Washington DC Family Itinerary

Washington DC has so many fun things to do! 

If you are planning a trip to Washington D.C., deciding what to do might be overwhelming.  There are so many museums, government buildings, and places to go that I decided to poll our friends for their top choices.  Here is where we ended up going.  I ordered these based on the one we enjoyed the most at the top.

1. If you are going in a few months or anything over 30 days, you can request a White House Tour!  You have to do this plenty of time in advance but it is well worth it!  We were so excited about seeing the inside of the White House.  To do this you need to contact your representative but you can find all of the info you need right here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/visit/

2. We also truly enjoyed the Capitol Building. We requested this from our representative as well but I believe you can get this other ways like the link below or even the day of.  I highly recommend this activity!  The kids were in awe of the grandeur of the building and were engaged during the tour.  You can schedule this here: https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/visit/book-a-tour

3. The National Museum of Natural History is a great museum!  While we were there we experienced the African Bush Elephant exhibit which was magical!  There was also a really cool fossil exhibit that all sorts of specimens.  This museum did not require a timed entry pass or anything, it was walk-ins welcome.

4. Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum - Also free but required a timed entry pass.  The Wright Brothers and Destination Moon were two of our favorite exhibits.  I highly recommend a visit to this museum.  We also enjoyed that you were able to walk into an old airplane and see what it was like.  

5. National Archives - Here you can see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. It was free admission and reservations were not required.  It's amazing to see how worn the documents are and their size.  We enjoyed seeing this but don't a lot too much time for the archives.  One hour was enough.

6. Smithsonian National Zoological Park - this was a top activity for my kids.  They requested it therefore I booked it.  It's free, as are most attractions in Washington D.C. It does require reservation and tickets. The zoo was very crowded and it was difficult to get from place to place due to the number of people in the zoo.  There was also lots of walking as the attractions are pretty far from each other.