Unique Things To Do In Washington D.C.

An Overview of Washington D.C.

Washington DC is an extrodinary city in the United States, home to the nation’s capital, the meeting place for the US Senate and House of Representatives and the president’s White House. As a city, Washington DC is notoriously diverse, operating as a federal hub, an international metropolis, a major tourism destination and an institute for American history. Thanks to it’s proximity to the nation’s politics, it’s great food scene and wonderful number of museums and outdoor venues, there are many unique things to do in Washington DC.

Unique Things To Do In Washington D.C.

Memorial Parks

Located in the heart of Washington D.C. on the banks of the Potomac River, some of the nations most vital and recognizable monuments reside within walking distance of one another. Ranging from the iconic Washington Monument to the President’s White House to the famed Lincoln Memorial, this is one of the most historically potent areas in the world. The Memorial Parks have some of the most unique things to do in Washington D.C. Visitors may enjoy views of the White House from Lafayette Square, the gorgeous cherry blossom blooms around the Reflecting Pool and the somber designs of war memorials, including the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is a proud monument dedicated to America’s most famous civil rights leader. The stone monument located near the shores of the Tidal Basin pay tribute to the slain orator’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

FDR Memorial

Located on the banks of the Tidal Basin, this is a quiet and shady memorial showcasing the riveting political reformist career of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The 32nd president of the United States who oversaw the beginning of America’s involvement during one of the most defining conflicts in human history, has numerous statues, quotes and plaques dedicated to his influence.

George Mason Memorial

This is a charming memorial dedicated to one of the United State’s founding fathers, who’s best known for his proposal of a bill of rights at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The statue can be found lounging in front of a quiet, round pool.

Woodrow Wilson Plaza

The Woodrow Wilson Plaza is a large, cobblestone courtyard ringed by neoclassical architecture. The urban open space is named for the American President who oversaw the conclusion of WWI.

Lost and Found

Lost and Found is a funky, stylized bar decorated with vinyl records and brick seating areas. Visitors can enjoy craft beers and local whiskeys.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Found on the shores of the Tidal Basin nestled amongst cherry-blossom trees, this is a large, stately memorial building dedicated to the author of the Declaration of Independence. Much of the memorial’s interior showcases quotes from Jefferson, intended to cement his ideology and philosophy, generally termed as Jeffersonian Democracy, which was centered around religious freedoms, individual liberties, state rights and American Republicanism. Jefferson is widely credited as being one of the most influential political philosophers and practitioners of his era.

Soapstone Valley Trail

This is a splendid and quiet hike through the woods right in the middle of Washington, D.C. The extended trail follows a series of stone walkways and a little stream. The trail eventually leads to the much larger and more popular Rock Creek Park.

Bread Furst

This is a truly amazing bread bakery which makes astonishingly good food. The bakery offers gourmet bread, pastry options, morning coffees and light café food options. The small shop is open from 8 AM to 6 PM, but there are usually lines of customers, especially in the morning.

Zero Mileston

This is an interesting and unassuming small marker indicating the spot where all roads in the United states were supposed to stem from. However, the United States interstate system was developed differently, and only the roads within Washington D.C. were ever measured from it.

Culture House D.C. (Formerly Blind Whino)

The Culture House D.C., formerly known as The Blind Whino is a bizarre, neon-colored psychedelic-patterned church. The building now serves as a popular community art center and interesting exhibition site.

Sergeant Stubby

Possibly one of the most famous canines in America, Sergeant Stubby can now by found within the Price of Freedom exhibit in the National Museum of American History. Sergeant Stubby was the most decorated war dog in WWI, where he actively served on the front lines by warning troops of impending gas attacks. Stubby, like all US military-ranked dogs, held one rank over his handlers to prevent abuse or neglect.

Uncle Beazley the Triceratops

In 1993, Oliver Butterworth published “The Enormous Egg,” an amusing children’s novel where an unassuming chicken belonging to the Walter Twitchell family lays the largest chicken-egg in history. The egg eventually hatches, revealing a quirk of nature has spawned a baby triceratops, later named Uncle Beazley. The story gained considerable popularity, and Washington D.C. now has a life-sized fiberglass dinosaur statue near Lemur Island in the National Zoological Park.

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is one of the most potent and well-organized centers of political learning on Earth and a central part of America’s history. Officially, the Library of Congress is the primary research library which officially serves the United States Congress. However, it also serves as the de facto national library of the United States, so the library is freely open to the public with timed-entry passes. Reservation passes can be booked online.

Georgetown

Georgetown is a smaller district neighborhood in DC known as a potent cultural center with a lot of excellent food. The area is also known for its federalist architecture, historic brick houses, quaint cobblestone roads and grandiose estates, dating back centuries.

George Washington’s Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon was George Washington’s famous estate and passion project, which he retired to after his career as America’s first president. Mount Vernon now serves as a vital American landmark, located on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Washington D.C. is home to a large number of fantastic museums, some of the most prominent belonging to the Smithsonian Institution. The various museums of the Smithsonian Institute offer some of the most unique things to do in Washington D.C. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is D.C.’s free and expansive museum on Earth’s history regarding nature and humanity’s relationship with the world.

The International Spy Museum

This is a riveting museum dedicated to the popular culture around spies and the actual (often embarrassing) facts about government agencies such as the CIA and MI6.

