Things to do on the National Mall

The Mall is a walk, not a stroll: the straight line from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial covers roughly two miles, and looping out to the Jefferson and MLK memorials around the Tidal Basin adds more on top of that, so a single afternoon covers only part of it in any detail.

This page treats the Mall and its memorials as their own destination, separate from the Smithsonian museums lining its edges. The memorials themselves - Lincoln, Vietnam Veterans, MLK, Jefferson, WWII - are free, outdoor and open 24 hours a day, which makes an evening visit worthwhile for the atmosphere and thinner crowds.

National Park Service rangers are posted at some memorials only during daytime hours, so a night walk means no one on hand to answer questions.