The capital's grand lawn of memorials and free Smithsonian museums between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial
The National Mall is a long avenue of lawns and elms that runs west from the US Capitol past the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool. Managed by the National Park Service as National Mall and Memorial Parks, it holds more than 100 monuments and memorials, from the obelisk of the Washington Monument to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and it is open 24 hours a day. Around 24 million people visit each year to remember presidents and veterans, to protest and celebrate, or simply to walk.
Lining the lawns are eleven museums of the Smithsonian Institution, among them the National Museum of Natural History, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and admission to them is free. South of the Mall, the Tidal Basin is ringed by the cherry trees that Japan gave the city in 1912, whose spring blossom is one of Washington's best-loved events.
Pierre L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the new capital imagined a garden-lined grand avenue about 1.6 kilometres long. The McMillan Commission of 1902 replaced it with the broad grass vista lined with American elms that exists today. The Washington Monument was begun in 1848, completed in 1884 and opened to the public in 1888, and the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial was first built in the early 1920s; the land around the Tidal Basin was created by dredging the Potomac between 1882 and 1911.
The Smithsonian's first building on the Mall, the Castle, dates from 1849, and museums have been added ever since, most recently the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016. The Mall has long been the nation's stage for public gatherings, most famously the 1963 March on Washington, when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his 'I Have a Dream' speech.
The Mall is where Washington comes together: for the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the Blossom Kite Festival in spring, for ceremonies honouring veterans, and for the protests and marches that have shaped the country's history. The free museums make it easy for residents and visitors alike to return again and again.
Visitors walk the length of the Mall from memorial to memorial, often over two or three days, mixing outdoor sights with the Smithsonian museums. The NPS runs ranger-led tours and night-time walks, and many people tour by bicycle. Timed tickets give access to the elevator up the Washington Monument, while the chamber of the Lincoln Memorial is free to enter, with tickets needed only for the Undercroft museum below. Ceremonies, festivals and demonstrations take place on the Mall throughout the year.
Spring brings the cherry blossom, which the NPS describes as the capital's grandest springtime tradition and the start of spring, though it is also the busiest time. Autumn is pleasant for long walks between memorials. The Mall is open around the clock, and the NPS offers night-time walks with a ranger.
Checked against the sources on 29 October 2026. Opening times and fees can change — confirm before you go.
General guidance from our specialists, not official information.
The US Capitol stands at the eastern end of the Mall, and the Tidal Basin with its cherry trees lies just south of the Washington Monument. Other Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are elsewhere in the city. New York City and Boston lie to the north along the East Coast.
The largest city in the United States, spread across five boroughs on the islands and shores of New York Harbor. Manhattan holds the famous skyline, Broadway and Central Park, while Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island add their own neighbourhoods, beaches and food.
ExploreA copper statue on Liberty Island, given by the people of France and dedicated in 1886, and the nearby Ellis Island immigration station, through which more than 12 million people passed. Together they form Statue of Liberty National Monument, reached only by ferry.
ExploreThe capital of Massachusetts, founded by Puritan settlers in 1630 and a centre of the events that led to the American Revolution. The Freedom Trail links 16 historic sites over about 2.5 miles, from Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown.
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United States · 9 nights4★ HotelUnited States · 8 nights3★ LodgeThis guide was researched from the sources below and reviewed by our team on 29 October 2026. Facts under “Verified information” link to the page they were checked on; travel tips are general guidance. Photos are credited on each image. The ambient recording’s author and licence are shown in the sound player.
