White House
The most famous building in the city is the White House, home to the first family and a high spot on any visit to Washington, DC. Very little of the building is on show but most enjoy the opportunity to enter the powerhouse of the USA. A self-guided tour takes around 15-20 minutes passing by the Vermeil Room and Library and through the rooms on the State floor. Information on the rooms can be obtained from the US Secret Service Tour Officers stationed there. Additional information on the architecture, first families, social events and son on, can be obtained from the White House Visitor Information Center (daily 0730-1600) on the southeast corner of 15th and E Streets. The center also features a 30-minute video and White House

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
A fascinating place to visit when in the city is the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the headquarters of the famous US law enforcement agency, the FBI. A one-hour guided tour includes crime laboratories where scientific examinations take place, historic exhibits of famous cases and a firearms demonstration by a special agent. The tour is closed for renovation at present. Check website for proposed tour resumption.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial depicts the 32nd US president in his wheelchair and honors his services to the country during four terms of office. In addition, there are also bronze sculptures of Eleanor Roosevelt, events from the Great Depression and World War II.

International Spy Museum
All is not what it seems at one of Washington’s most fun museums. Through multimedia presentations, hands-on exhibits and audiovisual effects, focus is on educating the public about espionage’s impact on current and historic events. Spy paraphernalia such as decoder machines, miniature cameras, a lipstick pistol and even James Bond’s Astin Martin with machine gun headlights are on display. Visitors can assume a cover, break codes and identify spies. Each period of espionage history is showcased in an appropriate setting: Mata Hari and The Sisterhood of Spies are set in a boudoir; a European farmhouse documents the activities of the OSS (the Office of the Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA), and a fallout shelter chronicles the Cold War.

Lincoln Memorial
The imposing 5.8m (19ft) marble statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, gazes from the Lincoln Memorial across the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument. The style of the memorial is that of a Greek temple with 36 Doric columns, but it is the statue of Lincoln, sculpted by Daniel Chester French, that steals the show. On the interior walls, there are inscriptions from the Gettysburg Address and his second inaugural speech.

National Mall
Many of Washington’s most important monuments and institutions, described individually below, are located in the National Mall, a green park area extending three kilometers (two miles) from the US Capitol to the Washington Monument. Major Pierre L’Enfant originally planned the Mall as a grand avenue lined with mansions, but lack of funds meant that the site was just left as an open area used for grazing animals. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century, when many more public institutions and monuments had been constructed in the immediate area (including the White House), that they were linked with the series of gardens that now make up the Mall. It is an ideal place for people watching from one of the many benches shaded by 200-year-old elm trees and is also the site for many celebrations throughout the year, such as the Independence Day Celebrations on 4 July.

Smithsonian Institution Museums
The Smithsonian Institution encompasses many museum and research centers around the city which are: Anacostia Museum and Center for African-American History, Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Arts & Industries Building, Freer Gallery of Art, Hirschorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, the two National Air and Space Museums which includes the facility on 6th Street and Independence Avenue and the new Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, near Dulles Airport, National Museum of African Art, National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of the American Indian (scheduled to open in September 2004), National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian National Postal Museum, National Zoological Park, Renwick Gallery of Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

National Air and Space Museum
The most popular of all the Smithsonian Museums, the National Air and Space Museum traces the development of air and space travel. It is home to the original Wright Brothers’ 1903 Flyer, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St Louis, the Bell X-1, the plane that broke the sound barrier in 1947, the Apollo 11 lunar command module and a vast collection of aviation and space technology memorabilia. Free 90-minute tours trace the history of air and space. The museum also houses an IMAX film theater and the Albert Einstein Planetarium.

National Museum of Natural History
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a superb collection of dinosaur fossils, an insect zoo, the world’s largest preserved bush elephant, the 45.5-carat Hope Diamond and an IMAX film theater. The recently opened Mammal Hall is devoted to mammal and human diversity, evolution and adaptation.

US Capitol
US legislative policy is shaped under the magnificent 55m (180ft) white dome of the US Capitol. The cornerstone of the US Capitol, home to the Senate and the House of Representatives, was laid in 1793. It was not until 1800 that Congress moved into its new home, even though only the north wing was finished completely. The white-painted dome is visible from all parts of the city and is topped by a 5.8m (19ft) Statue of Freedom. Several areas of the building are open to the public, including Statuary Hall, the original Supreme Court Chamber and the Crypt (the intended burial place of George Washington and his wife).

US Capitol - Washington

Washington Monument
Dedicated to the first president of the United States, the Washington Monument dates from 1885 and is 169m (555ft) tall. A lift takes visitors to the top to enjoy spectacular views of the surrounding area. Recent improvements to the monument include the 193 restored Memorial Stones, which have been donated over the years (from July 1848) by states, cities and foreign countries to pay tribute to George Washington, as well as new exhibits about the nation’s Founding Father and the history of the monument.

Library of Congress
Originally housed in the north wing of the US Capitol when Congress first moved there in 1800, the nation’s library, the Library of Congress, celebrated its bicentennial in 2000. The world’s largest library contains over 40 collections of rare American history materials and nearly 119 million items, including copies of the Gutenberg Bible and a copy of the musical score of the ‘Star Spangled Banner.’ Exhibitions change regularly. There are daily guided tours of the 19th-century Thomas Jefferson Building. Public tours of the library are available Mon-Fri (1030, 1130, 1330, 1430 and 1530). On Saturday there is no 1530 tour.