Union Station Plaza

Washington, DC


This grassy space with a large fountain cascade spreads in front of Union Station. The area is also known as Columbus Circle, since the fountain is a monument to explorer Christopher Columbus.

Transportation

  • metro: Red Line to Union Station

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Washington, DC attractions

1. Union Station

0.06 MILES

DC's main rail hub, a 1907 beaux-arts beauty designed by Daniel Burnham, is an eye popper. The Grand Concourse is patterned after the Roman Baths of…

2. National Postal Museum

0.13 MILES

The Smithsonian-run Postal Museum is way cooler than you might think. Level 1 has exhibits on postal history from the Pony Express to modern times, where…

3. National Japanese American Memorial

0.25 MILES

Tucked back from the road and providing a peaceful sanctuary, the memorial centers on a statue of two cranes bound with barbed wire. During WWII, some 120…

5. Taft Memorial Carillon

0.35 MILES

What is that chiming you hear every hour and quarter-hour? It's the 27 bells of the Taft Memorial Carillon, built to honor Senator Robert A Taft from Ohio…

6. Summerhouse

0.4 MILES

Northwest of the Capitol is the charming 1879 Summerhouse, a redbrick hexagon with black-iron gates and an interior well. This is where women in the late…

7. Supreme Court

0.41 MILES

The highest court in the USA occupies a pseudo-Greek temple protected by 13,000lb bronze doors. Arrive early to watch arguments (periodic Monday through…

8. US Capitol

0.47 MILES

Since 1800, this is where the legislative branch of American government (ie Congress) has met to write the country's laws.

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