Spring in D.C. - U.S. Greatest Springtime Celebration

As spring arrives, a nice place to visit at this time of the year in the U.S. will be Washington D.C. Simply known as D.C., the capital of the United States is not part of any U.S. State, but a special district created to serve as the nation’s permanent capital and directly overseen by the federal government.

Each year, the National Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates spring in Washington, DC, the gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan. Lining the Tidal Basins, the Cherry Blossom makes D.C a very pretty sight at this time of the year.

Cherry Blossom

Most people visit D.C. as part of a stopover point on a U.S East Coast trip and spend not more than 2 days in the capital. However, it is simply impossible to fully appreciate D.C. in 2 short days. Visiting its many monuments and exploring its countless museums will take at least a week!

The 13 Smithsonian Museums at the National Mall region will take at least 3-5 days to explore. Of course, depending on your interest, you might decide to spend more time at a certain museum and skip another museum totally. All the Smithsonian Museums are free to visit so it is certainly a good idea to allocate enough time to visit them.

Sights not to be missed are the White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial to name a few. There are various tours, which require prior reservations that will bring you around the sights. Personally, I found the guides very knowledgeable and that helped me understand U.S. history and better appreciate the many monuments.

US Capitol

 An activity for young kids will be to purchase a U.S. National Park Passport and to get them stamped at the various monuments. The stamps are similar in nature to passport stamps stamped in a traveler's national passport and serve as a record of the visit. Collecting these stamps can be a very fun and educational activity for the little ones.

U.S. National Park Passport Stamps

Your Travel Beacon,
Cindy