The National Mall
Staying near the National Mall.
The Mall is two miles long. Which end you sleep at changes your whole week, and almost nobody tells you that before you book.
Every listing in this city claims to be near the National Mall. Most are, in the sense that a two mile strip of grass is hard to be far from. What that phrase does not tell you is that the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol sit at opposite ends of it, roughly forty minutes apart on foot, with eleven museums and a dozen memorials strung out in between.
So the useful question is not whether a rental is near the Mall. It is which end it is near. We have one home at each.
The western end: memorials, and Foggy Bottom
The western half is where the monuments are. The Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and, around the Tidal Basin, the Martin Luther King Jr., Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Jefferson memorials. This is the half people walk at dusk, and it is the half that photographs.
Our Foggy Bottom home sits above it. The Lincoln Memorial is roughly a fifteen to twenty minute walk from the front door, which means you can go at seven in the morning before the coaches arrive, or after dinner when it is lit and nearly empty. Neither is a thing you do if you are staying out by the airport. See the Foggy Bottom home.
The eastern end: museums, and Capitol Hill
The eastern half is the dense one. The National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Botanic Garden, and then the Capitol, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court behind it.
Our Capitol Hill home is five to six blocks from the Capitol, which puts the eastern museums a modest walk past that. It is also the larger house, and the one where the family with six people and a long museum list tends to end up. See the Capitol Hill home.
Which museums sit where
Roughly, west to east, so you can work out which end your list falls on.
- Western end: Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean and World War II memorials, the Tidal Basin memorials, the Washington Monument.
- Middle: the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian Castle.
- Eastern end: the Hirshhorn, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden, the Botanic Garden, the Capitol, the Library of Congress.
The Smithsonian Metro station sits in the middle of all of it, and both our homes reach it by a single direct ride with no changes. So neither end is a mistake. It is a question of which half you would rather be able to walk to.
Tickets, and what is actually free
Admission to the Smithsonian museums is free, all of them, always. Most are walk-in with nothing to arrange, including Natural History and American History.
A few use free timed-entry passes, and the two that catch people out are the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Washington Monument uses timed tickets with a limited number released each morning. Book those before you fly, not the night before. Arrangements do change, so check the museum's own site rather than taking our word for it.
Doing it with children
Most of our guests are families, and the same thing goes wrong for all of them: the Mall is bigger than it looks on the map, there is very little shade, and by two in the afternoon somebody small has had enough. Walking its full length and then touring a museum is a lot to ask of a seven year old, and of the adult carrying them back.
What works is doing one end properly per day and going home in the middle of it. That is the real argument for a house rather than a hotel room: you can retreat for an hour, feed everyone from your own kitchen, and come back out in the evening when the light is better and the crowds have gone. Both homes have a patio for exactly that hour.
Getting there
From Foggy Bottom, the Foggy Bottom Metro station is a six minute walk and runs straight to Smithsonian on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines. From Capitol Hill, Union Station is a ten minute walk for the Red Line and Amtrak, with Capitol South a similar distance for a direct run along the Mall.
If you drive, both homes have parking sorted, which around the Mall is worth something: Foggy Bottom has a private off-street space with an EV charger and Capitol Hill has free street parking with your plate registered for you. How the parking works.
Common questions
Are there vacation rentals near the Smithsonian museums?
Yes. We have two private homes, one in Foggy Bottom near the western end of the Mall and one on Capitol Hill near the eastern end. Both are walkable to the Mall and both are a direct Metro ride to the Smithsonian station. Which suits you depends on which museums are on your list.
How far is the National Mall from your homes?
From Foggy Bottom, roughly fifteen to twenty minutes on foot to the Lincoln Memorial and the western memorials. From Capitol Hill, the U.S. Capitol is five to six blocks and the eastern museums a little beyond. Both are also a direct Metro ride to the Smithsonian station with no changes.
Do I need tickets for the Smithsonian museums?
Admission is free at all of them. Most are walk-in. A few use free timed-entry passes, including Air and Space and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Washington Monument uses timed tickets with a limited number released each morning. Check the museum's own site before you go, as these arrangements change.
Can you walk the whole National Mall in one day?
You can, but with children we would not. It runs about two miles end to end, before you have walked around inside anything. Most families do one end properly per day, which is the practical argument for staying somewhere you can walk home from in the afternoon.
Is there a pet-friendly rental near the National Mall?
One dog of 50 pounds or under is welcome at either home for $200 per stay, and both have an enclosed patio. The Mall itself is dog friendly on a leash, though dogs are not permitted inside the museums or the memorial chambers.