8 Best Sights in Washington, D.C., USA

Monument, museum, and the nation's memory, the National Archives, headquartered in a grand marble edifice on Constitution Avenue, preserves more than 13 billion paper records dating from as far back as 1774, more than 40 million photographs, and billions of recent electronic records. The National Archives and Records Administration is charged with preserving and archiving the most historically significant U.S. government records at its centers nationwide and in presidential libraries. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended during the busy summer months and cost a nonrefundable $1. Head to recreation.gov at least six weeks in advance of your visit.

Charters of Freedom—the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights—are the star attractions. They are housed in the archives' cathedral-like rotunda, each on a marble platform and surrounded by argon gas within cases that have gold-plated titanium frames and bulletproof protective glass.

On display at the entrance to the David M. Rubenstein Gallery's Records of Rights exhibit is a 1297 Magna Carta, the document of English common law whose language inspired the Constitution. This Magna Carta, one of four remaining originals, sets the stage for interactive exhibits that trace the civil rights struggles of African Americans, women, and immigrants. Highlights include the discharge papers of an enslaved person who fought in the Revolutionary War to gain his freedom; the mark-up copy of the 1964 Civil Rights Act; and letters to the president from children who questioned segregation.

The Public Vaults convey the sense of going deep into the stacks. You can find records that give a glimpse into federal investigations, from the Lincoln assassination to Watergate. Watch films of flying saucers, used as evidence in congressional UFO hearings, and listen to the Nuremberg trials or Congress debating Prohibition. Reservations to visit the archives are highly recommended; those for guided tours or timed-visit entries should be made at least six weeks in advance.

One of the most popular museums in the nation's capital is perhaps best summed up with a quote by founding director Lonnie Bunch: "The African American experience is the lens through which we understand what it is to be an American." The museum serves as that lens, thanks to more than a dozen exhibitions that display nearly 3,000 historical artifacts, documents, photographs, memorabilia, and media.

The building's structure resembles nothing else on the Mall. The shape of its bronze-color corona was inspired by a Nigerian artist's carving, prominently displayed in one of the galleries. The corona's filigree design was patterned after railings made by enslaved 19th-century craftsmen. The museum's three tiers are hung at the same angle as the Washington Monument's capstone (it makes for a dramatic photo). Powerful quotes from African Americans are strategically placed throughout the space. The museum divides into two parts: 60% is underground, and the remaining 40% is aboveground. Lower-level exhibits showcase a somber and wrenching historical timeline from slavery through civil rights. Aboveground galleries celebrate the cultural contributions of African Americans.

To best experience this museum, start at the underground Concourse History Galleries. Here you'll see a portion of a slave ship that broke apart off Cape Town, South Africa, in a 1794 shipwreck that drowned 212 people; a 19th-century, Edisto Island, South Carolina, slave cabin that was occupied until 1980; the original casket of 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly flirting with a white woman; a railcar with its very different first-class and "colored" sections; and a biplane used to train the Tuskegee Airmen who fought in WWII. Also on the main concourse level is the 350-seat Oprah Winfrey Theater, which hosts musical performances, lectures and discussions, film presentations, and other programming. The Center for African American Media Arts is on the second floor, where visitors can research their families in a genealogy center.

The third- and fourth-floor galleries explore the achievements of African Americans. Highlights include sports memorabilia like Jesse Owens's cleats, Michael Jordan's 1996 jersey, Joe Louis's gloves, Muhammad Ali's robe, Gabby Douglas's leotard, and nine Olympic medals won by Carl Lewis. Other of the collection's many gems include a lobby card from the 1967 movie Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Louis Armstrong's trumpet, Michael Jackson's sequined jacket, and the jacket and skirt that Marian Anderson wore when she performed a 1939 concert from the Lincoln Memorial.

You must have a timed pass to enter the museum. Same-day timed passes are available online daily beginning at 6:30 am. A limited number of walk-up passes are given out weekdays beginning at 1 pm, but they go fast. Download the NMAAHC mobile app to further enhance your visiting experience.

