The 20 best museums in Washington, D.C. to visit year-round

The crown jewel of the National Mall, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has eight floors of fascinating historical exhibits and is a must-see. Here, you’ll find tributes to historical figures, moments and events that have shaped America’s past and present day.

You’d actually need a number of days to fully explore everything here, but you can still get a mighty lot done in a few hours (with a stop at the lovely Sweet Home Café for lunch).

Time Out tip: Unlike other Smithsonians, the National Museum of African American History and Culture requires free, timed entry passes to visit. Passes open at 8am, 30 days in advance, and often go fast, especially for weekends.

My personal favorite of the Smithsonians, the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum take up two sides of the same interconnected building.

Wandering through the impeccably curated Portrait Gallery is an instant soothing mechanism for me; the easy-to-navigate layout takes visitors on a winding road through key periods of American history. In the Portrait Gallery, be sure to spend extra time in the new acquisition hallway, which is where Amy Sherrold’s iconic portrait of Michelle Obama was first displayed, and the Hall of Presidents, which contains the only complete collection of portraits of U.S. president, such as Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of Barack Obama and Gilbert Stuart’s seminal Lansdowne portrait of George Washington.

The American Art Museum houses prominent works by American artists, including Edward Hopper and Georgia O’Keefe, plus Andy Warhol’s recognizable Marilyn Monroe portrait.

End your visit by sitting for a spell in one of my favorite spots in the entire city—perhaps with a coffee or a glass of wine from the cafe’s wine tap—the gorgeous Kogod Courtyard, an open-air courtyard with fountains and a geometric ceiling that is beautiful on both rainy and sunny days. This is the perfect place to rest your feet, read a book or even do some remote laptop work thanks to the museums’ free Wi-Fi.

Time Out tip: Do not even think about driving here. The Portrait Gallery is located right next to the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro station, one of the city’s commuting hubs that includes access to the Red, Green and Yellow lines plus transfers to the Blue and Silver lines.

Comprising two separate buildings connected by a trippy underground moving walkway, the National Gallery of Art is a world-class museum with more than 3,000 artworks from around the globe. Divided into two discrete wings, both are equally worth your time.

The West Building highlights European and American art from the 13th to the early 20th centuries, as well as Spanish, Dutch, Flemish, French and German works from the 17th century. Don’t miss Leonardo da Vinci’s almond-eyed portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci, the artist’s only work in the Western Hemisphere.

Recently reopened after a massive renovation, the East Building represents more current work, including a skylit atrium that houses a 32-foot-long still mobile by Alexander Calder. Don’t forget to stroll through the Sculpture Garden, a six-acre outdoor garden filled with works that include a Louise Bourgeois 10-foot bronze spider and a pyramid by Sol LeWitt.

Time Out tip: Getting through both wings in one outing is an all-day affair. When I visit, I typically pick one half to tackle and then come back another day to visit the other. Additionally, the underground walkway between wings has an LED tunnel that’s a big hit with kids (and Instagram).

The National Museum of Natural History is the museum of any child’s dreams, filled with gems, dinosaurs, animals and much more. The museum includes numerous exhibits that are an incredible trove of information about the natural world, like the Hall of Mammals and the Butterfly Pavilion, which is filled with live butterfly species and tropical plants.

My favorite bits of the museum include the Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals, which includes the Hope Diamond, the largest diamond in the world that inspired Rose’s Heart of the Ocean necklace in Titanic, plus all sorts of other dazzling precious and semiprecious stones. The recently renovated Hall of Fossils is also a must-see and features dinosaur fossils posed in a way that makes you think they might actually be alive and ready to pounce on the guests below.

Time Out tip: While museum entry is free, the Butterfly Pavilion isn’t (except Tuesdays). Tickets are only available on-site, so get there early—tickets go fast, and nothing’s worse than watching butterflies land on everyone but you.

The Renwick’s informal motto might be “go big or go home.” The museum is popular for its interactive exhibits and large-scale modern art pieces. Perhaps best known for its blockbuster, much-Instagrammed works, including Alicia Eggert’s Barbie-pink This Present Moment and Janet Echelman’s massive light and fiber installation 1.8 Renwick, this Smithsonian museum celebrates craft and design in the digital age.

Other notable exhibits have included the quirky “Murder Is Her Hobby,” a collection of gruesome doll houses used to help detectives solve crime scenes, and “Subversive, Skilled, Sublime,” an examination of how women artists have used humble materials like felt, cotton and wool to tell personal stories.

