The Ultimate Guide to the Smithsonian Museums
“Can we visit the Smithsonian?” It’s a common question I get asked when people visit me from other states. But the Smithsonian isn’t just a single place that you can visit in a day! The Smithsonian Institution includes 21 museums plus the National Zoo, making it the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. Most of the museums are on the National Mall in Washington, DC, plus two in New York City and one in Chantilly, VA. So, it’s going to require some time to visit everything! That said, the Smithsonian museums are a great way to spend any day in the city. They are perfect for first-time tourists and locals who want to escape any kind of harsh weather.
If you are visiting DC or guiding out-of-town friends, remember that bucket list item to “visit the Smithsonian” might take a little more planning for someone who didn’t realize how big it is. This guide will break down the 21 museums and give you a sense of what you’ll see when you visit.
General Tips for Visiting the Smithsonian
In general, plan to visit two museums per day. If you try to squeeze in a third museum, pick something nearby or one of the smaller museums. Your level of interest in the museum’s topic will influence how much time you will spend in the museum but the Air and Space Museum, the Museum of Africa Art, and the Museum of Asian Art are on the smaller side. An underground path connects the Museum of African Art and the Museum of Asia Art, making it easy to see both together. The Portrait Gallery and Museum of America Art are also connected by a courtyard and are easy to see together.
The Museum of Natural History and the Museum of American History are two of the largest and most popular museums. Plan to go before noon or on a weekday for smaller crowds. If there is a must-see exhibit on your list at either of these museums, it is easy to pop in an out if you are short on time.
The Museum of African American History and Culture is also a very large and popular museum. It is so popular that it still requires free, timed tickets to enter. The first three floors cover pre-Civil War history and do an amazing job of immersing visitors in the history. Because of this, it is difficult to just visit a few highlights so make sure you give yourself at least 3 hours to take it all in.
Itineraries Including Smithsonian Museums
Visit the Smithsonian Museums on the National Mall
Smithsonian Gardens
The Smithsonian Gardens are behind the Smithsonian Institution Building, affectionally referred to as The Castle. The Castle is currently closed for 5 years of renovation that began in February 2023. However, you can still visit the Enid A. Haupt Garden, Moongate Garden, and Kathrine Dulin Folger Rose Garden. The gardens change with the seasons and make great backgrounds for photos year-round.
The gardens are walkable from 2 metro stops: Smithsonian & Federal Triangle (orange, blue, silver) and L’Enfant Plaza (green, yellow, orange, blue, silver). Open daily except Christmas.
National Museum of Natural History
Due to the large African Elephant in the lobby, the National Museum of Natural History is one of the most recognizable Smithsonian museums. You’ll find larger-than-life exhibits, including the Hall of Fossils (lots of dinosaurs), Ocean Hall, and the Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals (including the Hope Diamond). Plus, don’t miss the smaller natural world with the Insect Zoo and Butterfly Pavilion.
This museum is great for all ages, but it is also a particularly good place to start if you are traveling with children. There is so much to see, and a lot of it is interactive. Because of the sheer size of many exhibits, it’s easy to keep short attention spans interested and fill an entire afternoon. At the same time, because the exhibits are fairly easy to pop in and out of, this museum is great if you have a short amount of time. For extra fun, check out the Butterfly Pavillion with live butterflies. It’s open Tuesday to Saturday, and tickets are $8/adult or free on Tuesday. Plan for 2-4 hours.
The Museum of Natural History is easily walkable from three metro stops: Smithsonian or Federal Triangle (orange, blue, silver) and Archives (green, yellow). Open daily except Christmas Day. Timed tickets are not required.
National Museum of American History
Many of the Smithsonian museums cover aspects of our country’s history, but the Museum of American History is a great place to start. This museum usually features a variety of rotating exhibits to cover as much history as possible throughout the year.
Ongoing exhibits include American Democracy, The First Ladies, and The Star Spangled Banner: The Flag that Inspired the National Anthem. The Museum of American History is great for all ages but might be better for kids and teens with some context for history through school. This is another large museum you can get lost in for hours or just hit a few highlights if you are short on time.
The Museum of Natural History is easily walkable from three metro stops: Smithsonian or Federal Triangle (orange, blue, silver) and Archives (green, yellow). Open daily except Christmas Day. Timed tickets are not required.
