Visit Washington, DC!

Hotel and travel tips for visiting Washington, DC

  • Home
  • Visitor Information
    • Traveling to Washington DC
    • Getting Around Washington DC
    • Parking in Washington DC
    • Guided Tours of Washington DC
    • Washington DC News, Media, and Weather
    • Shopping in Washington DC
    • Restaurants in Washington DC
  • Sightseeing
    • Monuments & Memorials
    • Museums and Galleries
    • Other Washington DC Attractions
    • Parks
    • Day Trips
    • Take the Kids
    • Annual Events
  • Hotels
    • Featured Hotels
    • Hotels Near the Mall
    • Hotel Package Deals
    • Group Accommodations
    • Washington DC Hotels
    • Virginia Hotels
    • Maryland Hotels
  • Tour Books
  • Event Tickets
    • Kennedy Center Tickets
    • Capital One Arena Tickets
    • Warner Theatre Tickets
    • Eagle Bank Arena Tickets
    • Wolf Trap Tickets
    • Royal Farms Arena Tickets
    • The Theater at MGM National Harbor
    • FedEx Field Tickets
    • Washington Capitals Tickets
    • Washington Nationals Tickets
    • Washington Redskins Tickets
    • Washington Wizards Tickets
    • DC United Tickets
    • All Washington, DC Events
  • Tour Deals
  • Top 10
You are here: Home / Washington DC Sightseeing / Washington DC Monuments & Memorials / Washington Monument

Washington Monument

Washington Monument

At 555 feet, 5.5 inches, the Washington Monument is the tallest stone structure in the world. It is also the tallest structure of any kind in Washington, D.C., meaning that at some point during your visit — after the fifteenth or twentieth glimpse of it from a lot farther away than you’d have guessed you could see it — you’re bound to start wondering what the city looks like from the windows at its top.

The answer is: it looks stunning. On a clear day you can see 20 miles, but even on a muggy day you’ll see far enough to appreciate Pierre L’Enfant’s boulevard-and-circle vision of city design, and to take in the way the Potomac sweeps to the south of Capitol Hill. To the north you can look into the White House’s backyard. To the west lie the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial; to the south, the Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial; to the east, the whole length of the National Mall, all the buildings of the Smithsonian, and the U.S. Capitol. Around its base flutter fifty American flags, one for each state.

Although it is now the most iconic landmark in Washington, D.C., the Washington Monument sat unfinished for an astonishingly long time. Congress first formed a Washington National Monument Society to raise funds for it in 1833, but bad fundraising, interference by the American Party (also called the Know-Nothings), and the Civil War conspired to leave it stalled as a hundred-foot stump for 50 years. Interest in completing the monument revived with the first Centennial in 1876. Congress appropriated the money necessary to finish it, and the capstone was finally put in place in 1884.

Travel Tips

When the Washington Monument is open, more than 800,000 people visit the Monument each year — meaning that there’s often a line. You can pick up free, timed, same-day tickets at the Washington Monument Lodge, located along 15th Street, starting at 8:30 a.m. But be warned: during peak tourist season tickets run out quickly, and the line forms as early as 7 a.m. A better plan may be to reserve tickets through the National Park Service ticket web site, or by calling 1.877.444.6777, for a reservation fee.

The Washington Monument MonumentCam

For more, visit: www.nps.gov/wamo.

Travel Information

Washington Monument
Constitution Ave. and 15th St. NW
Washington, DC
202.426.6841

Hours: Open year round 7 days a week from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm (last available tour ticket at 4:00 pm), except for July 4th and December 25th.

Admission: Free

Parking: Limited parking is available along Ohio Drive, SW, between the Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Memorials. Limited three-hour parking is available on Jefferson and Madison Drives; metered parking is available on Independence Avenue.

Metrorail: Blue and Orange Line stops for Smithsonian; walk two blocks west on Independence Avenue.

Nearby Attractions
World War II Memorial
Smithsonian Museums
Lincoln Memorial

Suggested Tours
Old Town Trolley Tour
Washington DC Segway Tour
Washington Monument Reserved Admission with DC Landmarks and Memorials Tour

Comments

  1. Alana says

    April 9, 2024 at 1:13 pm

    This was, like, SUPER helpful! Way more helpful than some other websites I visited. I’m planning a trip for me and my college roomies, and we live in Hawaii, so we wanted to make the best of our trip, and this website let us know that it wouldn’t be wasted! We are definitely excited to get to come to the Mainland and see some sites! Even if we don’t get to surf while we’re here, we are pumped! ( which we hardly ever go somewhere we can’t surf) 🙂 This was WAY helpful!!

    Reply
  2. chelsea says

    November 21, 2023 at 11:44 am

    I love this info It is so helpful.

    Reply
    • AnnaMarie says

      April 9, 2024 at 1:05 pm

      Right! I completely agree. It was awesome to just click on this, and now I know everything I need to! 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Best Rate Guarantee

Book a Hotel

Advertisement

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Promote Your Event

Know of an event that would interest tourists in D.C.? We want to hear about it. Drop us a note and we'll help you get the word out.

Goldstar Deals

Find fun things to do in Washington, DC and save. Check out the current deals at Goldstar!

Book a Hotel

AD

Copyright 2024 Big Fish Design. All Rights Reserved. The District | Advertising Rates | Privacy Policy | Contact Us