Take the trolley tour. The trolleys go all around the Mall and the guides are knowledgeable and clever. They are constantly telling the passengers what it is they're seeing and interesting anecdotes. You can get off anywhere and get back on whenever you want to, as they come around about every 15 minutes. You can even take one over to Arlington and then back. I encourage people to go through the entire tour carrying a little notebook to write down places they would like to return to and stay awhile. I think they are called Arlington Tourist Trolleys, or something like that. You start the tour outside Union Station. It's a great way to see everything without contributing to the traffic nightmare. Have fun.

Anonymous wrote:Have family in town and finally going to do the tourist thing. Have a tour booked for the Capitol on Saturday, but was thinking of walking the National Mall and looking at Memorials. What is the best route and memorials/ sites to see? Any chance of getting same day tickets to the Washington monument?

On the 4th? Good luck. The traffic is most likely going to be horrendous all around DC considering the fireworks and all.

If you already have a tour booked, just go to a museum or two and then hit the Monument, WW2 Memorial, maybe Tom or Linc memorial. It is a lot of walking so I wouldn't do 2 planned events in one day. After the capitol, play it by ear. I guess the white house too if that is important.

Have family in town and finally going to do the tourist thing. Have a tour booked for the Capitol on Saturday, but was thinking of walking the National Mall and looking at Memorials. What is the best route and memorials/ sites to see? Any chance of getting same day tickets to the Washington monument?