Visiting the National mall

When I first moved to the DMV, I wanted to do all the tourist-y things, but I didn’t know where to start. I’m still learning and navigating this city, but I have gotten a little better at it (thanks in part to my dietetic internship). Today I took my cousin to the National Mall, and we actually got a lot done in about 4 hours.

If you want to visit DC but aren’t sure where to start, I’ve got a perfect plan for ya. But I have to warn — it does require a lot of steps!

Step 1. Opt for Metro. If you’re headed pretty much anywhere in DC besides Union Market (which has free parking closeby!), I’d opt for the metro. There are six lines: red, silver, green, yellow, orange, and blue. I recommend getting off at Smithsonian if you’re taking the silver/blue/orange line, L’Enfant Plaza if you’re on green or yellow, and Gallery Place if you’re on red. Once you get off at one of those stops, it’s pretty easy to navigate to the mall.

Step 2. Pick Your Destination. We were a bit ambitious and decided to visit several places along the National Mall, but you don’t have to if you don’t want. There’s so many places to visit, so you have to choose what’s interesting to you!

We got off at the Smithsonian Metro and walked allll the way to the Lincoln Memorial (passing the Washington Monument, Reflecting Pool, and World War II Memorial.

Then we circled back and passed the Korean War Memorial, Smithsonian Castle, and went inside the Hirshhorn Museum.

The Smithsonian Metro stop is close to both the Hirshhorn Museum and the other places we’d been to, so it was easy to get back.

Step 3. Remember to eat! After walking for about an hour to all these places, I was getting a little light-headed, which doesn’t usually happen. So if I could tell you one tip, it’d be to bring yourself a snack or granola bar because the food scene on the mall itself is lacking. (A little less than a mile away there’s tons of options though!) Luckily, there was a Dolcezza stand right next to the Hirshhorn Museum, so we snagged a cappuccino and butternut squash & butterscotch blondie (yes, it was amazing!).

We were exhausted by the end, but overall it was a beautiful day, we got some good exercise, and saw a bunch of historical landmarks.