Time Out tip: The Renwick is one of the smaller museums, making it easy to wander through in a single morning, perfect if you’re short on time. If you’re looking to go deeper, drop in for a free walk-in tour from non to 1pm, Monday through Saturday.

Air and Space tops visitors’ to-do list, year in, year out. In the central Milestones of Flight Hall, towering U.S. Pershing-II and Soviet SS-20 nuclear missiles stand next to the popular moon rock station, where visitors can see a lunar sample acquired on the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. The 1903 Wright Flyer—the first piloted craft to maintain controlled, sustained flight (if only for a few seconds)—and Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis are both suspended here. Carve out three to four hours and don’t miss the test model of the Hubble Space Telescope, the finalized version of which is currently orbiting in space, taking snapshots of the universe.

Time Out tip: The National Air and Space Museum is one of the city’s most popular attractions, so timed-entry tickets are a must; be sure to book ahead. For a less hectic visit, skip the morning rush and go after noon when crowds thin out. Or head to the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia (accessible through public transit). A museum offshoot, the center has two massive hangars filled with aviation icons, and there are far fewer crowds with no timed entry required.

This spectacular, aggressively modern cylindrical building enlivens the predominantly neoclassical architecture lining the Mall. The structure, which was completed in 1974, was meant to house self-made Wall Street millionaire Joseph Hirshhorn’s collection of 20th-century paintings and sculptures.

The majesty of the inside perfectly matches the outside here. The museum presents international contemporary and modern art in a range of media, including works on paper, painting, installation, photography, sculpture, digital and video art. The museum has housed some of the most-hyped visiting exhibitions on earth, from Ai Weiwei’s “Trace” to Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrors.” The latest buzzy exhibit is “Basquiat x Banksy,” the first-ever side-by-side display of works by Banksy and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Time Out tip: The Hirshhorn has one of the better cafes among the Smithsonian museums; the cafe is an outpost of beloved local coffee and gelato spot Dolcezza. There’s nothing like beating the D.C. heat with a trip through the heavily air-conditioned museum and capping it off with a cone of black and white cookie gelato from the kiosk outside.

The National Museum of Asian Art is an incredibly thoughtfully put together group of exhibits to help visitors learn about Asian history in the U.S. and beyond. From Chinese and Japanese contemporary art to artifacts from Ancient Egypt, this museum is a central hub for the Asian community and more in D.C. You can book self-guided visits, virtual tours or on-site tours, and there are kid-friendly days and tours too.

Time Out tip: Don’t miss the Enid A. Haupt Garden just outside the galleries, a lush, four-acre escape with brick paths, bubbling fountains and a striking parterre. Designed as a modern take on Victorian gardens, it’s the perfect spot to wind down after an art-filled visit, especially on a sunny day. The Haupt Garden also connects to several museums—perfect for a little outdoor museum-hopping.

Dedicated to America’s colonized and historically abused Indigenous people, the National Museum of the American Indian joined the Mall in 2004, bringing with it significant Native American artifacts and a renowned cafeteria. (The Mitsitam Native Foods Café offers a stunning collection of dishes inspired by Indigenous cuisines.)

The building is as much a part of the message as the exhibits. The details are extraordinary: dramatic, Kasota limestone-clad undulating walls resemble a wind-carved mesa. The museum’s main entrance plaza plots the star configurations on November 28, 1989, when federal legislation was introduced to create the museum. The museum is also curated with art in various mediums from a diverse assortment of Indigenous American nations. Artwork includes film, photography, pottery, textiles, woodworking and much more.

Time Out tip: The Mitsitam Native Foods Café is a gem: delicious food, gorgeous space and arguably one of the best low-key remote work spots in the city after a museum visit.

Whether you're a fan of period dramas or not, the majesty of the Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens is sure to inspire awe. American socialite and businesswoman Marjorie Merriweather Post renovated this house and used it as her private estate, before it converted into a museum after her death. 

The opulently-decorated estate's exhibitions focus on the decorative arts; Merriweather Post particularly loved to collect French and Russian art, and Hillwood is renowned especially for its collection of Imperial Russsian art pieces, which includes two Fabergé eggs. The museum also hosts a number of rotating, special exhibitions that are always well-curated and interesting. I've seen several standout exhibitions here, including a collection of Princess Grace of Monaco's clothes and mementos designed for her by Christian Dior, and a display of Merriweather Post's personal jewelry and gems (she was one of the 20th century's most prolific jewelry collectors).

Another reason to go? Each special exhibit is hosted in the estate's log Dacha, a small building modeled after Russian country cottages, which has embroidery-like window and door trim and looks like a bit like a gingerbread house. 

