Washington D.C. was one of our favorite family weekend getaways when we were living in New York City. It is packed with museums and history and fun things for families to do together.

Below are some of our favorites.

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A Weekend in Washington D.C.

These are our favorite things to do with kids in Washington DC based on several different trips to the area.

STAY.

My biggest recommendation about picking a spot to stay in D.C. is to stay somewhere on a train line. It is much easier to navigate D.C. on the trains, rather than trying to drive and park. Driving is possible, but we like not having to worry about traffic or parking. If you stay right on a train line you can easily pop around the city on the train.

We have stayed in several spots that have worked well on the train lines in different directions.

EAT.

D.C. has every chain imaginable and although that’s not the must exciting culinary experience, it is comforting with a child with a severe food allergy. Some of our favorites are Shake Shack, Au Bon Pain, and Jimmy Johns.

TO DO.

National Mall.

If this is your first time in Washington D.C. with kids then the National Mall is a must. Stop and see a few monuments – or all of them.

Our favorite are the Lincoln Memorial which is an absolute must for the gorgeous view of the Mall and the Washington Memorial. We also loved the Roosevelt Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial.

If your kids enjoy the National Parks program, they can get their passport stamped at the different memorials. This made seeing the National Monuments a lot more fun for our kids.

National Post Office Museum.

Friends that lived in the D.C. area recommended this to us and I was skeptical but it was SO much fun. We loved the scavenger hunt, collecting stamps, sending a postcard and more. You can see all of my tips and more details in this post I shared on Sunshine Whispers.

National Zoo.

The National Zoological Park (commonly called the National Zoo) is one of the oldest zoos in the country. It was created as part of the Smithsonian Institute and like the rest of the museums in the Smithsonian it is completely free. I find this completely remarkable, especially when you are there and surrounded by the 2,000 animals and miles of walking paths.

The zoo is located inside the DC Metro area and I highly recommend using public transportation. We rode the Metro from our hotel and then walked a couple blocks. It was easy and we didn’t have to deal with finding or paying for parking.

If you are visiting with young children, I recommend a stroller or carrier. It is a large zoo and quite hilly, which can quickly take a toll on little legs. We were grateful to have ours for when they needed breaks.

Much like other larger zoos, I highly recommend looking at the map online before hand and making a plan. If you can spend all day, this isn’t needed, but we were trying to get back to the hotel for the kids to nap. We saw a little over half of the zoo in the morning and then ate lunch at the Mane Grill – one of the restaurants at the zoo. It was your typical attraction food, but varied and they did have Dairy Free options for our kid with allergies.

Our kids loved the zoo. They loved the elephants and the panda bear. They loved the lions and the bird area. They were pretty thrilled with it all.

National Building Museum.

This museum is AWESOME. It is one of the few not-free things we did with the kids in D.C., but it was so much fun. It encourages building and tinkering and engineering and creativity.

From the moment you step in, the architecture grabs you. Our twins were fascinated by the height of the building and by the fountain to one side. As you move around the lobby and into the different areas of the museum, the entire museum delights with thoughtful displays, interactive materials, and a range of creative building, architecture, engineering, and design themed exhibits.

Check out the website for current exhibits. When we went our favorite was their ongoing PLAY. WORK. BUILD. exhibit. You can see a video of it here. We could have spent all day in this one little part. The enormous light table was all kinds of awesome.

There was also a room full of construction materials. Our kids loved the giant over-sized foam blocks and worked so hard at fitting them together. I would recommend starting this space, unless there is a special exhibit you are interested in seeing.

Dulles Air and Space Museum.

Also called the Udvar-Hazy, this place is incredible. We liked the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall, but we all loved this one more. It is a little bit of a drive but worth it.

It is a huge hanger with airplanes and space shuttle. When you arrive, make sure to get the scavenger hunt at the front to keep littles engaged. My twins loved running all over trying to find the planes on the scavenger hunt.

The giant shuttle was their favorite part though.

Find the details on their website.

International Spy Museum.

If you’re in D.C. with some older kids, I highly recommend the International Spy Museum. It is a little pricey but fun if you like mystery, history and intrigue.

There is a well done scavenger hunt at the front for kids. I recommended this one for 7 and up but my six year olds did well and stayed engaged because of the hunt.

Learn more on their website.

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