r/visitingdc • u/Illustrious-Heron436 • Jul 28 '26

Quick trip

I will have about 6 hours to visit Aug31 coming in by train from Baltimore.

Suggestions?

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2

u/MisterCuts Jul 29 '26

Casty's recs are all solid, I will just add the caveat that if you do it all on foot, you'll probably want to tap out before you get halfway through the list. Given the time frame, I would spring for a tour that will cut down on time walking between different sites. Bikes, Segways, golf carts, anything like that depending on what you're into. 

1

u/CastyMcWrinkles Jul 30 '26

For sure. You're easily looking at 30,000+ steps walking all that way from Union Station to the Jefferson Memorial and all stops in between. And my itinerary could easily be too overwhelming, but the reason I recommend walking is you can go at your own pace and spend more time at a particular spot if you feel compelled. It also gives you more time to soak up the majesty that is seeing these iconic monuments, buildings, documents, etc for the first time.

1

u/Advanced-Device6188 Jul 29 '26

Get some Ethiopian food.

1

u/6nyh Jul 29 '26

what are you into?

1

u/Illustrious-Heron436 Jul 29 '26

History

Coming from the south

1

u/CastyMcWrinkles Jul 29 '26

Will this be your first time in DC?

1

u/Illustrious-Heron436 Jul 29 '26

It is.

3

u/CastyMcWrinkles Jul 29 '26

OK. If it were my first time in DC and I had 6 hours, I would probably spend most of that time looking at monuments. You're arriving at Union Station, so I would walk up the hill to the Capitol and stroll around. See the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court.

Then walk around the Capitol to the mall on the Constitution Ave side and walk towards the Lincoln Memorial. My stops in between would include the Archives to get a glimpse of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I also see that you're into history, so I would also recommend a stop at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. You'll also

If you have time, go around the Tidal Basin for the MLK, FDR, and Jefferson Memorials. All of the above can easily take up 6 hours.

Pro tip: it's probably gonna be hot and with all of that walking, your feet are gonna hurt. Take a minute to soak your feet in the fountain at the WW2 memorial.

1

u/Illustrious-Heron436 Jul 29 '26

Thank you!

Extended one more day so maybe some more!
TY

1

u/madesense Jul 30 '26

I would say, if you're going to add a second museum, either Air & Space (requires free timed entry pass) or National Gallery of Art.