Free Things To Do and See in Washington, DC - Washington, DC Free Things to Do

Free things to do in Washington, DC aren't difficult to find. Most of the District's museums, monument, memorials, parks and gardens are free and open to the public. I've put together a list of 101 free things to do in Washington, DC to help you plan your visit. Some are seasonal (and labeled as such) while others are free and open year round to visitors from around the world.

Free Things to Do in DC Year Round

1. Tour the White House
2. Tour the U.S. Capitol
3. The National Gallery of Art
4. The National Portrait Gallery
5. The Air & Space Museum
6. Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery
7. Hirshhorn Museum & The National Sculpture Garden
8. The National Museum of Natural History
9. The National Museum of the American Indian
10. The National Postal Museum
11. The National Zoo
12. Anacostia Community Museum
13. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
14. Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
15. National Museum of American History
16. National Museum of African Art
17. Smithsonian Institution Building, the Castle
18. The Washington Monument
19. The Lincoln Memorial
20. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial
21. The World War II Memorial
22. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial
23. The Theodore Roosevelt Island
24. Lyndon B. Johnson Grove
25. Library of Congress
26. FDR Memorial
27. Bureau of Printing & Engraving
28. The National U.S. Holocaust Museum
29. Arlington National Cemetery
30. The U.S. Supreme Court
31. C&O Canal Tow Path
32. The National Cathedral
33. The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
34. The John Paul II Center
35. Rock Creek Park
36. Old Stone House
37. Old Post Office Pavilion
38. The U.S. Botanic Gardens
39. Constitution Gardens
40. National Arboretum
41. Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
42. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage
43. Folgers Shakespeare Library
44. National Archives
45. U.S. Navy Memorial & Museum
46. Walter Reed Medical Museum
47. National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
48. Albert Einstein Memorial
49. National Building Museum
50. A stroll through Eastern Market
51. The National Arboretum
52. Rock Creek Park Planetarium
53. Cultural Tourism DC Walking Tours
54. Great Falls
55. Capitol Dome Tour
56. U.S. Marine Corps. Memorial
57. White House Visitor Center

Seasonal Free Things to Do in DC- Performances, Parades & Festivals

1. Shakespeare Free For All
2. National Theatre’s Saturday Mornings
3. The Cherry Blossoms
4. National Geographic Museum
5. The Smithsonian Folklore Festival
6. July 4th Fireworks on the National Mall
7. Screen on the Green
8. Free Summer Concerts
9. Lighting of the National Christmas Tree & Menorah
10. Multicultural Children’s Book Festival at the Kennedy Center
11. St. Patrick’s Day Parade
12. Japanese Street Festival
13. Marine Parade
14. Pentagon Memorial
15. Spy Museum’s Community Nights
16. Chinese New Year Parade
17. Presidents Day Parade
18. Smithsonian Kite Festival
19. Cinco de Mayo Festival
20. Easter Egg Roll at the White House
21. Redskins Training Camp
22. Friendship Fire House Festival
23. Duke Ellington Jazz Festival
24. National Book Festival
25. DC Drag Queen Race
26. Scottish Christmas Walk
27. Memorial Day Parade
28. DC Caribbean Carnival Parade
29. Labor Day Capitol Concert
30. Capitol Fourth Concert
31. Independence Day Parade
32. Page to Stage Festival
33. Opera in the Outfield
34. Free Summer Concerts at National Zoo
35. Spy Museum’s Community Night
36. Corcoran’s Summer Saturdays
37. Potomac Whitewater Festival
38. Watch the Washington Capitals for Free
39. Twilight Tattoo Military Pageant
40. H Street Festival
41. Adams Morgan Day
42. Penn Quarter Arts on Foot Festival
43. Kids Euro Festival
44. Wreath Laying Ceremonies on Veterans Day
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