How to Spend 2 Days in Washington DC

Washington DC is packed full of amazing museums and monuments to explore. To really experience everything, I would suggest visiting for much longer than a couple of days. However, while I was on my road trip through the southeastern United States, I only had a couple of days to spend in Washington DC. Here’s how to make the most of a full 2 days in Washington DC.

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What to Do in Washington DC

Almost all museums and monuments throughout DC are free of charge. However, museums typically close by 5:30 pm. I would highly suggest spending the morning visiting a museum of your choice, then visiting monuments later in the evening. Most monuments are open 24 hours a day.

I chose to visit only 2 museums, one per day, during my two days in DC. Visiting more is definitely achievable. However, I chose 2 I wanted to take my time in and be able to see everything. During my visit, I chose to see the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. There are dozens of more museums to explore if you’d like to visit others or visit more than one museum per day. Check out the list of DC museums here.

Looking at transitional skulls in the Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Monuments and memorials are scattered around the National Mall. Almost all monuments and memorials are open 24 hours. Tours and special events typically end between 9 and 10 pm. My favorite memorials to visit are the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the Einstein Memorial. All of these are open 24 hours, and I would suggest visiting them after spending the day in museums if you are short on time.

Where to Eat in Washington DC

Washington DC is full of incredible restaurants. Anything near the National Mall is bound to be excellent, but the food is typically expensive. Even though the food will be pricey, staying on budget is easy in DC due to the free activities and cheap metro fares. My favorite restaurant I visited was Jaleo, a Spanish restaurant with amazing tapas. I tried a build your own cheese platter with three different kinds of cheese: raw Manchego with apples, raw goat’s milk cheese with quince paste and crackers, and raw sheep’s milk cheese with bread and fig jam. We also had an absolutely incredible boiled octopus dish, a salmon tartare and trout roe cone, and a house-made pineapple sage soda. Everything we ate was bursting with flavor and had us moaning embarrassingly in the middle of the restaurant. For the quality of food that we received, the prices were very reasonable.

The chef that runs Jaleo also runs two other restaurants in the area: an authentic Mexican place and a restaurant that offers Peruvian-Asian fusion cuisine popular in Peru. I was unable to make it to these restaurants, but they came highly suggested by locals that we met in the area.

A garlic-rosemary oil for the bread brought to the table.

Where to Stay in Washington DC

During my trip, I stayed with a local friend of mine. However, there are dozens of hotels, AirBnBs, and Couchsurfing options, depending on your budget. Check here for hotels in Washington DC, here for Airbnbs, and here for Couchsurfing options. I would suggest staying somewhere either close to the National Mall or near a metro line for easy and cheap access to the museums and monuments in the city. The metro is clean, on time, and one of the best I’ve ridden in the country. You could even stay in a neighboring state that’s on the metro line like I did to find cheaper accommodation! (I stayed in Maryland).

Washington DC is a city overflowing with history. With the huge amount of free activities and incredible restaurants, a trip here is sure to be exciting. Just be sure to bring extra comfortable walking shoes!

There are thousands of museums, monuments, and activities to experience in Washington DC. Check out an extensive guide book here to get the full experience!