National Mall
The National Mall is the roughly two-mile landscaped park between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. The monuments, war memorials and most of the Smithsonian museums line it, and nearly all of them are free.
The National Mall is the roughly two-mile landscaped park between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. The monuments, war memorials and most of the Smithsonian museums line it, and nearly all of them are free.
The obelisk, the Lincoln Memorial, the Reflecting Pool and the World War II, Vietnam Veterans and Korean War memorials run along the western half.
The Air and Space Museum, Natural History, American History, the National Gallery of Art and the National Museum of African American History and Culture all sit on or beside the Mall, all free.
South of the Mall, the Tidal Basin loop passes the Jefferson, FDR and Martin Luther King Jr memorials and is the centre of the spring cherry blossom season.
Admission to the Mall and the Smithsonian museums is free. The Washington Monument needs a timed ticket (free, via recreation.gov or limited same-day), and a few museums use free timed-entry passes. Confirm on nps.gov/nama and si.edu.
End to end is about two miles, more with the Tidal Basin. A guided walk, a bike or the DC Circulator bus keeps it from becoming a route march.
The park and museums cost nothing. Reserve the Washington Monument and any timed-pass museums ahead, especially in spring and summer.
The memorials are lit and open late, and evening walking tours of the western memorials are a common way to see them without the daytime crowds.
Is the National Mall free?
Yes. The park, the memorials and the Smithsonian museums are free. Some sites use free timed tickets to manage crowds.
Do I need to book anything?
Reserve a Washington Monument timed ticket in advance, and check whether the museums you want use free timed-entry passes.
How long does it take to walk?
Allow a full day to cover the monuments and one or two museums. The monument line alone is a two to three hour walk with stops.
When do the cherry blossoms bloom?
Peak bloom around the Tidal Basin is usually late March to mid April, but it shifts every year with the weather.
The National Mall is a national park in central Washington, DC, administered by the National Park Service. It forms the core of Pierre L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the city, with the Capitol at one end and, later, the Lincoln Memorial at the other.
Along and beside it are the Washington Monument, the major war memorials, the Reflecting Pool, the Tidal Basin memorials and most of the Smithsonian Institution's museums. Admission throughout is free.
This page is an independent guide for visitors. It is not affiliated with the National Park Service or the Smithsonian Institution.
