Pentagon

The Pentagon: What You Can Actually See, and Why the Memorial Is the Real Reason to Come

Most tourists arrive expecting to tour the Pentagon and leave disappointed when they find out how the access works. Let’s get this out of the way immediately: you cannot walk in off the street. Guided interior tours are available only to US citizens and permanent residents, must be requested through a Congressional representative’s military liaison office, booked at least 14 days in advance and no more than 90 days out, and run only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The tours are 60 minutes, cover about 1.5 miles of public corridors, and include the Hall of Heroes, the 9/11 Memorial Chapel, and military history displays. International visitors without a US sponsor cannot access the interior. Build your DC itinerary knowing this.

The exterior of the building is far less photogenic than you might expect. What the Pentagon actually offers visitors, without any prior arrangement, is one of Washington DC’s most thoughtful memorials.

The Pentagon Memorial

The 9/11 Pentagon Memorial sits on the northwest side of the building and is open free of charge, seven days a week. It commemorates the 184 people killed there on September 11, 2001. The design uses 184 inscribed benches over shallow reflecting pools, each bench oriented either toward the building or toward the flight path of American Airlines Flight 77. If the victim was inside the Pentagon, the bench faces outward. If they were on the aircraft, it faces the building. The youngest victim commemorated is Dana Falkenberg, age 3. The oldest, John Yamnicky Sr., was 71. The wall at the memorial’s edge ranges from 3 inches to 71 inches tall, representing this same span. The audio tour is available by calling (202) 741-1004 at the entrance or downloading it online – it is 24 minutes and worth every one of them. Photography is permitted here, and it is the only location on Pentagon grounds where that is the case.

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery is a 5-minute walk north of the Pentagon Metro station and contains over 400,000 graves across 639 acres. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by soldiers from the 3rd US Infantry Regiment. The Changing of the Guard runs every 30 minutes in summer and every hour in winter; timing your visit around it takes minimal effort and rewards it generously. Entry is free.

The grave of President John F. Kennedy has an eternal flame burning since 1963. Arlington House at the top of the hill has free museum exhibitions on the Robert E. Lee family and the Civil War circumstances that turned this land into a cemetery. Few museums in the Washington area generate the same quiet unease.

Getting There

Pentagon station is on Metro Lines 1 (Blue) and 7 (Yellow), one stop from Reagan National Airport and about 20 minutes from the National Mall. The fare from downtown is USD 2.25-3.60 depending on time of day. From the station, the memorial is a 5-minute walk and the cemetery entrance is 10 minutes.

What Else Is Worth Your Time

The Marine Corps War Memorial (the Iwo Jima statue) is a 15-minute walk north of the cemetery on Arlington Ridge Road, free to visit, and more arresting in person than in photographs. The Air Force Memorial, three curving silver spires on a hilltop 5 minutes from the Pentagon, is open throughout the day and gives clear sightlines toward the DC skyline.

Crystal City hotels run USD 120-200 per night and are convenient for the memorial and Reagan National. If you are flying in and out of DCA, staying here saves time and the neighbourhood is significantly quieter than downtown DC, which some people find preferable and others find dead.