The Smithsonian: 19 Museums, All Free, Most People See Two

The Smithsonian Institution runs 19 museums, 21 libraries, 9 research centers, a zoo, and several gardens on and around the National Mall in Washington D.C. Admission to every museum and the National Zoo is free. There is no catch. A single visit cannot cover the whole thing - the combined collection holds around 155 million objects. The question is which ones to prioritise and how to use your time.

Most visitors default to the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of Natural History. Both are good. Neither is the most interesting thing in the complex.

The Core Mall Museums

National Museum of Natural History (10th St and Constitution Ave NW): the Hope Diamond is the main draw - a 45.52-carat blue diamond in its own display case in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals. The surrounding hall has 375,000 specimens and is itself worth an hour. The Hall of Human Origins on the ground floor traces 6 million years of human evolution with real fossils and accurate facial reconstructions. The Butterfly Pavilion (separate ticket, around $7) is small but good for children. Allow 2-3 hours minimum.

National Air and Space Museum (Independence Ave at 6th St SW): the Wright Brothers’ Flyer from 1903 hangs from the ceiling of the Milestones of Flight hall. The Apollo 11 command module Columbia is here, with actual heat-shield scorch marks. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The Gemini 4 capsule in which Ed White made the first American spacewalk. This museum understands how to display objects. It is one of the most visited museums in the world for straightforward reasons. Go on a weekday morning to avoid school groups. The James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport is the overflow facility and contains the Space Shuttle Discovery - worth the separate trip.

National Museum of American History (14th St and Constitution Ave NW): the original Star-Spangled Banner - the actual flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814 - is displayed in a conservation room with controlled lighting. It is 9 by 12 metres and more tattered than you expect. The collections on American popular culture, the presidency, and social history are less predictable than the flag and worth more time than most visitors give them. The Julia Child’s Kitchen exhibit (her actual Cambridge kitchen, installed whole) is small and unexpectedly moving.

National Museum of African American History and Culture (1400 Constitution Ave NW): opened in 2016, the most important addition to the Mall in decades. Entry requires timed passes (free, book at americanhistory.si.edu well in advance - popular times sell out weeks ahead, walk-up passes are sometimes available at 01:00 online). The building itself, designed by David Adjaye, is worth studying from the outside: a three-tiered bronze-coloured corona based on Yoruba ceremonial art. The underground history galleries cover the full span from slavery through the civil rights movement with primary objects and first-person testimony. Plan 3-4 hours minimum and expect it to be demanding.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (7th St and Independence Ave SW): the Smithsonian’s modern and contemporary art museum. Free, less visited than the natural history buildings, and consistently better for adults without children. The circular brutalist building contains rotating exhibitions from contemporary artists alongside a permanent collection that includes significant work by Francis Bacon, Willem de Kooning, and Yoko Ono. The sunken sculpture garden outside is open year-round.

Freer and Sackler Galleries (Jefferson Dr at 12th St SW): Asian art and the largest collection of James McNeill Whistler’s work outside the UK, including the Peacock Room (a gilded decorative scheme Whistler painted for a London dining room in 1876-77, moved here whole). The Freer is one of the quietest museums on the Mall and the Peacock Room alone makes it worth visiting.

The National Zoo

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo (3001 Connecticut Ave NW) sits in Rock Creek Park in the Woodley Park neighbourhood, about 3 miles north of the Mall. Free entry. The giant panda programme has run since 1972. The great ape house, the elephant trails, and the small mammal house are the best sections. Metro: Woodley Park station on the Red Line. Open 08:00-18:00 daily in summer, check closure times in winter. Allow 3-4 hours.

What Most People Miss

The National Portrait Gallery (8th and F St NW, Penn Quarter): shares a building with the American Art Museum. The Presidential Portrait Gallery on the third floor has every official presidential portrait and is free and significantly less crowded than any history museum on the Mall. Barack Obama’s portrait by Kehinde Wiley, commissioned in 2018, has become one of the most discussed artworks in America.

The National Museum of the American Indian (4th St and Independence Ave SW): building designed by Native architects in collaboration with Native communities, with curved sandstone walls evoking southwestern geological formations. The collections represent 12,000 years of indigenous cultures across the Americas. The Mitsitam Cafe inside serves Native American food by region - fry bread, cedar-planked salmon, blue corn dishes - and is the best lunch stop on the Mall.

Eating Near the Mall

The Mitsitam Cafe (National Museum of the American Indian) is the best food option within the Smithsonian complex. For everything else, walk north into Penn Quarter: José Andrés’ Jaleo (480 7th St NW) for Spanish tapas around $15-25 per dish, Woodward Table (1426 H St NW) for American cooking closer to the White House, or any of the sandwich shops on Pennsylvania Avenue for a quick working lunch.

Avoid the food carts directly on the Mall - they exist for captive tourists and the prices reflect that.

Getting Around

The Mall runs approximately 2 miles from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. Metro stops serve both ends: Smithsonian station (Blue/Orange/Silver Line) puts you at the centre near the Castle. L’Enfant Plaza station (Blue/Orange/Silver/Green/Yellow) is the south end. Capitol South is the east end.

The Smithsonian Castle (1000 Jefferson Dr SW) on the Mall serves as a visitor centre with maps, museum hours, and free wifi. Good starting point for a first visit.

Where to Stay

The Mall museums are best accessed from downtown hotels within walking distance or one Metro stop. Capitol Hill neighbourhood options: Hyatt Regency Washington (400 New Jersey Ave NW) is a 10-minute walk to the east end of the Mall, around $200-350 per night. Penn Quarter: Canopy by Hilton Washington DC Embassy Row (2101 Massachusetts Ave NW) is further but in a useful neighbourhood, around $180-280. Budget option: the downtown DC youth hostel (Hostelling International Washington DC, 1009 11th St NW) has dorms from around $45-70.

Practical Notes

All Smithsonian museums open at 10:00 and close at 17:30. Hours extend in summer. The African American History Museum requires advance timed passes - this cannot be emphasised enough; walk-up entry is not reliable. All other museums accept walk-up visitors. Weekday mornings are significantly less crowded than weekends. Photography without flash is permitted in most galleries.