What is feasible for 2-3 days in DC?

michigansandzilla wrote:

As a family our priorities are:
Lincoln Memorial
WWII Memorial
Washington Monument
National Archives
Smithsonian Museums: Air and Space and Natural History. Time permitting, American History

Maybe we can squeeze these in.

IMO, I think this is very realistic for 2-3 days of sight-seeing. The metro isn't a huge helper with the monuments and they can be quite a bit of walking. You may want some kind of stroller or something for the 5 year old. The museums are all pretty close to each other and the metro.

First have fun. To me the Lincoln Memorial is the most moving thing I have ever seen. Do as much as you can but you can't do it all. If you are just looking at the White House, that is quick, if you are looking for a tour if they even still do that it will take awhile. If there is a line at the documents building that will take awhile. Many things are quick, 30 minutes here and there. The museums will take a half to full day depending on how detailed you want to be. The American one is the most fun to us although the air and space was good as well. Have a great time.

DC is awesome!

With kids those ages, perhaps concentrate on the mall location of Air & Space (Space Stuff - everybody loves Space Stuff!!) and maybe Museum of Natural History (Hope Diamond, Insect Zoo and Behring Hall of Dead Things) or American History Museum (Old Glory) the first day. They're pretty close to each other.

If you really REALLY like Air & Space stuff the Udvar-Hazy A&S Center near Dulles Airport is even cooler (IMHO). It's really in VA. Parking is $15, but admission is free.

You'll have a good view of Big Pointy (the Washington Monument) from up top at the Orange Line Metro stop in the middle of the mall. It might still be wrapped in scaffolding for earthquake repairs.

Then the other day it would be fairly easy to do the National Archives (Constitution Magna Carta, etc) in the morning and then Capitol Visitor's Center tour in the afternoon (tickets required) or vice versa.

As for the white house, it's pretty much just looking at it through the fence (and watching tourists flip the bird at it), which you can do any time of day - unless you can get a tour scheduled through your MC's (member of congress') office, which they usually want you to do six months in advance.

Since you have such a limited time, you probably don't want to bother with the National Gallery of Art, Portrait Gallery and things where kids usually get a little bored. The zoo has a couple cool things (Giant Pandas and a Maned Wolf) and the price is right: free.

Geez...now I'm getting homesick.

No way to see all of Smithsonian in that time. I had a free day on a business trip and did the Air & Space and the Museum of American History. 3-4 hours in each with a lunch break. I was alone and could move along pretty fast and still see everything. I suppose you could do 3 in a day if you started early and moved thru fairly quickly.
I would set some priorities, list them in order of importance, then start at the top and knock out as many as you can.

michigansandzilla wrote:
. Might be a time saver, but I wonder how much cheaper and inconvenient it would be to use the Metro?

There is only one stop on he Metro for the Mall (National Mall/Smithsonian) on the Orange line. It pops you up in the middle of the Mall. From there, you get to all of the things you listed that want to see by foot. All of the other stops in the area are "off" the Mall. Hiking might be a little much for the 5 year old. But you can play it by ear. Do the east end one day and the west end on the next day

The Mall is about 2 miles long, Capitol Building to Lincoln Memorial, and about a 1/4 mile wide. The Metro can take you over to Arlington Cemetery and save you the walk, or as long you are at the Lincoln Memorial, you can walk over the 14th Street bridge.

You can check the Metro Map and plan your commute here

I will look into the trolley, good idea. If it goes past the white house and capitol building, that may have to do for now just to see it. The children will take school field trips later that will take them on tours inside those buildings. After looking at the Trolley guide, it will be $240 for my family to use that system for 2 days. Might be a time saver, but I wonder how much cheaper and inconvenient it would be to use the Metro?

I realize that this is very compressed, but vacation time is limited, and 2-3 days of sightseeing is better than none.
I have heard several good comments about the zoo, but we have a zoo here we visit every year. I'm sure it's not up to the same par as the DC zoo, but I really need to reserve this stop for those items that are unique to DC.

As a family our priorities are:
Lincoln Memorial
WWII Memorial
Washington Monument
National Archives
Smithsonian Museums: Air and Space and Natural History. Time permitting, American History

Maybe we can squeeze these in.

Check this site for information about White House tours. They have to be arranged through your Congressman and are very, very limited. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours-and-events
You also must make reservations for tours of the Capitol: http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/plan-visit/book-tour-the-capitol
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are on public display at the National Archives. Don't believe you need any prior arrangements for that.

It is pushing it in three days IMHO. You might want to look at using a hop on/hop off sightseeing bus (like this one: http://www.viator.com/Washington-DC-tours/Hop-on-Hop-off-Tours/d657-g12-c97?pref=204&aid=m3574 to make your visit more organized and to help you get around. There's much more to see than what you mentioned (Arlington National Cemetery, the President's Monuments, the National ARchives, etc. and it is very spread out. If you're going in the summer, it can be really hot and humid and using this type of transportation works well. Just a thought. You could easily spend the 3 days just in the Smithsonian Museums (remember, there are 19 Museums and Galleries, as well as the National Zoo. Your children will LOVE the Zoo, and the most popular museums can get to be very, very crowded.

I think your plan is a little over reaching. You could spend a week doing each of the things you mentioned.

Years ago, I had a friend that was being discharged from the Army and he was sent to Walter Reed Medical Center, where they lost his orders. He was stuck there for 30 days. So after he was examined in the AM, he had the rest of the day free, so he would go downtown. He was bound and determined to see everything in every Smithsonian museum. He failed.

If you want to maximize the sites that you mention, you might want to look into getting a two day pass for the Hop on - Hop off trolley.