National Mall
The National Mall is in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It is an open-area national park and the National Park Service administers the National Mall.
The National Mall or ‘The Mall’ as it is called is a long strip surrounded by museums and monuments. It is over 2 miles from the Lincoln Memorial on the western border to the US Capitol on the east.
The major ones are
1. US Capitol
2. Ulysses S. Grant Memorial
3. National Gallery of Art
4. National Museum of the American Indian
5. National Air and Space Museum
6. National Museum of Natural History
7. Hirshhorn Museum
8. Smithsonian Castle
9. National Museum of American History
10. Washington Monument
11. World War II Memorial
12. Vietnam Memorial
13. Korean War Veterans Memorial
14. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
15. Lincoln Memorial
You have to budget some good time for the mall. Even a week’s visit would not be enough to really devour all the Smithsonian’s institutions. You pick and choose according to your interests. The art galleries are fantastic, but not be good with kids, who will on the other hand love the Natural History and Air and Space Museums and that, will please adults as well.
To see a lot during a limited stay and time is to visit museums during the day and monuments at night. The museums usually close at 5PM, then take a long walk to visit the monuments in the dark when the air cools, and when the monuments are their most beautiful. It’s a popular activity in the summer; you won’t be alone even after midnight.
Activities
The National Mall is home to popular annual events like
• The Smithsonian Folk life Festival
• The Fourth of July fireworks and
• The Kite Festival.
There is a carousel in warm weather and a skating rink in the cold months.
Also everything from dog shows and movies to ultimate Frisbee and club sports can be found on its greens.
The great place, just sitting in the middle gives you a birds-eye view of all the monuments. There are sale kiosks with goodies and food. Watch people from all over the world a true fun place to people watch and the central point to get to everything.
Go and revel in it.