Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
www.usbg.gov
; 100 Maryland Ave SW; 10am-5pm; ; Federal Center SW)
This in-
congruous addition to the Hill is hot, sticky and green, with more than 4000 different
plant species on display.
DON'T MISS
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION MUSEUMS
Massive in size and ambition, the 19
Smithsonian museums
( 202-633-1000;
www.si.edu
; 10am to 5:30pm)
, galleries and zoo - all admission free - com-
prise the world's largest museum and research complex. You could spend weeks
wandering endless corridors taking in the great treasures, artifacts and ephemera
from America and beyond. Massive dinosaur skeletons, lunar modules and art-
works from every corner of the globe are all part of the Smithsonian largesse.
Thanks go to the curious Englishman James Smithson, who never visited the USA
but willed the fledgling nation $500,000 to found an 'establishment for the in-
crease and diffusion of knowledge' in 1826.
The Smithsonian's latest work-in-progress is the $500-million
National Museum
Constitution Ave & 14th St NW)
, scheduled to open in 2015. Until then, you can peruse its
temporary galleries on the 2nd floor of the National Museum of American History
(
Click here
).
Most museums are open daily (except Christmas Day). Some have extended
hours in summer. Be prepared for lines and bag checks.
Tidal Basin
It's magnificent to stroll around this constructed inlet and watch the monument lights
wink across the Potomac. The blooms here are loveliest during the Cherry Blossom
Festival, the city's annual spring rejuvenation, when the basin bursts into a pink-and-
white floral collage. The original trees were a gift from the city of Tokyo, and planted in
1912.
Jefferson Memorial
MONUMENT
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(900 Ohio Dr SW)
The domed memorial is etched with the Founding Father's most
famous writings - although historians criticize some of the textual alterations (edited, al-
