1
White House
Make at stop at the North Side of the White House and St. John’s Church, the location where all presidents attend mass before being sworn in as President. One of America’s most recognizable historical and political symbols is also the home and office of the President of the United States. 15 minutes
Duration: 15 minutes
2
U.S. Capitol
See the US Capitol, where the president is sworn in and gives the Inaugural Address. 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
Duration: 15 minutes
3
National Mall
For more than 200 years, the National Mall has symbolized our nation and its democratic values, which have inspired the world. The National Mall - the great swath of green in the middle of our capital city and stretching from the foot of the United States Capitol to the Potomac River - is the premiere civic and symbolic space in our nation.
4
Jefferson Memorial
A 19-foot bronze statue of perhaps the most esteemed founding father sits beneath a columned rotunda in the style of the Roman Pantheon.
5
Tidal Basin
The Tidal Basin is about 107 acres in size and approximately 10 feet deep. It was built to harness the power of the tides in the Potomac River to flush silt and sediment from the Washington Channel.
6
St. John's Church
Make a stop at St. John’s Church, located across the street from the White House. This is where presidents attend their pre-inaugural prayer service before being sworn in. Admission Ticket Free
7
The National Archives Museum
Reservations are recommended, but not required for groups visiting the National Archives. You may reserve up to six tickets per reservation. For larger groups, you may make more than one reservation for the same time and date, subject to ticket availability. Timed-entry tickets are available 90 days in advance.
A nonrefundable $1.00 advance reservation convenience fee will be charged for each advanced ticket. Time and date changes are allowed on a ticket order at no additional charge. If you cancel, ticket fees are nonrefundable. Same-day reservations are permitted.
8
FBI Headquarters
Visiting FBI Headquarters/Tours
Our Headquarters is located between 9th and 10th Streets in northwest Washington, D.C. The closest Metro subway stops are Federal Triangle on the Orange/Blue lines, Gallery Place/Chinatown and Metro Center on the Red line, and Archives/Navy Memorial on the Yellow and Green lines.
The Work of Headquarters
The executives, special agents, and professional staff who work at our national headquarters in Washington direct, organize, and coordinate FBI activities around the world. That includes:
Setting the priorities and policies for the Bureau;
Ensuring centralization and coordination at the highest levels;
Helping lead the fight against terrorism by serving as a hub for intelligence and information;
Providing operational and administrative support to field divisions and overseas offices; and
Taking the lead within the FBI during times of national crisis or emergency, directing major case and operations.
9
Peace Monument
Peace Monument
The white marble Peace Monument was erected in 1877-1878 to commemorate the naval deaths at sea during the Civil War.
Highlights
ARTIST
Franklin Simmons
MEDIUM
Marble
DIMENSIONS
44' high
LOCATION
U.S. Capitol Grounds
View on Map
The 44-foot-high Peace Monument stands in the circle to the west of the U.S. Capitol at Pennsylvania Avenue and First Street, N.W. At the top of the monument, facing west, stand two classically robed female figures. Grief holds her covered face against the shoulder of History and weeps in mourning. History holds a stylus and a tablet that was inscribed "They died that their country might live."
Below Grief and History, another life-size classical female figure represents Victory, holding high a laurel wreath and carrying an oak branch, signifying strength. Below her are the infant Mars, the god of war, and the infant Neptune, god of the sea. The shaft of the monument is decorated with wreaths, ribbons and scallop shells.
10
Freedom Plaza
Freedom Plaza
National Mall and Memorial Parks , Pennsylvania Avenue
Plaza surrounded by swatches of grass and buildings.
Freedom Plaza
NPS / Claire Hassler
Quick Facts
AMENITIES 2 listed
Standing on this plaza along Pennsylvania Avenue, you are on a direct line between the White House and the US Capitol Building. The stone pavers of Freedom Plaza depict a map of Washington, DC, according to planner Pierre Charles L'Enfant's plan for the city.
Inscriptions
WESTERN PLAZA PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE
Western plaza consists of a large raised terrace in which part of L'Enfant's original 1791 plan for Washington, DC is rendered in black and white stone. At one end of the raised terrace is a pool. At the other is a shaded sitting area around a statue of General Pulaski.
Inscribed on the upper terrace are historic quotations about Washington. Low walls separate the plaza from the surrounding traffic. Eleven large urns rest on top of these walls and contain seasonal plantings.
11
United States Botanic Garden
As a museum with a living collection, our exhibits, displays and plants are always changing. No two visits are exactly alike!
To get a feel for what you might see when you come visit the U.S. Botanic Garden, we encourage you to take our virtual tour. You’ll get a peek at our Conservatory, gated outdoor gardens and Bartholdi Fountain and Gardens, but the plant displays and exhibits are likely to be different each time you come.
12
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington D.C., dedicated to the memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, and to the era he represents. The memorial is one of two in Washington honoring Roosevelt.
13
James A. Garfield Monument
Garfield Monument
Highlights
ARTIST
John Quincy Adams Ward
MEDIUM
Bronze
LOCATION
Circle at First Street, S.W., and Maryland Avenue
U.S. Capitol Grounds
View on Map
The sculptural monument to President James A. Garfield by John Quincy Adams Ward (1830-1910), cast by The Henry-Bonnard Co. of New York, with a pedestal designed by Richard Morris Hunt, is an outstanding example of American sculpture. The monument stands in the circle at First Street, S.W., and Maryland Avenue, where it was unveiled on May 12, 1887.
President Garfield was elected in 1880 and was assassinated in 1881 by a disgruntled office-seeker after serving only four months of his term. The memorial was commissioned in 1884 by the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, of which Garfield had been a member. The society raised almost $28,000 to pay the sculptor. Some of the funds were raised by The Garfield Monument Fair, which was held in the Rotunda and Statuary Hall in 1882.
14
Capitol Reflecting Pool
Located between the Botanic Garden and the U.S. Capitol, the Capitol Reflecting Pool was originally envisioned by Pierre L’Enfant (1754-1825), the architect and engineer who designed the plan of the city of Washington DC in 1791.
L'Enfant had planned to redirect the waters of the Tiber Creek into a canal falling into a cascade and pool at the foot of Capitol Hill. This would have been one of the most important water effects with which L'Enfant intended to beatify the city of Washington DC. Although the city plan was simplified in February 1972 by Major Andrew Ellicott, it retained some of the original characteristics.
When the Washington Canal was built in 1815, it did not incorporate any of L’Enfant’s basins or cascades. It ran down 3rd Street and crossed over the Botanic Garden, but it soon became a sewer and was channeled into a sewer line in the early 1870s.
15
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial that honors the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. An example of neoclassicism, it is in the form of a classical temple and is located at the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Henry Bacon is the memorial's architect and Daniel Chester French designed the large interior statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln (1920), which was carved in marble by the Piccirilli brothers.[3] Jules Guerin painted the interior murals, and the epitaph above the statue was written by Royal Cortissoz. Dedicated on May 30, 1922, it is one of several memorials built to honor an American president. It has been a major tourist attraction since its opening, and over the years, has occasionally been used as a symbolic center focused on race relations and civil rights.
