Visiting the Washington monument is a fantastic way to learn about US history and culture as well as appreciate its architectural beauty. The Washington Monument is an unforgettable experience – a colossal tribute to America’s first president. Did you know it was the tallest building in the world upon its completion in 1884, standing 555 feet, 5.125 inches?

The best way to take a Washington Monument tour is to reserve tickets on their website before you go. While picking up tickets on the day you visit is possible, they tend to go quickly, and the line starts forming around 7 am. Unless you’re a natural early bird, you may as well go to the website before you arrive – especially if you don’t want to wait around for 90 minutes until they open at 8:30. Tickets to the Washington Monument are free, although reserving them comes with an extra charge of $1.50 per ticket, and they’re available on the website three months before the date of the visit. With proper planning, visiting Washington Monument can be an enjoyable and memorable experience. There are plenty of places where spontaneity can work out while you’re on vacation, but in our opinion, the Washington Monument isn’t one of them.

Once you’ve made it to the top of the monument, there are two floors of exhibits you can look at. These exhibits feature historical photographs and information about the memorial, the city, and George Washington himself. However, the natural attraction of the Washington Monument is the view from the top. The monument is over 500 feet tall, making it the tallest structure in DC and giving you an idea of the entire city. Be sure to take some snapshots as souvenirs from your journey across time! 

From the observation deck, you can see nearly 25 miles into the horizon in every direction. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia are visible from the top of the Washington Monument. To the east, the U.S. Capitol, R.F.K. Stadium, the Anacostia River, Nationals Park, and the National Arboretum; to the north, the White House, National Cathedral, and Shrine of the Immaculate Conception; to the west, the Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the Potomac River, the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, Theodore Roosevelt Island; to the south, the Tidal Basin, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the Pentagon, the Washington Channel, and the George Washington Masonic Memorial.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Washington, DC, why not check out our self-guided tour of the city? Available through the Action Tour Guide app on both iOS and Android, the tour will take you through some of the most exciting places in Washington, including the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Smithsonian, as well as offer some background history on the city itself.

I’m sure you will love our self-guided tours. I strongly recommend that you subscribe to Action+, which includes all of our tours in a single, year-long package. Travel all year and take our self-guided tours with you wherever you go!