Smithsonian museums are free with no ticket, daily 10 am to 5:30 pm, closed only on December 25. Four places need a free pass booked online: Air and Space, the African American History and Culture museum, the National Zoo and, outside the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress. The Holocaust Museum also uses timed tickets for its main exhibition, with a $1 online fee. The National Gallery of Art and the National Archives take walk-ins. Federal shutdowns close nearly all of them at once, so check before you fly.
Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm. Arrive at least 45 minutes before closing
Everyone
No ticket needed to walk in. A free general admission ticket can be reserved online. The $1 timed-entry ticket only buys a shorter line, and is not required.
Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm, no entry after 5:15 pm. Closed December 25. Entry slots hourly from 10 am to 4 pm
Everyone. Every visitor needs a pass, babies included
Free timed-entry passes required. Each month's passes are released at noon ET on the first of the month, two months ahead (December passes on October 1). Up to 9 per person. Extra passes for sold-out days are added later, so recheck the booking page.
Tuesday to Sunday 10 am to 5:30 pm, Monday 12 to 5:30 pm (10 am on federal holidays). Closed December 25
Everyone. Every visitor needs a pass, regardless of age
Free timed-entry passes required. Advance passes are released 30 days ahead on a rolling basis. Same-day passes are released online only, by 8:15 am ET each day. Up to 9 per person.
Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm, last entry to the Permanent Exhibition 4:30 pm. Closed Yom Kippur and December 25. The current Permanent Exhibition closes for rebuilding from January 2027
Everyone. The museum recommends the Permanent Exhibition for ages 11 and up
Admission is free. Timed tickets are needed only for the Permanent Exhibition, and tickets reserved online carry a $1 Etix fee each. A limited batch of same-day tickets goes online at 7 am ET. Daniel's Story and special exhibitions need no ticket.
Daily 7:30 am to 4 pm. Closed Thanksgiving, December 25 and January 1
Everyone
Not needed. Airport-style security at the door.
Museums with a free day or free hours1
National Museum of Women in the Arts free days
Downtown
Free on certain daysBooking recommendedIndoor
A museum of art by women from the 16th century to now, including Frida Kahlo and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, in a former Masonic temple that reopened after a full renovation in 2023.
Free when
Free on the first Sunday and the second Wednesday of every month, 10 am to 5 pm, last entry 4:30 pm. Paid on other days
Free for whom
Everyone on those two days
Reservation
Reserve a free ticket online to guarantee a spot, walk-ups only if space allows.
Time needed
1h to 1h30
How to get there
Metro Red/Blue/Orange/Silver to Metro Center, 13th St exit, 3 minutes on foot. 1250 New York Ave NW
Worth it? Depends.A good museum, but with so much free art in this city it only makes sense if your dates line up. If they do, the mezzanine view of the marble hall is worth the stop.
Always freeBooking recommendedIndoorGood with kids
The original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights in a dim rotunda, a 1297 Magna Carta, and a newer exhibit called The American Story.
Free when
Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm. Arrive at least 45 minutes before closing
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
No ticket needed to walk in. A free general admission ticket can be reserved online. The $1 timed-entry ticket only buys a shorter line, and is not required.
Time needed
1h
How to get there
Metro Green/Yellow to Archives-Navy Memorial, across the street. Entrance on Constitution Ave NW at 7th St
Worth it? Yes.The documents are faded and the line at the cases moves slowly, but standing in front of the real ones is the point. Without a timed ticket the wait can pass an hour from March to May, so come at 10 am or after 4 pm.
Two buildings and a sculpture garden. The West Building has the only Leonardo painting in the Americas, Vermeer, Rembrandt and the Impressionists. The East Building has Calder, Rothko and Pollock.
Free when
Daily 10 am to 5 pm
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed. Admission is always free
Time needed
2 to 3h
How to get there
Metro Green/Yellow to Archives-Navy Memorial, 5 minutes on foot. Entrances at 6th St and Constitution Ave NW and on the Mall side
Worth it? Yes.Not a Smithsonian and often quieter than its neighbors. If you have one hour, do the West Building main floor, then take the underground moving walkway to the East Building roof terrace for the giant blue rooster.
