Best Activities for a Rainy Day in Washington DC
Washington DC Tours
Types of Attractions
Neighborhoods
Show less
Other
We found 119 results for you in Washington DCClear all filters
Map
Sort by:
Traveler Favorites
Filter
- Good for a Rainy Day
Museums
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
12,205
"Great museum full of wonderful exhibits on dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures, gems and minerals, early Human artifacts and ancestry, animals and insects (including taxidermy specimens and fossils), mummies, and...""Our family enjoyed this museum great with our favorite parts being the butterfly exhibit, gems, skeletons of all the mammals, the amazing African elephant just to name a few"
Museums
National Museum of African American History and Culture
3,478
"... -Do visit each level; -Do watch as many of the videos that are playing; -Eat a lunch at the Sweet Home Café for a varied menu offering; -Shop at the wonderful gift shop for unique items; -Do observe the fantas...""The cultural exhibits on the upper floors (with wider galleries) are very informative and enjoyable - - African Americans in literature,painting and sculpture, music, poetry, sports, "Black is Beautiful" related e..."
Sights & Landmarks
U.S. Capitol
6,955
"I've done the Senate murals tour (last spring), which shows the opulent and colorful murals that grace the Senate chamber halls, and the new Votes for Women tour (last week), which focuses on the centennial of the...""You will see Statuary Hall, which is very impressive and the Rotunda below the Capitol Dome which contains some great statues also and huge paintings of historical events."
Museums
National Gallery of Art
9,190
"... just inches away, and Gauguin with his bright colored patterns and shapes on the other side of the room... be amazed at the brilliant details of light in the Dutch masters and Salvador’s Dali’s Last Supper...""It has an exceptional and broad collection along with a great sculpture garden, terrific theater and wonderful cafe and gift shop."
Traveler Resources
Library of Congress
9,005
"The library offers lots of wonderful photo opportunities and also houses the books of Thomas Jefferson along with a number of other interesting exhibitions including a beautifully preserved Gutenberg Bible.""The Jefferson Building (one of three Library of Congress buildings) was built in the 1890s and is beautiful - the inside architecture is stunning and you can look into the reading room which is magnificent."
Museums
National Air and Space Museum
23,304
"This museum was awesome as was our tour guide Glennyce who was very knowledgeable of all aspects of our country's aviation history from the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk to our ongoing space exploration of...""This is a much larger museum than the main one with exhibits including the B-29 'Enola Gay', an Air France Concorde, the Boeing Dash 80, a Space Shuttle, etc...…… A superb experience seeing both museums and a must..."
Museums
National Portrait Gallery
3,500
"Pottery, sculpture, folk art, glass-walled conservation demo room, charming covered courtyard—well, it’s clearly too much for the limited space.""Why? -Free entrance -Free tour -Friendly employees -Presidents Portraits and a wide range other art exhibits -a cafe that serves sangria and wine -courtyard seating -every time I needed to use the restroom, there..."
Museums
Museum of the Bible
1,042
"... walkthrough of the Old Testament (must do!), visiting a town in Galilee, many archeological finds including some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a place to share your own testimony and watch others, and much more!""The First Floor has a Virtual Reality Tour of the Lands of the Bible that provides a VR immersion at 20 Biblical sites including sailing across the Sea of Galilee, climbing the stairs of the Temple Mount, followin..."
Museums
Ford's Theatre
4,278
"Included in the tour is a visit to an additional building across the street which houses some materials related to the assassination, Lincoln's funeral train and reconstruction and a bookshop.""The museum and park sevice tours are open to the public, tickets based on donations (at the visitors choice), and provide a combination of self guided museum tour and a ranger talk about the last day of Lincoln's..."
Museums
The National Archives Museum
3,488
"... the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights as well as one of the best preserved copies of the Magna Carta donated to the Archives by David Rubenstein, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group.""The highlights are the charters of freedom, (Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights) Though nearly impossible to read these original documents, just being able to see is an emotional experience."
Sights & Landmarks
Washington National Cathedral
3,069
"The Cathedral has stunning modern stained glass, gorgeous old tapestries, flags from all 50 states, an amazing organ, gorgeous carved stonework and woodwork, multiple small elegant chapels, lower level crypts and...""Even though this Cathedral is being repaired (due to earthquake damage), it is most beautiful ... and stunning."