Thirteen acres of beautifully cultivated gardens sweeten the deal at Hillwood; two of my favorites are the peaceful (though non-traditional) Japanese garden with maple and white pine, and the refined French parterre garden, which will have you tempted to act out your favorite Bridgeron monologues.

Time Out tip: Head to the Lunar Lawn, a crescent shaped grass expanse Post used to host parties, for a view of the Washington Monument that rivals the one available from the White House. All the better if you visit during spring or summer, which is an especially lovely time to take advantage of the fact that visitors to Hillwood are allowed to picnic in most parts of the estate.

This museum’s entrance pavilion lies along the edge of the amazing Enid A. Haupt Garden, and directly across from its architectural twin, the Sackler (part of the National Museum of Asian Art). The museum opened in 1987, and its primary focus is ancient and contemporary work from sub-Saharan Africa. The museum draws visitors into different aspects of African art and culture. The rich ceremonial garb and textiles, including blankets made in Mali and embroidered hunters’ shirts, are a must-see. 

Time Out tip: This museum hosts some of the city’s best community events, including late-night summer programming like Solstice Saturday and the Sounds of Africa concert series. Solstice Saturday keeps the galleries open until midnight with DJ sets, live art and a marketplace, while Sounds of Africa spotlights the global rhythms of the African diaspora with unforgettable live performances.

Fans of the written word would be hard-pressed to find a museum more suited to their interests than the Folger Shakespeare Library, a beautiful museum right near the Capitol dedicated to the Bard’s words. The museum, which boasts the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s works, recently reopened after a major renovation and now includes gardens filled with native plants, a theater for concerts and plays, and a cafe. Another great reason to visit? Admission is free, with a suggested donation.

As for what to see? Spend your visit wandering the galleries, which include permanent exhibitions alongside rotating ones that place Shakespeare’s work in new contexts. It’s almost impossible to miss, but you should spend time examining the First Folios, a collection of 82 volumes of plays printed in 1623; if these documents hadn’t been saved, 18 of Shakespeare’s plays could’ve been lost forever. There’s also a fully functional printing press very similar to the machine that printed these folios on display.

Time Out tip: Check online for Saturday openings of the Great Reading Room—a space usually reserved for researchers. It’s home to the world’s largest Shakespeare collection and a stunning stained-glass window.

This three-floor museum contains more than 900 artifacts and four theaters showing archival footage and survivor testimony from the Holocaust. Themes such as the murder of the disabled, Nazi eugenics and resistance, and Jewish resistance all present a chronological history of the event.

The objects and symbols make powerful impressions: thousands of camp victims’ shoes piled in a heap personalize the losses. While the main exhibition is suitable for children of 11 and over only, a specially designed children’s exhibition, “Daniel’s Story,” at ground level, is presented to children of eight and over and teaches about the Holocaust through the story of one boy. Guests should consider reserving their tickets beforehand since wait lines can be long.

Time Out tip: For a quieter, more reflective experience, visit early in the morning or during weekday afternoons. The museum also offers free visitor guides in multiple languages. Ask at the information desk if you’re bringing out-of-town guests or multilingual family members.

The Phillips Collection doesn’t get as much praise as the much larger and more famous Smithsonians across town, but it’s a tucked away gem just a couple blocks from Dupont Circle that’s worthy of your attention. Opened in 1921, the Phillips is actually America’s first museum of modern art and was founded by art collector and critic Duncan Phillips.

While the museum feels much more intimate compared to others in D.C., the Phillips actually contains a vast collection of both modern and impressionist artists, with works by Mark Rothko, Auguste Renori, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and many more—plus a room-sized installation made of wax by artist Wolfgang Laib.

This museum isn’t free, but there are plenty of chances for discounted admission. Admission is free daily from 4pm to when the museum closes at 5pm; every third Thursday of the month the museum stays open until 8pm and offers free admission from 4pm until close.

Time Out tip: Be sure to grab a stack of cookies or a freshly baked baguette from the Bread Furst Cafe, an offshoot of the beloved Van Ness bakery. The cafe also serves generously portioned soups, salads, sandwiches, coffee drinks and more.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) houses a collection of more than 4,500 works by more than 1,000 women from the 16th century to the present.

Highlights of the permanent exhibit include Frida Kahlo’s defiant 1937 Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky, as well as works by Elisabetta Sirani, Alma Woodsey Thomas and Barbara Hepworth. There are also special collections of 17th-century botanical prints by Maria Sibylla Merian and works by British and Irish women silversmiths from the 17th to 19th centuries. The museum hosts free community days every other week, on the first Sunday and second Wednesday of every month.