The Hope Diamond, a T. rex posed over a Triceratops in the fossil hall, an African elephant in the rotunda and an ocean hall with a full-size right whale model.
Free when
Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm. Closed December 25
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed, no passes or tickets
Time needed
2h
How to get there
Metro Blue/Orange/Silver to Smithsonian or Federal Triangle, 5 minutes on foot. Entrances on the Mall and on Constitution Ave at 10th St NW
Worth it? Yes.The busiest museum on the Mall, and the Constitution Ave entrance usually has the shorter security line. Fossil hall first, gems second. Start upstairs if the ground floor is packed.
The flag that inspired the national anthem, Dorothy's ruby slippers, Julia Child's kitchen, the Greensboro lunch counter and a hall of first ladies' gowns.
Free when
Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm. Closed December 25
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed, no passes
Time needed
2h
How to get there
Metro Blue/Orange/Silver to Federal Triangle or Smithsonian, 5 minutes on foot. 1300 Constitution Ave NW
Worth it? Yes.Uneven. Some floors feel like a storage attic with labels, but the Star-Spangled Banner room on the second floor is worth the visit on its own. It has visitor lockers, handy if you are carrying a day bag.
The 1903 Wright Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 command module and a touchable moon rock, in a building that has been rebuilt gallery by gallery since 2018.
Free when
Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm, no entry after 5:15 pm. Closed December 25. Entry slots hourly from 10 am to 4 pm
Free for whom
Everyone. Every visitor needs a pass, babies included
Reservation
Free timed-entry passes required. Each month's passes are released at noon ET on the first of the month, two months ahead (December passes on October 1). Up to 9 per person. Extra passes for sold-out days are added later, so recheck the booking page.
Time needed
2 to 3h
How to get there
Metro to L'Enfant Plaza (Blue/Orange/Silver/Green/Yellow), 5 minutes on foot. The only public entrance is on the north side, Jefferson Drive SW
Worth it? Yes.Book the day passes are released for weekends and holidays. You can enter any time after the hour on your pass, and arriving ten past avoids the line. Two galleries are still closed (At Home in Space opens October 30, Modern Military Aviation November 11) and the planetarium is shut for now.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
National Mall
Always freeBooking requiredIndoorGood with kids
A bronze-clad building that starts three floors underground with the slave trade and climbs through segregation and civil rights to music, sport and culture on the upper levels.
Free when
Tuesday to Sunday 10 am to 5:30 pm, Monday 12 to 5:30 pm (10 am on federal holidays). Closed December 25
Free for whom
Everyone. Every visitor needs a pass, regardless of age
Reservation
Free timed-entry passes required. Advance passes are released 30 days ahead on a rolling basis. Same-day passes are released online only, by 8:15 am ET each day. Up to 9 per person.
Time needed
3 to 4h
How to get there
Metro Blue/Orange/Silver to Smithsonian or Federal Triangle, 7 minutes on foot. 1400 Constitution Ave NW
Worth it? Yes.The hardest free ticket in town and the museum most worth planning around. Start at the bottom with the history galleries while you are fresh, they take two hours alone. If advance passes are gone, be on the site at 8:10 am and refresh.
Two Smithsonian museums sharing the old Patent Office building: the full set of presidential portraits on one side, American painting and folk art on the other, with a glass-roofed courtyard between them.
Free when
Daily 11:30 am to 7 pm. Closed December 25
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed, no tickets
Time needed
1h30 to 2h
How to get there
Metro Red/Green/Yellow to Gallery Place-Chinatown, 9th St exit, across the street. 8th and G Streets NW
Worth it? Yes.The only big museum open after the Mall shuts at 5:30, so save it for last. The Kogod Courtyard has free wifi and you can bring your own food. Some American Art galleries (18th to 20th century) have been closed for a rehang through fall 2026, so check what is open.
The Freer and Sackler galleries: Japanese screens, Chinese bronzes and jades, Islamic manuscripts, and Whistler's Peacock Room, a blue and gold London dining room moved here whole.