National Museums of African American History and Culture
The Museum of African American History and Culture opened in 2016 and remains among the most popular Smithsonian museums. You can easily spend an entire day exploring this museum. Generally, the museum covers early American history on the lower flowers and works its way up to the present day. If you only have a few hours, I recommend selecting a few museum sections, including the two lower floors or the pop culture exhibits on the top floor. You’ll find everything covering slavery and freedom, sports, pop culture, visual arts, and more. The lower floors do a great job of winding you through the history, but this makes it difficult for a short trip. If you have less than 2 hours, save this museum for another day or just plan to visit a few exhibits on the upper floors.
Timed tickets are required to visit the Museum of African American History. They are available for groups up to 6 people 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. The museum is walkable from 2 metro stops: Smithsonian and Federal Triangle (orange, blue, silver). Open daily except Christmas.
National Museum of African Art
The National Museum of African Art features both traditional and contemporary art representing the entire continent. Current ongoing exhibits include Currents: Water in African Art and Visionary: Viewpoints of Africa’s Arts. This is a great museum to stop at if you are short on time but want to see a museum during your time on the National Mall. Not only is the museum on the smaller side, but it also tends to be less crowded. Even if you only have an hour or so, you’ll have room to spend as much time as you’d like with each piece.
The museum is walkable from 2 metro stops: Smithsonian (orange, blue, silver) and L’Enfant Plaza (green, yellow, orange, blue, silver). Open daily except Christmas.
National Museum of Asian Art
The National Museum of Asian Art includes the Freer Gallery of Art and the Slacker Gallery. The art collections across both galleries include more than 45,000 objects from the present day, dating back to Neolithic times. You’ll find pieces from China, Japan, Korea, South and Southeast Asia, and the Islamic World. It is also home to the world’s largest collection of works by James McNeill Whistler. Walking tours are available at 1:00 pm from Thursday to Sunday.
This museum is also smaller than some of the other Smithsonian museums and can still be appreciated if you are short on time. Or pair it with the National Museum of African Art right next door for a longer day of art appreciation.
The museum is walkable from 2 metro stops: Smithsonian (orange, blue, silver) and L’Enfant Plaza (green, yellow, orange, blue, silver). Open daily except Christmas.
Hirshhorn Museum
The Hirshhorn Museum features modern and contemporary art. You can visit anytime, but some of the more popular temporary exhibits require timed passes. Right now, timed passes are required for OSGEMEOS: Endless Story, an immersive exhibit celebrating the art of Gustavo and Otacio Pandolfo from Sao Paulo. Exhibits at the museum rotate often, so check the website before you go. The sculpture garden is currently ongoing a multi-year renovation until mid-2026, but the museum remains open.
If you’d like to see a sculpture garden, the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden is directly across the National Mall from the Hirshhorn Museum. The National Gallery of Art is not part of the Smithsonian but is open at similar hours and is free to visit. The Sculpture Garden allows outside food and has a pavilion that offers sandwiches and snacks for sale. Open from 11 am to 3 pm.
The Hirshhorn Museum is walkable from 2 metro stops: Smithsonian (orange, blue, silver) and L’Enfant Plaza (green, yellow, orange, blue, silver). Open daily except Christmas.
The Air and Space Museum
The Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, was recently renovated in 2022 and features a variety of exhibitions from The Wright Brothers, the first trip to the moon, and the exploration of other planets. This museum has limited exhibits while under renovation, but I don’t think the construction takes away from the experience. It is worth a visit if you love space and air travel but you may not need as much time here as other museums. While the exhibits at the museum are free, you may want to consider a planetarium show which is $9 per adult.
Note that this museum focuses more on the storytelling of air travel, while the Udvar Hazy Center in Virginia is where you will find more of the larger aircrafts. Which museum is right for you? Read this blog post.
The museum is walkable from 2 metro stops: Smithsonian (orange, blue, silver) and L’Enfant Plaza (green, yellow, orange, blue, silver). Open daily except Christmas.
National Museums of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is home to one of the most expansive collections of Native artifacts. Like the African American History Museum, this museum has a wide variety of exhibitions covering the extensive history of the American Indians and their impact today. One of my favorite exhibits is the powerful Americans exhibit highlighting Native American images used in pop culture. Connecting rooms dive deeper into the truth behind 3 widely known but frequently misunderstood historical events, including the story of Pocahontas, the Trail of Tears, and the Battle of Little Bighorn. The Mitsitam Cafe is known to have some of the most interesting options among the museum cafes on the National Mall. The menu is divided into different regions with dishes representing native tribes across the continent.