Nature & Parks
United States Botanic Garden
2,777
"Besides the Children's garden, which has some cool metal dandelion sculptures, there are very cool plant-fashionable plantings in the front of the building and other grounds.""There are couches outside to sit on and the exhibits in the building have warm and cool areas depending upon the plant life."
Museums
Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
1,251
"Along with a 1920s neo-Georgian house are a comprehensive collection of Russian Imperial Art including Fabergé eggs and 18th century French decorative arts along with landscaped gardens and woodlands.""She was married to a former US ambassador to Russia in the 1930's and amassed an amazing collection of czarist items including Faberge eggs, royal jewelry, palace dinnerware, family portraits and Russian Orthodox..."
Sights & Landmarks
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
1,890
"Mass at the Crypt church is extraordinary, Mass at the Upper Church will expand your Spirit, reconciliation will reunite you to God and you might even be blessed enough to get some spiritual direction!""Easy to get to, I took the metro (red line) to Brookland CUA, with shops to eat and rest your feet along the way."
Museums
Smithsonian American Art Museum
1,543
"Although these galleries don’t get the same attention as all the other Smithsonian museums on the National Mall, they are a must see! Excellent layout to match an excellent collection.""This was our first visit to SAAM, and were looking specifically for the James Hamilton exhibit, including the Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, and the Presidential portraits."
Museums
National Museum of American History
4,954
"Highlights: - Star-Spangled Banner - Washington’s uniform - Jefferson’s lap desk - Dorothy’s ruby slippers - RMS Titanic Life Vest - Babe Ruth Autographed Baseball - Prince’s yellow cloud electric guitar Highly re...""This museum has a lot of worthy collections and revisits all American culture from wars to pop culture (must visit for Batman and/or Wizard of Oz fans); from Presidents of the USA to technology development."
Museums
International Spy Museum
5,382
"I had forgotten about the interactive aspect of choosing a secret identity as a spy and memorizing the cover story, and I was glad to see that ages and ethnicities ranged so anyone could readily find a reasonable...""The gift shop is as well-curated as the museum, moving beyond the items you'd expect (invisible ink pens, disguises) to drones, safe-building kits, games, puzzles, maps, and extensive collections of fiction and no..."
Sights & Landmarks
Supreme Court
1,479
"Walking around this beautiful building you are constantly reminded the history is being made with every decision passed down from the Supreme Court of the United States.""What an unforgettable experience to sit in on SCOTUS oral arguments – if you pre plan and have some flexibility in your schedule, it is highly recommended."
Traveler Resources
U.S. Capitol Visitor Center
1,011
"Our tour of the Capitol was the highlight of our first trip to Washington, and tour guide Norah O'Reilly was the most informative and engaging guide we have ever had, anywhere.""In spite of a snow day and Government shut-down, our event was kept in superb infrastructure of the Capitol Building & US Capitol Visitor Center for a most interesting seminar on US Transatlantic Relations and Alg..."
Transportation
Union Station
2,282
"Just stumbled across the most beautiful station which would rival Grand Central in NYC.""It's only fitting that an amazing train station known an Union Station would be located in the nation's capital; Washington D.C. It's wonderful to arrive here on an Amtrak train from somewhere in the U.S. A. It's..."
Concerts & Shows
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
1,738
"They have free concerts on the Millenium Stage and we saw the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington which was incredible!!""At the far end is the Grand Foyer, at the center of which you can see the iconic bust of President Kennedy, and at each end there is a Millennium Stage, where on many evenings you can watch a free musical performa..."
Museums
National Geographic Museum
859
"I did notice that the Queens of Egypt exhibit did offer a scavenger hunt for younger children and I visited the museum gift shop the had an extensive amount of Egyptian themed and National Geographic labeled merch...""Notable that Nat Geo was involved in the restoration and preservation of the sacred site."
Museums
National Postal Museum
1,115
"... coach, a created forest trail through which the coaches passed, an informative section on the Pony Express, a mail coach from a railway and of course, a large collection of stamps, including some of the most f...""Worth a visit, especially since Metro it is around the corner and the Circulator stop is right across the street in front of the museum."
Museums
The Phillips Collection
1,390
"We strolled around, viewed a wonderful exhibit, "BONNARD TO VUILLARD: The Intimate Poetry of Everyday Life" and of course sat in the Mark Rothko Room for 15 minutes.""From Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party to O'Keefe, Rothko and the Migration series, this is another very special place in our nation's capital."
