Wanderlust World Wanderlust World If you haven't been to Washington, D.C., in years, you may have missed the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which opened in 1997. This memorial is much more interesting than the Lincoln Memorial (which is little more than climbing crowded steps to a statue, though you also get to read his words, carved into stone). The FDR Memorial has beautiful fountains and several statues, including the first First Lady to be immortalized at a presidential monument.
The Washington Monument requires free tickets to ride to the top and get a great view of D.C. from the observation deck. Reserve tickets in advance since same-day tickets are often gone early in the day.
Go to Arlington National Cemetery to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown. You can spend the day there, looking for the graves of JFK, his wife and brothers, President Taft and some Supreme Court Justices. There are also memorials to the Civil War dead, Women in Military and the astronauts in the Challenger disaster.
One of the most important sights to see is the White House. There are free self-guided tours; request through your member of Congress up to six months in advance. There are also garden tours; you can get free tickets on the day of the tour. If you can't get a tour, you can join the crowds who walk around the White House, trying to catch a glimpse of the president, or his kids or dogs.