3 Days in DC with Teens

Doing DC with teens is all about planning how to see the most while walking the least. I’ve taken my kids to DC a few times, but I’ve found the best ages to go are the early teen years. They are probably studying some history in school and finally old enough to do some walking without (much) crying. There is so much to see in DC and most of it is free. I suggest going in the spring if you can for the best walking weather and chance to see the beautiful popping cherry blossoms. We started at the impressive Lincoln Memorial and reflecting pool.

Next we walked just 5 minutes to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

This would be a good time to see the Korean War Memorial but it was closed for renovations while we were there. So, next we walked 15 minutes to the World War II Memorial.

We took a little break from walking and jumped in an Uber for a 5 minute ride to Arlington National Cemetery. Jump on one of their free shuttles as the walk can be long and hilly.

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Don’t miss the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Try to catch the changing of the guard which happens every hour on the hour.

If you are not too exhausted, you can head back downtown for more.

DC has excellent museums. I highly recommend the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Museum of African American History and Culture, Air and Space Museum, and so many others. We had already been to those museums on previous trips, and the kids were studying the Holocaust so we chose to visit the Holocaust Museum. It is extremely heavy but so powerful.

While downtown, of course you can’t miss the impressive Washington Monument and the White House. Both are about a 10 minute walk or a quick Uber ride from anywhere downtown.

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This is probably a great time to go back and relax. I highly suggest a hotel with a pool for teens. We stayed at the Omni Shoreham Hotel for this reason. It’s not downtown but just a quick 10 minute drive. The Omni Shoreham is also a quick walk to the Smithsonian National Zoo. We just did a quick walk through it on this trip, as we had done it while they were younger. But it’s an amazing zoo if you have never been!

Check out the Dupont Circle area for dinner. There are so many great bars and restaurants! My teens love Ramen and we had a delicious dinner at Jinya Ramen Bar!

Day 1 was pretty packed so day 2 was more relaxing. We hung by the pool in the morning and spent the afternoon in Georgetown. The kids loved walking around the stores and seeing Georgetown University. Don’t miss the famous Georgetown Cupcake.

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We spent our last day in DC walking around the beautiful Tidal Basin. Uber to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial to start and walk the easy 2 mile loop through the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (my favorite). End at the impressive Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

This was a fun and educational trip with my teens that we will never forget!