National Mall, Washington DC

I have lived in the DC area for three years now and there is always something new to see or do on the mall. The turf restoration project is finally completed so there is beautiful grass for picnics and hanging out. Various festivals are constantly being held which are always fun. Lots of cultural activities to expand your knowledge and enrich your weekends. There are lots of different walking paths and benches to sit. Great food trucks. Plenty of free museums and art installations. And let's not forget about the monuments. Parking isn't awesome but you can almost always find a reasonably priced spot near where you want to go. The metros are in great locations. The mall can get really busy when all the school trips come up and buses will be everywhere. The mall is pretty great.

Awesome experience to walk around and soak it all it. Need to stay somewhere nearby so you could just walk around here and enjoy all the free museums and government buildings for several days. So much to see it could take weeks. Love my quick visits to DC but I would like to stay for a longer time and do all the Smithsonian. It is hard to find street parking so staying nearby or taking a taxi to the Mall is best.

The mall itself is very well-kept and pristine. Prepare to walk and be ready for the elements. We went on an extremely hot day, which may not have been the easiest. In the future I might have brought an umbrella to shield from Sun. Of course the overall experience is amazing. Pack a lunch if you don't want to spend $10 on a very small piece of chicken and $3 on a bottle of water.

Beautiful stretch of memorials. Great for a day of history or sight seeing with kids or dogs. Our puppy loves it. My daughter loves seeing the Lincoln memorial in particular. Overall- very well kept, clean and peaceful. Can get a little overwhelming during peak seasons with tourists. Hard to find parking and very very busy. During off seasons- or later in the day during peak- is the easiest and best time to visit. You would need a few days to see all of these memorials and musuems- and it would be well worth it.

There is plenty to see and do here. The National Museum of Natural History was awesome. However, the dinosaur exhibit was being remodeled at the time of my visit. They still had some of the larger exhibits on display, but most of the other exhibits were taken down. Regardless, there are plenty of other exhibits to see. Make sure you take some water, especially if you visit during the summer months.