Top things to do near Washington Reagan Airport
Smithsonian Air and Space
Housing the largest collection of air and space craft in the world, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is just four miles (6.4 kilometers) from Reagan Airport.
There are icons like the Apollo 11 command module, the Bell X-1 that broke the sound barrier and the Wright Brothers' plane, but there's much more to it than just displays of craft.
The whole history of aviation is covered through a range of media including IMAX films, artefacts and exhibits and even subjects like geology, geophysics and planetary sciences are explored in how they relate to space flight and technology like GPS.
National Mall
At the heart of the city four miles (6.4 kilometers) from Reagan Airport, the National Mall is a vast green space full of monuments and museums that attract over 25 million visitors every year.
Playing host to political protests, music concerts and Presidential inaugurations, the Mall was originally envisioned as a grand central avenue by city planners, but evolved over time into parkland.
Just a few of the famous attractions around the Mall include the US Capitol Building, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, numerous Smithsonian Institute museums, national war memorials and art galleries.
The park itself is a great place to spend a day in fine weather, with various landscaped gardens and pools, including the famous reflecting pool, creating an unrivalled city park atmosphere.
Newseum
An unusual, highly interactive and hugely popular attraction in DC, the Newseum charts the history of printed communication from the earliest printing presses to the digital age.
Located five miles (eight kilometers) from Reagan National Airport, there are 15 theaters and 15 galleries of exhibits throughout the building. It includes sections of the Berlin Wall, front pages from over 80 newspapers around the world, explorations of the First Amendment, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs and the mass media forms of radio, TV and Internet to make every space as engaging and brilliantly delivered as the last.
Lincoln Memorial
There's a long list of memorials found in DC, with many found around the National Mall about four miles (6.4 kilometers) from Ronald Reagan Airport. The Lincoln Memorial is perhaps the most iconic of all, though, sat proudly at one end overlooking the reflecting pool.
The memorial building is full of detail, designed in the style of a Greek temple and adorned with features like the 36 Doric columns, representing the 36 states in the Union during Lincoln's time. The interior is made up of beautiful bronze and marble and, of course, the remarkable statue of Lincoln sat atop the steps. He has an awe-inspiringly calm presence in the grand memorial building.
National Gallery of Art
Displayed in a beautiful building on the National Mall, the National Gallery of Art depicts the history of Western Art from the middle ages to the present day.
Including paintings, prints, decorative arts, photography and a six-acre (2.4-hectare) sculpture garden, some of the gems of the collection include works from the Italian Renaissance, sculptural works by Rodin and Degas and a broad collection of modern art.
You can rush around and see some highlights in an hour, but to really absorb everything on display and, indeed, the architecture of the building itself, allow yourself a whole day if you can.
US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Documenting the Holocaust in remarkable detail, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum collection includes 80,000 photographs, 13,000 artefacts, 1,000 hours of film footage, 84,000 library items and 49 million archive documents.
Located four miles (6.4 kilometers) from Ronald Reagan Airport, the Museum experience is almost overwhelmingly detailed with a lot of poignant exhibits on display. Providing a powerful telling of the Holocaust story, it has a deep impact on many visitors; you cannot help but leave feeling introspective and deeply-moved.
U Street Corridor
The U Street Corridor is the liveliest district in DC, packed with shops, galleries, clubs, music venues and restaurants; it’s about six miles (9.6 kilometers) from Ronald Reagan Airport.
It’s a key feature of the city music scene that’s famed for venues like the Lincoln Theatre, Howard Theatre, Bohemian Caverns, 9:30 Club, Black Cat and the U Street Music Hall, so it’s no surprise that the area hosts events like the Funk Parade festival every year.
U Street is also a hub for community arts, with much of the neighborhood decorated in colorful graffiti murals. The Corridor represents much of the cultural and creative heartbeat of the city.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
There are many war memorials in Washington, such as the World War II and the Korean War instalments, but perhaps the best-known is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Covering two acres (0.8 hectares), the memorial consists of the famous wall listing the servicemen who died in the war, as well as two large bronze statues; one of servicemen and the other depicting nurses with an injured soldier to commemorate the role women played in the war.
The simplicity of the wall nevertheless creates a somber atmosphere and the many flowers, mementos and messages left there are telling reminders of just how recent it was as a tragedy.
