Fodor's website offers some of the best travel advice available. Although Fodor's does publish a book on travel to Washington, D.C., their website is a valuable resource to bookmark for destination travel. Best of all, it's absolutely FREE.
One of the features from Fodor's website is the "Great Itineraries" section. For example Fodor's offers some choice places to visit in One Day in Washington:
If you have a day or less (and even a dollar or less!) in D.C., your sightseeing strategy is simple: take the metro to the Smithsonian stop and explore the area around the Mall. You'll be at the undisputed heart of the city -- a beautiful setting in which you'll find America's greatest collection museums, with the city's spectacular monuments and the halls of government a stone's throw away.
As you face the Capitol, to your left are the Museum of Natural History, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Archives. To your right are the Museum of African Art, the Hirshhorn Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, and more. Head the other direction, toward the Washington Monument, and you're also on your way to the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and more monuments to America's presidents and its past. A lover of American history and culture could spend a thoroughly happy month, much less a day, wandering the Mall and its surroundings.
If you're here first thing in the morning: You can hit monuments and memorials early. They're open 24 hours a day and staffed beginning at 8:00 AM. The outdoor sculpture garden at the Hirshhorn opens at 7:30, and the Smithsonian Institution Building (the "Castle") opens at 8:30. In the Castle you can grab a cup of coffee, watch an 18-minute film about D.C., and see examples of objects from many of the 18 Smithsonian museums.
If you only have few hours in the evening: Experience the beauty of monuments at dusk and after dark. Many people think they're even more striking when the sun goes down. National Park Service rangers staff most monuments until midnight.
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