Start your tour at the west side of the United States Capitol and head west along the north side of the Mall. Head to the East Building of the National Gallery of Art at Fourth Street between Madison Drive and Constitution Avenue, NW. Twentieth and twenty-first century art is shown in this I.M. Pei-designed building. Next up is the West Building of the National Gallery of Art at Constitution Avenue between Third Street and Seventh Street, NW, which features European and American art from the thirteenth to twentieth centuries. The National Museum of Natural History at Constitution Avenue and Tenth Street, NW displays exhibits pertaining to nature, paleontology and anthropology. It's also the home of the legendary Hope Diamond. The National Museum of American History at Fourteenth Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, which completed a major renovation in 2008, showcases the original Star-Spangled Banner, dresses of America's First Ladies, Archie Bunker's chair and Mr.Rogers' sweater.
Continue walking westward to the Washington Monument--the lofty obelisk at 900 Ohio Drive, SW. The views are worth the wait to get in. Go on past the Reflecting Pool, where hippies swam naked during protests of the Vietnam War and make your way to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a V-shaped black wall bearing the names of all American casualties. Few memorials in the country provoke such strong and raw emotions. From here go up to the Lincoln Memorial at the head of the Reflecting Pool--the western end of the Mall. Here a massive statue of the Sixteenth President sits, as if in contemplation of the nation. On the steps here Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
Move on to the southeast of the Lincoln Memorial to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, which consists of statues of soldiers on patrol. Keep going to the southeast to the oblong Tidal Basin, which dominates much of the southern side of the Mall. It's here you'll find the famous Japanese cherry trees which bloom briefly, yet spectacularly during the spring. Next up is the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. A rather sprawling site, it includes a visitor's center and four sections, each representing one of Roosevelt's terms as President. Beyond this is the domed Jefferson Memorial, located on the south bank of the Tidal Basin. It includes a statue of Thomas Jefferson and walls carved with his words.
Proceed to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing at Fourteenth Street, SW, between Maine Avenue and Independence Avenue. While this is not a museum or memorial, you can go in and get a tour and see how money is made. From here go to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at 1000 Raoul Wallenburg Place, SW, which tries to explain and put a human face onto the most notorious atrocity of the twentieth century. Continue to the Freer Gallery of Art at Jefferson Drive and Twelfth Street, SW, which showcases Asian and American art, and the underground Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at 1050 Independence Avenue, SW, which focuses strictly on Asian works. The red sandstone Smithsonian Castle at 1000 Jefferson Drive, SW is what most people picture when they hear the name "Smithsonian Institution," but now it really just houses a visitor's center. The National Museum of African Art at 950 Independence Avenue, SW is, like the Sackler, mostly underground, and showcases ancient and contemporary African works.
View special exhibits at the Arts and Industries Building at 900 Jefferson Drive, SW. The Hirshorn Museum at Independence Avenue and Seventh Street, SW displays contemporary art. The National Air and Space Museum at 601 Independence Avenue, SW is one of the most popular museums in Washington. Its exhibits include Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" and the Wright brothers' 1903 aircraft. Finish at the National Museum of the American Indian at Fourth Street and Independence Avenue, SW, which has displays focusing on Native Americans in the local Chesapeake Bay region, as well as all around the United States.
