The National Mall is two miles long. Choose how you cover it.
Lincoln lit up after dark from a trolley seat, the Capitol Rotunda with a guide who knows the crypt, the Old Guard at Arlington, a morning at Mount Vernon. Reviews of every tour you can book in Washington DC.
The Rotunda, a cart up Capitol Hill, the Old Guard, Lincoln after dark.
Most first visits to Washington are built on these four. What each one costs, and what the people who took it say.
01The first morningSmall-Group Guided Tour inside US Capitol & Library of CongressThe Rotunda, the crypt and the Library of Congress reading room on one guided pass, entry arranged for you.
02The tired-feet dayDC Monuments and Capitol Hill Tour by Electric CartAn open electric cart from the memorials up to Capitol Hill, with a driver who stops closer than you could walk.
03Across the riverArlington National Cemetery Walking Tour & Changing of the GuardsA guide through Arlington National Cemetery, ending at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for the changing of the guard.
04The first eveningDC Memorials Night Tour: Glass-Roof Convertible Upgrade OptionThe memorials lit up after dark, with a glass-roof convertible upgrade. Lincoln at night is the photo people come back for.
Lincoln to the Capitol is two miles of gravel. Pick your wheels.
The memorials are free and open all hours. What you pay for is a guide and a way to cover the distance without spending the next day on the sofa.
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · National Mall Monuments Night Tour with 10+ Stops, Entry Tickets
On footGuides who know which memorial has the shade and which has the bench.
By electric cartOpen sides, a driver, and no walk between the Capitol and Lincoln.
By bikeThe Mall and the Tidal Basin in an afternoon, flat the whole way.
By trolley or open-top busHop off where you like, Arlington included.
Compare all 83 tours of the memorials →
The Rotunda, the Declaration, the Reading Room: Washington from the inside.
The Mall costs nothing to walk. Getting inside the Capitol, past the line at the National Archives, or round a Smithsonian with someone who knows the collection is where a guide earns the fee.
Washington turns into a different city once the memorials are lit.
Lincoln lit from below, the Jefferson across the Tidal Basin, the World War II fountains running at night. Evening tours are the most booked thing in the capital, and the ghost walks round Georgetown and Capitol Hill are not far behind.
The Washington tours most visitors end up taking.
Every DC tour we have reviewed →From the Capitol steps to the cemetery across the river: the bookings more travelers make than any other in the city, and what earns each one its place.
1
DC Memorials Night Tour: Glass-Roof Convertible Upgrade Option
Leave the daytime crowds behind on a three-hour Washington DC night tour from the U.S. Navy Memorial. Your English-speaking guide leads you to the White House, Capitol, and major memorials, with stops for photos and time to walk around. Choose a standard coach or, when available, upgrade to a glass-roof vehicle.
From · $69
Read our review →
2
National Mall Monuments Night Tour with 10+ Stops, Entry Tickets
from $65
3
Washington DC Monuments by Moonlight Tour by Trolley
from $48
4
Hop-on Hop-off Sightseeing Tour by Open-top Bus with 18 Stops
from $49
5
Washington DC in One Day: Guided Sightseeing Tour
from $89
6
DC Monuments and Capitol Hill Tour by Electric Cart
from $55
7
Washington DC Moonlight Tour by Electric Cart
from $74
8
Washington DC Hop-On Hop-off Trolley Tour with 15 Stops
from $48
Four Washington tickets that run out before you land.
Most of the Mall is open air and free. These four run on timed entry, reserved slots or a bloom that lasts a few days, and none of them can be sorted out on the morning.
- 01Washington Monument Direct Entry with Guidebookfrom $25The ride to the top runs on timed tickets, and each day’s allocation goes early.
- 02Small-Group Guided Tour inside US Capitol & Library of Congressfrom $67Tours inside the Capitol run on reserved time slots, and the popular days fill well ahead.
- 03Lincoln Assassination with Ford’s Theatre & Petersen House Entryfrom $62Ford’s Theatre admits visitors on timed tickets and is still a working theatre, so performance days cut the visiting hours.
- 04The DC Cherry Blossom Bus Tour with Tidal Basin Guided Walkfrom $59Peak bloom on the Tidal Basin lasts a few days in late March or early April, and the date moves every year.
When the Mall hits ninety and the gravel throws the heat back up.
DC summers are hot and humid, and there is little shade between the memorials. Do the open-air stretch early or after dark, and spend the middle of the day indoors: the Smithsonian museums are free and air-conditioned, and a river cruise catches whatever breeze there is.
Georgetown, Arlington, Old Town, Mount Vernon: the days that leave the Mall behind.
Georgetown
Old Town Alexandria
AnnapolisWhat a guided day in Washington actually costs.
Walking the Mall is free. Here is what the guided versions run to, grouped by price, with the most popular in each.
Ghost walks, the Arlington tram, Washington Monument tickets and the hop-on trolleys.
Memorials by night, the Capitol with a guide, Mount Vernon and Old Town day trips.
Private guides, an SUV after dark and the two-museum Smithsonian days.
By place: the city and across the river
By kind of day: memorial, museum, river or ghost
Fresh off the Mall: our latest DC reviews.
More new reviews →
White House at Night: Scandals & Murder Adults Only Tour
Read our review →
Washington Monument Ticket & National Mall Memorials Tour
Read our review →
Thomas Jefferson Monticello Small Group Day Tour from DC
Read our review →