Free when
Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm. Closed December 25
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed, no passes
Time needed
1h
How to get there
Metro Blue/Orange/Silver to Smithsonian (Mall exit), 2 minutes on foot. Jefferson Drive at 12th St SW
Worth it? Yes.The calmest museum on the Mall. Go straight to the Peacock Room, then sit in the Freer courtyard. Good antidote after an hour in the Natural History crowds across the lawn.
A three-floor permanent exhibition that follows the Holocaust chronologically, plus special exhibitions and Daniel's Story, a version written for younger visitors.
Free when
Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm, last entry to the Permanent Exhibition 4:30 pm. Closed Yom Kippur and December 25. The current Permanent Exhibition closes for rebuilding from January 2027
Free for whom
Everyone. The museum recommends the Permanent Exhibition for ages 11 and up
Reservation
Admission is free. Timed tickets are needed only for the Permanent Exhibition, and tickets reserved online carry a $1 Etix fee each. A limited batch of same-day tickets goes online at 7 am ET. Daniel's Story and special exhibitions need no ticket.
Time needed
2 to 3h
How to get there
Metro Blue/Orange/Silver to Smithsonian (Independence Ave exit), 5 minutes on foot. Entrance on 14th St SW
Worth it? Yes.Heavy and very well done. Give it a morning and do not schedule anything demanding after. If you refuse to pay the $1 booking fee you can still see everything outside the Permanent Exhibition for nothing.
A concrete drum of modern and contemporary art, with circular galleries you walk in a loop. The sunken sculpture garden across Jefferson Drive has been closed for a redesign and reopens October 31, 2026.
Free when
Tuesday to Sunday 10 am to 5:30 pm, Monday 12 to 5:30 pm. Closed December 25
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed, no passes
Time needed
1h
How to get there
Metro to L'Enfant Plaza (Blue/Orange/Silver/Green/Yellow), 5 minutes on foot. Independence Ave at 7th St SW
Worth it? Depends.Depends entirely on what is showing. One ring of galleries takes 20 minutes, so it is an easy stop next to Air and Space. Until October 31 the garden is fenced off and you only get the plaza sculptures.
A curving sandstone building next to the Capitol with galleries on treaties between tribal nations and the United States, and the National Native American Veterans Memorial outside.
Free when
Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm. Closed December 25
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed, no passes
Time needed
1h
How to get there
Metro to L'Enfant Plaza or Federal Center SW (Blue/Orange/Silver), 8 minutes on foot. 4th St and Independence Ave SW
Worth it? Depends.The building is better than the displays, which are text-heavy and thin on objects. The Nation to Nation treaty gallery is the one to see. Rarely crowded, so it works as a fallback when you have no Air and Space pass.
Mail planes hanging in the atrium, a walk-in railway mail car, a stagecoach and one of the largest stamp collections on display anywhere.
Free when
Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm. Closed December 25
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed, no passes
Time needed
1h
How to get there
Metro Red to Union Station, the museum is next door at 2 Massachusetts Ave NE
Worth it? Depends.Better than it sounds and almost empty. Good with children under ten, who can sort mail and climb in a truck cab. Use it if you have an hour to kill before a train, not as a destination.
A National Park Service exhibit two blocks from the White House, with a touchscreen tour of the rooms, about 90 objects from the collection and a 14-minute film.
Free when
Daily 7:30 am to 4 pm. Closed Thanksgiving, December 25 and January 1
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed. Airport-style security at the door.
Time needed
30 min
How to get there
Metro Blue/Orange/Silver to Federal Triangle or Metro Center (also Red), 5 minutes on foot. 1450 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Worth it? You can skip it.This is not the White House and you do not get inside the White House from here. It is a small exhibit with a gift shop. Fine for a rainy half hour, otherwise look at the real building through the fence from Lafayette Square and move on.
If you spend on one thing in Washington DC, make it this.
George Washington's Mount Vernon
Washington's own house and farm on the Potomac, 15 miles south of the city, with the mansion rooms, the tomb and the quarters of the people he enslaved. It is privately run, so it charges admission and stays open during federal shutdowns. Nothing free in the city gives you a preserved 18th-century plantation, and it fills a full day.
Everything above is free. This is the only paid pick on the page, chosen because no free option replaces it.