Time Out tip: This is one of the few D.C. museums that charges admission, but there are workarounds: Visit on the first Sunday or second Wednesday of the month for free entry. Bank of America cardholders also get in free on the first full weekend of each month.

The Postal Museum is perhaps the most obscure of the Smithsonian’s offerings. A museum devoted to postal history and philately (stamp collecting) may sound like a hard sell, but there’s a trove of interactive and entertaining exhibits housed within the skeleton of what was once the enormous D.C. City Post Office.

Check out the permanent exhibit “Systems at Work,” which recreates the journey of letters, magazines, parcels and other mail from sender to recipient. Pick out stamps from around the globe to start your own stamp collection. Write and ship a postcard directly from the museum. And go to the downstairs level of the museum to explore how mail has traveled across the country on trains, planes and carriages.

Time Out tip: To keep the postal vibes going, head to the nearby Waldorf Astoria (formerly the Old Post Office), where you can admire the grand historic lobby and grab a bite at José Andrés’ The Bazaar.

The continuing transformation of the National Museum of American History has led to several renovations that highlight some of America’s most beloved artifacts. Floors are organized around loose themes, allowing a huge diversity of exhibits to tell American stories in an entertaining and informative manner.

Two standout exhibits are “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War,” which details American military history from colonial times to the now, and “Entertainment Nation,” which tells the story of American pop culture and arts and entertainment. Objects in this collection include Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, Julia Child’s actual kitchen, and C-3PO and R2-D2. New objects coming next year to this lot include Bryan Cranston’s hazmat suit from Breaking Bad, Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones costume (complete with whip) and original puppets from Sesame Street and the Muppets. Another cool collection to peruse is the display of every First Lady’s inauguration ball gown.

Time Out tip: Some of the museum’s biggest draws like the Star-Spangled Banner and First Ladies’ gowns can get crowded fast. Head straight to those first things in the morning or late in the afternoon for a more relaxed view, then explore the rest at your own pace.

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Located on George Washington University’s Foggy Bottom campus, the Textile Museum is a treasure trove of international and American textile art. Whenever I wander these halls, I’m taken aback by the physical beauty of cultural importance of these woven, sewn and stitched works of art. Some favorite exhibitions I’ve seen here include a survey of Ikat patterns and a collection of Islamic textiles and Ottoman rugs. Another thing to love here? Admission is free.

Time Out tip: While you’re on GW’s campus, take a moment to see what students are creating at public art spaces like the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery, Gallery 102 and the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. The Corcoran regularly hosts free exhibitions and performances by both students and visiting artists, and it’s totally worth popping in.

A privately run collection, the National Building Museum produces smart, noteworthy exhibits focusing on architects and the built environment, both contemporary and historical. Among the exhibitions, “House & Home” discovers the history and many meanings of “home,” both physical and cultural, with an array of all things household, from household goods and decorations (including a poster of Farrah Fawcett and a fondue set), to building materials to mortgage papers. Fittingly, the building itself is gorgeous: An Italian Renaissance-style Great Hall features eight colossal 75-foot Corinthian columns that lead to a ceiling 15 stories above.

Time Out tip: Don’t miss the museum’s family programming. Storytimes, design activities and interactive exhibits are all housed in spaces made just for kids. Check the museum’s calendar. And during summer, check for their annual interactive installation in the Great Hall; it turns the entire space into a play zone.

The world of D.C.’s prestige paid-entry museums was shaken up dramatically in 2019 when the Newseum closed indefinitely and, on the other side of the Mall, the International Spy Museum moved to sleek new digs. In its larger space, the museum boasts many exhibits that lean so hard into “infotainment” that a trip can feel less like learning about spies and more like a game of pretending to be one.

Test your sleuthing abilities and gawk at an array of spy gadgets, including KGB-issued poison pellet shooting umbrellas and Germany’s Steineck ABC wristwatch camera. James Bond junkies will be in heaven—the groovy silver Aston Martin from 1964’s Goldfinger assumes a central spot in the museum, and there’s a whole exhibit dedicated to the planes, trains, automobiles and even submarines that 007 uses for his missions.

Time Out tip: Plan to arrive early and give yourself at least two hours—kids get a personalized spy identity at the start, and you’ll want time to complete the undercover missions throughout the exhibits. For younger agents (ages 9 and under), ask staff for the “Family of Spies” guide to help tailor the experience.