The museum is walkable from 2 metro stops: Smithsonian & Federal Triangle (orange, blue, silver) and L’Enfant Plaza (green, yellow, orange, blue, silver). Open daily except Christmas.
Renwick Gallery
The Renwick Gallery is very close to the White House and is set a little farther away from the rest of the museums on the National Mall. This gallery is a branch of the American Art Museums focusing primarily on contemporary art. It is on the smaller side but is highly visual, with regularly rotating exhibits. If you visit this museum, go early and have lunch at one of the popular nearby restaurants (Immigrant Food, Old Ebbit, and The Hamilton) before heading to the other museums.
The museum is walkable from 2 metro stops: Smithsonian & Federal Triangle (orange, blue, silver) and L’Enfant Plaza (green, yellow, orange, blue, silver). Open daily except Christmas.
Smithsonian Museums in Downtown DC
A courtyard connects these two museums, making it easy to see both in one visit. They are both open later than the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall, so you can plan to visit later in the day. You’ll also be near the Capital One Arena and a variety of great restaurants for dinner. These museums are walkable from Gallery Place and Metro Center, so you can get there quickly by Metro from the National Mall.
Portrait Gallery
The Portrait Gallery is the only place you can see all the Presidential Portraits outside of the White House. Wandering through the progression of US Presidents not only highlights snapshots of American history but also pop culture and art trends used to portray each one. Additionally, you’ll find paintings and photographs of notable people from various points in history. While portraits of early Americans are often limited to the wealthy and powerful, The Portrait Gallery is actively working to ensure all Americans’ stories are represented.
The museum is walkable to the Gallery Place – Chinatown metro stop (green, yellow, red). Open daily except Christmas.
The American Art Museum
The American Art Museum is home to one the largest and most inclusive collections of American art in the world. Collections include photography, paintings, sculpture, and more, representing artists from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. My favorite ongoing exhibits include Experience America and Galleries for Folk and Self-Taught Art.
The museum is walkable from the Chinatown metro stop (green, yellow, red). Open daily except Christmas.
Smithsonian Museums Outside Downtown DC
Anacostia Community Museum
The Anacostia Community Museum is a space in the Anacostia neighborhood that is committed to telling the stories of the city that are overlooked. Exhibits are meant to shed a positive light on the stories of people making the most impact toward creating a more equitable future for all. Highlighted issues include social, economic, and environmental opportunities for growth.
The museum is about a 30-minute walk from the Anacostia metro stop (green). Open daily except Christmas.
National Postal Museum
In my opinion, the National Postal Museum is one of the most underrated museums in the city. Immerse yourself in the story of America through stamp art, the evolution of mail distribution, and the growing impact of how the spread of information changes how we see the world. Dive deep into how letters, magazines, and packages have traveled for the past 200 years. This museum is highly visual, so it’s great for both kids and adults.
The museum is walkable from the Union Station metro stop (red). Open daily except Christmas.
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is located outside the city in Chantilly, Virginia. It is an extension of the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. The Udvar-Hazy Center is worth a trip for all aviation lovers to see bigger aircrafts, including the Space Shuttle Discovery. Don’t miss the IMAX theater with space shows during the day and Hollywood movies after hours. Shows include topics like the moon landing, deep sea exploration, and aircraft carrier history.
The Udvar-Hazy Center is not metro accessible but has plenty of on-site parking. The museum is free like the rest of the Smithsonian museums but plan to pay $15/car. Open daily except Christmas.
National Zoo
The National Zoo in Washington, DC is free but requires timed tickets to visit. In the warmer months, the best time to visit the zoo is in the morning before the animals get too hot. There are also many food stalls available and daily animal demos. The pandas return in January 2025.
While many of the food stands are closed during the winter, the colder months are an underrated time to visit. The zoo is not very crowded, and you can warm up in some of the indoor exhibits, including the Small Mammal House and Reptile Discovery House.
The National Zoo is easily walkable in a day, but sometimes it feels like it’s uphill both ways. If you have small children, it’s important to keep their physical limits (and yours if you are pushing a stroller!) in mind. While the zoo offers plenty of snacks, consider grabbing lunch nearby at restaurants like Duke’s Counter or Open City.
The National Zoo is walkable from 2 metro stops: Woodley Park and Cleveland Park (both red). Open daily except Christmas.
