Start from 143 curated places around Washington, DC, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Le Diplomate
Stephen Starr's giant Parisian brasserie on 14th — red leather banquettes, mosaic tile, and the steady hum of a room that's been busy every night since 2013. The brunch is the move; the steak frites is the safety pick.
Lutèce
A Michelin-starred Georgetown neobistro pouring natural wine in a tight Wisconsin Ave dining room. The seasonal menu is small and changes constantly — French technique with whatever the Mid-Atlantic farms have that week.
Trails & outdoors
Theodore Roosevelt Island
An 88-acre wooded island in the Potomac, accessible only by footbridge from the Arlington side. About 2 miles of trails through swamp boardwalk, forest, and a marble plaza where a 17-foot bronze TR strides through the woods.
Rock Creek Park
An 1,800-acre forested valley running north-south through the middle of upper DC — older than most national parks and quietly one of the longest urban forests in any American city. Western Ridge and Valley Trail combine into the 5.6-mile loop locals run after work.
Things to do
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The Mall flagship of human flight history — Wright Flyer, Spirit of St. Louis, Apollo 11 capsule, John Glenn's Friendship 7. A major multi-year renovation reopened most of the building with new galleries; the headliner artifacts are back on display.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The Mall's bronze-clad newest Smithsonian, with three floors below ground walking visitors chronologically from the slave trade through Reconstruction to the civil-rights era, and upper floors devoted to culture, sports, and music. The most architecturally and emotionally ambitious museum in DC.
Landmarks & sights
Lincoln Memorial
The Mall's emotional anchor at the western end of the Reflecting Pool, with Lincoln's seated marble figure staring east at the Capitol. The Gettysburg Address carved on the south wall reads differently at night when the crowds thin out.
Washington Monument
The 555-foot obelisk that anchors the Mall and gives you the city's only true skyline view, since the height limit keeps everything else low. The two-tone stone halfway up is the literal line where construction stopped during the Civil War.