museums. The Smithsonian Institution has 19 museums and a zoo. And in case you didn’t know, they are FREE.

We started with the National Museum of Natural History. This was my 2nd favorite museum.

Next up was the Air + Space Museum. Here is where you can grab some astronaut ice cream and take flight on the interactive flight simulators. Even though the museums are free, the flight simulators did require a paid ticket.

From there we walked to the National Museum of the American Indian where we ate lunch at the cafe before touring the exhibits. I highly recommend the cafe.

When you leave the American Indian museum you are not far from the U.S. Capitol. The snow gave everything such a peaceful feel.

Next up was the National Postal Museum. I honestly wasn’t expecting much here, but it ended up being one of my favorites.

By the afternoon the snow had stopped so we just walked without any destination in mind. We passed through China Town and eventually ended up at Ford’s Theatre and the Petersen House (the house where Lincoln died). With over 20,000 steps logged and the Hard Rock Cafe next door, we grabbed a burger and called it a day. Did I mention there was a Cheescake Factory near our hotel? We might have picked up dessert as we passed by. We might have done this a few times.

The next morning we took a Lyft to the National Archives Museum to see the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. No photos are allowed once inside. I love the National Treasure movies so it tickled me when we were walking in the room and the guard was proudly announcing that the documents were safe and that Nicholas Cage had, indeed, not stolen them.

Next up was the National Museum of American History.

From there was my favorite, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I hate saying it was my favorite because it is truly so horrific. But the exhibits are haunting and you want to read and examine everything. You do need timed tickets for this museum. The tickets are free but there is a small online transaction fee. It’s worth it. You do not want to skip this one.

Next up, we took a Lyft to Arlington National Cemetery. On the way we saw the Jefferson Memorial and the Pentagon. When we arrived at Arlington we viewed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guard.

There is a Metro station at Arlington, so we rode it back in to the city for dinner and to pack back up for our next day flight back home.

Tips for D.C.:

wear comfortable shoes, it’s as much or more walking than a day at Disney :)
make sure to see the monuments at night as well as the day
when you see the food trucks, there will be one with a cherry milkshake. get it.
there are so many museums and monuments, spend time researching them so you know how to best spend your time based on your interests
I was concerned my teenage son would be bored with monuments and museums, but he loved this trip. There is something for everyone here.