{"id":9996,"date":"2019-07-30T11:18:55","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T15:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/?p=9996"},"modified":"2020-06-25T15:28:02","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T19:28:02","slug":"6-places-to-enjoy-in-washington-d-c-for-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/6-places-to-enjoy-in-washington-d-c-for-free\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Places to Enjoy in Washington, D.C. for Free"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the saying goes, \u201cThe best things in life\nare free.\u201d Getting your money\u2019s worth brings with it a satisfaction quite\ndifficult to put into words. The same goes for travel and has been quite the\nmindset for a lot of travelers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, the Capital of the United States does not fail to deliver. With a number of museums, historical places, and malls, Washington D.C.<\/a> easily ranks at the top of the best United States destinations<\/a>, especially for those that are budget- friendly. Aside from the Smithsonian museums, anyone can see the White House, watch a Shakespeare play, and even take some nature tripping \u2013 all absolutely free. Here are six of the top tourist destinations in Washington D. C. for those on a tight budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Tour around the East Wing of the White House<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Starting with the\nPresidential residence right off the bat because advanced planning is required.\nFor American citizens, they can request tours through the respective offices of\ntheir members of Congress. This should be done at least 21 days in advance and\nwill require a government-issued ID with their picture. Foreigners, on the\nother hand, can request these free tours from their embassy right in\nWashington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors are treated\nto an experience of the art and history permeating the East Wing. Usually, the\ntours go through the East Room, the State Dining Room, the Library, and the\nChina Room \u2013 with displays ranging from George Washington\u2019s export china to\nBill Clinton\u2019s variety of china wares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Take a walk at the National Zoo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Smithsonian\nInstitution\u2019s National Zoological Park is one of the oldest zoos in the\ncountry. Located at the end of the Rock Creek Park in Washington is the 163-\nacre urban park housing up to 2000 animals. One of the favorite spots in the\nNational Zoo is the Giant Panda habitat, a mix of outdoor and indoor areas\naccessible through the multiple viewing areas. Together with the Panda habitats\nare exhibits of exotic animals whose habitats are mostly located in Asia, such\nas sloth bears, cats, a clouded leopard, and Asian elephants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another area worth\nnoting is the Think Tank. It is an area designed and intended to teach its\nvisitors on how animals think and learn more about their surroundings. It has\nseveral interactive displays allowing visitors to experience the environment\nand the procedures of zoologists conducting studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Smell the flowers at the U. S. National Arboretum<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For tourists who prefer to enjoy the sights and scents of a wide variety of fauna, the US National Arboretum<\/a> is the perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan. Located northeast of the Capitol building, the many gardens are connected by roadways. It has seasonal flower gardens such as azalea in the spring and magnolias in spring and in winter. Also, located in the arboretum is the Bonsai and Penjing Museum, which is one of the largest collections of bonsai and penjing trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, the\narboretum is a center for botanical studies. There is a library with an\nextensive catalog of about 11,000 volumes and about a hundred publications\nmostly focused on botany. Fun fact: the official trees of all fifty states are\ngrown and maintained in the National Grove of State Trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Take educational tours with the National Park Service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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A tour of Washington\nDC is never complete without a stroll or two in the famous National Mall and\nMemorial Parks. The National Mall is a two- mile, landscaped open area\nextending from the Washington Monument to the United States Capitol. One of the\nbetter-known monuments within the National Mall includes the Lincoln Memorial \u2013\nbuilt to honor Abraham Lincoln and is currently honored as a symbolic center\nfor race relations. Also, multiple war memorials such as the Vietnam Veterans\nMemorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the National World War II Memorial,\nare located within the National Mall grounds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unknown to many, the\nNational Park Service offers free tours at most of these sites daily. They\noffer programs and special events to make your experience even better. Aside\nfrom the walking and bike tours around the National Mall, they also have a\nJunior Ranger program for thrill- seeking young visitors to earn badges while\nlearning the history and fun facts about the various spots within the mall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Walk through the hallowed halls of the Washington National Cathedral.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Another famous\nlandmark in Washington D. C. is the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint\nPaul in the City and Diocese of Washington, or commonly referred to as the\nWashington National Cathedral. This Neo-Gothic structure is the seat of both\nthe Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and the Bishop of the Diocese of\nWashington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its interior draws\ninspiration from a variety of Gothic architectural styles prominent in its\narches, buttresses, and even in its stained glass windows \u2013 some of which\ncommemorate Biblical scenes and some from American history. According to an\nannual report on the National Cathedral, more than 270,000 people visit the\nlandmark every year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Watch a Shakespeare work come to life<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Shakespeare Theatre Company<\/a> is a regional theatre company focused mainly on performing plays from the Shakespeare canon, but also sometimes performs works from other playwrights such as Ibsen, Wilde, Shaw, Coward, and Tennessee Williams. For every year since 1991, the Company has worked towards bringing the works of the \u201cWorld\u2019s Greatest Dramatist\u201d to a wider audience through its Free For All shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Company performs\nin the Harman Center for the Arts, which houses the Lansburgh Theatre and the\nSidney Harman Hall. It is also where they schedule performances of\nShakespearean classics over a two-week run \u2013 all free of charge!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it is getting\nharder to find such a thing as a free lunch, the capital of the United States\ndefinitely offers some of the best locations to go to \u2013 even on a tight budget.\nHowever, free or not, these destination spots really hit the mark for tourists\nlooking for a variety of experiences all in a single city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a number of museums, historical places, and malls, Washington D.C. easily ranks at the top of the best United States destinations, especially for those that are budget- friendly. Aside from the Smithsonian museums, anyone can see the White House, watch a Shakespeare play, and even take some nature tripping \u2013 all absolutely free. Here are six of the top tourist destinations in Washington D. C. for those on a tight budget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_type":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1237,1226],"tags":[781,15,1137],"class_list":["post-9996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget-travel","category-usa","tag-budget-travel","tag-travel","tag-washington","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 08:15:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9996"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10001,"href":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996\/revisions\/10001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.budgetyourtrip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}