Visually and conceptually, the National Museum of the American Indian stands apart from the other cultural institutions on the Mall. The exterior, clad in Minnesota limestone, evokes a sense that wind and water carved the building. Inside, four floors of galleries cover 10,000 years of history of the western hemisphere's indigenous tribes. Nevertheless, only a small portion of the museum's holdings are on display at any time. Live music, dance, theater, and storytelling are central to experiencing this museum. Tribal groups stage performances in the Rasmuson Theater and sunlit Potomac atrium. Americans, a permanent exhibition, reveals how Native Americans exist in unexpected ways in the history, pop culture, and identity of the United States. Other rotating exhibits explore the many indigenous groups throughout the Americas.

Visit between 11 and 2 on a sunny day to see the Potomac atrium awash in rainbows created by the light refracted through the southern wall's prisms, which are aligned to show the passage of time with specific patterns marking the equinoxes and solstices. The museum's family-friendly imagiNATIONS Activity Center includes hands-on activities throughout the year. For those looking for a quick bite, check out their award-winning restaurant, whose menu takes you from Canada to South America, exploring the diverse cuisine of the indigenous groups. It's a favorite lunch spot for many locals working in the area.

The 3 million artifacts and archival materials in the country's largest American history museum explore America's cultural, political, and scientific past. The centerpiece of the Star-Spangled Banner gallery is the banner that in 1814 was hoisted to show that Fort McHenry had survived 25 hours of British rocket attacks and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the lyrics that became the national anthem. Exhibits also explore food history, innovation, and the different cultural groups in the United States.

This museum asks you to consider how the Holocaust was made possible by the choices of individuals, institutions, and governments and what lessons they hold for us today. The permanent exhibition, The Holocaust, tells the stories of the millions of Jews, Romani, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, political prisoners, the mentally ill, and others killed by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. The exhibitions are detailed and sometimes graphic but powerful.

Upon arrival, you are issued an "identity card" containing biographical information on a real person from the Holocaust. As you move through the museum, you read sequential updates on your card. In the early exhibits, Hitler's rise to power and the spread of European anti-Semitism are thoroughly documented with films of Nazi rallies, posters, newspaper articles, and recordings of Hitler's speeches, immersing you in the world that led to the Holocaust. Exhibits include footage of scientific experiments done on Jews, artifacts such as a freight car like those used to transport Jews to concentration camps, and oral testimonies from Auschwitz survivors. Rotating exhibitions highlight how genocide is still a real worldwide issue, featuring the stories of current survivors.

After this powerful experience, the Hall of Remembrance, filled with candles, provides a much-needed space for quiet reflection.

Tickets are required for entry into the museum. For up-to-date information about hours, tickets, and exhibitions, visit their website.

Seven floors encompassing more than 430,000 square feet are all dedicated to the history, narrative, and impact of the Bible on the world. The IllumiNations exhibit displays Bibles in more than 2,000 languages, and visitors can touch, read, and explore them and other illuminated manuscripts. The museum includes exhibits focused on modern films, speakers, fashion, and technology to tell the story of the Bible's continuing influence today. Here you can also see the papyrus featuring early copies of the New Testament, biblically inspired designer clothing, and even Elvis Presley's Bible. Stop by the Manna restaurant for biblically themed foods and other Mediterranean-inspired meals.

The National Museum of Natural History has the Hope Diamond, but the National Postal Museum has the envelope wrapping used to mail the gem to the Smithsonian—part of a collection that consists of nearly 6 million postal and philatelic objects. Exhibits, underscoring the important part the mail has played in America's development, include horse-drawn mail coaches, a railroad mail car, airmail planes, and a collection of philatelic rarities. Learn about stamp collecting, and tour Systems at Work, an exhibit that demonstrates how mail has gone from the mailbox to its destination for the past 200 years and features a high-def film highlighting amazing technologies. The William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, the largest of its kind in the world, has an additional 20,000 objects never before on public display, showing how closely stamps have intertwined with American history. The museum is next to Union Station in the old Washington City Post Office, designed by Daniel Burnham and completed in 1914.