DC ARTECHOUSE

The DC ARTECHOUSE is an immersive light and full-sensory experience taking visitors on full journeys through a cyberpunk fantasy land. The art and technology space includes rotating immersion installations and a cocktail bar.

Luray Caverns of Shenandoah Mountains

Likely one of the most interesting and stunning day trips from Washington D.C., the Luray Caverns are a series of immense natural caverns wandering underground through 64 acres of waterfalls, water pools and distinct cave formations. The fantastic views of the Shenandoah Mountains are on the way, giving further beauty and activities to the trip.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

This museum is a harrowing, poignant display with photos, films and artifacts preserved from Holocaust victims and survivors. The museum serves as an official memorial to the documentation, study and interpretation of Holocaust history.

United States Botanical Garden

The United State Botanical Garden, found near the Capitol Building, is a beautiful series of flora features in a large garden space. The conservatory includes rare plants, unique landscaped areas and a butterfly garden.

The National Arboretum

The US National Arboretum is a stunning outdoor garden space with walking trails, grassy fields, and low flowers. The most iconic aspect of the Arboretum are the standing pillars found there, known as The National Capitol Columns. The columns were originally meant to be part of the Capitol Building, but a design oversite made them unable to support the iron dome of the Capitol Building. The pillars were eventually installed on a natural knoll in the Ellipse Meadow.

Smithsonian National Museum of Air and Space

The Smithsonian National Museum of Air and Space is a fantastic free entry museum showcasing the US history of aviation and space exploration. The museum is filled with one of the world’s most significant collections of aircrafts, spacecrafts, missiles, rockets and aviation-related artifacts.

Hirshhorn Museum

The Hirshhorn Museum is Washington D.C.’s primary contemporary art museum, complete with a breathtaking gallery. Many of the museum’s rotating interior displays are fully immersive, providing visitors unique and surreal experiences.

National Museum of the American Indian

This museum is devoted entirely to the preservation and education regarding the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The museum contains interactive displays, artifacts regarding Native American history and compelling cultural components.

Renwick Gallery

Located just a few steps away from the White House, the Renwick Gallery is a specialized branch of the American Museum of Art. The gallery is home to many contemporary craft and decorative art pieces with many surreal, walkthrough room-displays.

The National Geographic Museum

This museum showcases a selection of exhibitions all year round, each dedicated to conservationists, photographers, and scientists.

Smithsonian Castle (Smithsonian Institution Building)

The bright-red brick-façade of the Smithsonian Castle shows a large, Norman Revival style architectural marvel with some of the very best exhibits from the other Smithsonian Museums. The venue hosts the Smithsonian Institution’s administrative offices and information center.

National Bonsai Museum

Though the National Bonsai Museum isn’t often crowded, it remains a unique feature of Washington D.C. The museum contains numerous tiny bonsais, including a tree which survived the bombing of Hiroshima. Other trees within are masterpieces of horticulture art with a special focus on the Chinese penjing art and the Japanese bonsai art.

Space Window (National Cathedral in Washington D.C.)

The National Cathedral of Washington D.C. has an extremely unique series of stained-glass windows showing space-like abstract images. One of these windows contains a single piece of the moon embedded within it.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

The Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens are a series of splendid semi-aquatic gardens built by a one-armed Civil War Veteran. The gardens are home to lily pads, reeds and other vibrant aquatic plant life across 700 acres inside Anacostia Park

Lincoln Book Tower (Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership)

While Abraham Lincoln rightfully has many monuments dedicated to his career and political accomplishments, there is an especially odd monument dedicated to him. Located inside Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership, the Lincoln Book Tower is a three-story tower of stacked books all about Abraham Lincoln. There are roughly 6,800 books making up the tower.

Foundry Branch Trolley Trestle Ruins

These trestle ruins are a unique and beautifully decayed heritage preservation site in Washington D.C. The derelict set of train tracks are found rusted and covered in ivy. The tracks are some of the last remaining pieces of the old streetcar system that once helped residents travel around the city, long before the establishment of the D.C. Metro system.

Great Falls National Park

Located somewhat outside of Washington D.C., Great Falls Park is an spectacular part of the Potomac River with rushing, white-waters, large picnic spaces, numerous hiking trails and large forests.

Mitsitam Native Foods Café

Mitsitam is an especially unique gourmet café found in the National Museum of the American Indian. The café serves traditional Native American dishes using indigenous seasonal ingredients.

Glenwood Cemetery Chainsaw Sculptures 

Glenwood Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Washington D.C. which hired chainsaw artist Dayton Scroggins to transform decaying trees into sculptures inspired by the Bible’s Book of Revelation. The statues include an angel upon a column, a second angel grasping chains binding a dragon, a massive arm in chainmail clutching a third dragon and a sabretooth tiger snarling at another draconian serpent.

Cher Ami (National Museum of American History)

Now located inside the National Museum of American History, Cher Ami was a registered Black Check cock male homing pigeon donated by Britain to the United States. Cher Ami was trained by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in France during WWI to deliver vital messages. The pigeon successfully evaded guns, snipers and artillery fire, saving over 100 lives during his career.

Read more about unique things to do in Washington D.C. and seeing the world by visiting Leftfade Trails Blog.

Affiliate Disclosure: Leftfade Trails contains affiliate links, so using services or products through these links supports the website, at no extra cost to the user. All links are to tested services and products designed to aid travelers on their journeys. Some links specifically connect to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate this website earns from qualifying purchases.