National Archives facade.

National Archives

Top choice in Washington, DC


It's hard not to feel a little in awe of the big three documents in the Archives: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Taken together, it becomes clear just how radical the American experiment was. The archival bric-a-brac of the Public Vaults makes a flashy rejoinder to the main exhibit. You can reserve tickets (www.recreation.gov) for $1.50 and use the fast-track entrance on Constitution Ave (especially recommended in spring and summer).

The David M Rubenstein Gallery explores the evolution of rights in the United States from its earliest days through to the present. Among its vast collection of photographs, documents, videos and interactive exhibits, its most coveted artifact is one of four surviving originals of the 1297 Magna Carta.

Transportation

  • metro: Green, Yellow Line to Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Washington, DC attractions

1. FDR Memorial Stone

0.06 MILES

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt didn’t want a grand monument like the one that's now on the Mall. Rather, he said if there was to be a memorial to him…

2. Navy Memorial & Naval Heritage Center

0.09 MILES

The hunched figure of the Lone Sailor, warding off the wind with his flipped-up pea coat, is an oft-overlooked memorial in the city. The sailor waits…

5. National Museum of Natural History

0.19 MILES

Arguably the most popular of the Smithsonian museums, so crowds are pretty much guaranteed. Wave to Henry, the elephant who guards the rotunda, then zip…

6. National Gallery of Art

0.2 MILES

Two buildings. Hundreds of masterpieces. Infinite enjoyment. It's easy to spend a full day at the National Gallery of Art, which showcases a whole range…

7. Federal Bureau of Investigation

0.2 MILES

DC's concrete, brutalist FBI headquarters should be seen, if only to say you have laid eyes on the single ugliest building in the entire District. When it…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "usa/washington-dc/downtown-penn-quarter/attractions/national-archives/a/poi-sig/386087/1329651",
      "destination": "Washington,-DC",
      "continent": "North-America",
      "country": "USA",
      "city": "Washington,-DC",
      "position": "superzone"
    }