To visit Washington from New York It is one of the best excursions you can do in the city of skyscrapers. This city stands out for many things, in addition to hosting many official US government buildings, spectacular museums and memorials to relevant figures, presidents and war veterans, we are sure to surprise you.
Very different from the Big Apple, clean to the extreme, neat, with low buildings and a beautiful historic center, Georgetown, Washington D.C. is a excursion from New York highly recommended
Its most prominent area and the one that more tourists visit is Nacional Mall, a huge rectangular esplanade with a reflecting pool in the center, where buildings such as The White House, the Capitol, Washinton Monument, the Lincoln Memorial are concentrated around it and several museums, among many others.
How to get to Washington from New York
For get to Washington from New York You have several options, among which you can choose one or the other, depending on the days you can dedicate to the city.
Most travelers who visit New York have a day to do this tour, although after our experience, we can say that it is a city that can be perfectly dedicated 2 or 3 full days and not get tired.
For the Washington tour from New York If you do not have a rental car, you can choose between going by bus or train. We recommend the bus, with a journey time between 4 and 5 hours, similar to that of the train, but in which the seats are more comfortable, you have Wi-Fi and it is also cheaper.
Being one of the best excursions in New York there are several bus companies that do the tour and the frequency is quite high 24 hours a day. Most depart from areas near Penn Station or Hudson Yards. There are several companies of buses to go from New York to Washington like Greyhound, Boltbus or Megabus.
If you only have one day a great option is to book this bus tour with a guide in Spanish or this private one, in both you will be picked up at the hotel and you will visit the most prominent places in Washington while explaining the history and curiosities of each site.
If you have more days you can book any of these recommended guided tours in Spanish:
For more information about the transfer you can read this post on how to go from New York to Washington.
Places to visit in Washington D.C.
There are many places to visit in Washington that are worthwhile, on our last trip to New York to have enough days in the city we did a 3-day trip to Washington. Based on our experience we have made a list of the most essential places to visit in Washington. Most of these places can be visited in one day as they are relatively close to each other.
A good option to learn more about the history of each place is to book this visit through Washington with a guide in Spanish or if you do the excursion for free, book the tour bus in Washington and thus save time on transfers and see everything in a very comfortable way .
If you are going to spend the night in Washington D.C., we warn you that accommodation in the center is quite expensive. We were at The Architect hotel, near the National Mall, with a good value for money and with 24-hour reception, which we really liked.
Another highly recommended accommodation is the Phoenix Park Hotel, located a few meters from Union Station and the red metro line.
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is a huge obelisk located in the National Mall that can be seen from many places in the city and is also one of the icons of Washington. From the top of the obelisk you have the Washington's best visits, although it is now under construction until 2019.
Washington Monument
The White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the most powerful president in the world. It can be seen from its two side walks, although the front of the house, due to the great security that surrounds it, is seen from quite a distance.
The White House
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is one of the places where more tourists are concentrated and this monument is built in memory of one of the most important and inspiring presidents of the United States. We recommend visiting it at sunset and sitting on its stairs to watch the sunset and the Washington Monument reflected in the waters of the Reflecting Pool. This is undoubtedly one of the best things to see and do in Washington DC.
As a curiosity we will tell you that on the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial you can find a plaque that recalls the place where Martin Luther King Jr. gave the famous speech "I have a Dream".
Lincoln Memorial
Georgetown
Georgetown is the historic neighborhood of Washington and for us, the most beautiful in the city. The neighborhood is located on the banks of the Potomac River and looks with its beautiful colorful houses, clean streets full of shops and charming shops.
You cannot leave the neighborhood without trying the delicious Georgetown Cupcake cupcakes, one of the essential places to visit in a Washington tour from New York, which will also help you to gain strength and continue visiting the city.
Georgetown
Arlington Cemetery
Arlington Cemetery is one of the largest in the world, in which more than 300,000 thousand soldiers who gave their lives for their country in different wars are buried. The most prominent places, in addition to the endless rows of white tombstones with the name of the soldier and the war that participated, are the tombs of John F Kennedy and his wife Jackie Kennedy, the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and his famous changing of the guard.
Another place you can not miss are the views of the Pentagon from the highest part of the cemetery.
A good option to learn more about the history of the Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon is to book this guided tour in Spanish.
Arlington Cemetery
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum is one of the most impressive museums we have visited on our trips.
Although you are not a big fan of airplanes or spaceships, we are sure that for a few hours you will love being able to see parts of Apollo XI and other spaceships, space suits, the first plane in the history of the Wright brothers, aircraft of the Second War World or the Spirit of Saint Louis, which made the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, among many others.
Washington National Air and Space Museum
The capitol
The Capitol is one of the most important buildings in the United States where the two houses of Congress meet. To make sure the entrance to visit the Capitol, the best option is to reserve the day and time of entry on its official website. The visit is free, guided in English and highlights especially the part below the dome, full of sculptures of presidents and works of art.
From the Capitol through an underground passage you can visit the impressive Library of Congress.
A good option to learn more about the history of the Library of Congress, the Capitol, the Supreme Court and the Washington Basilica is booking this guided tour in Spanish.
Library of Congress
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Reaching the Tidal Basin, next to the Potomac River, to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial is one of the most beautiful walks in Washington. The monument is composed of a beautiful neoclassical building with the statue of the principal author of the Declaration of Independence of the United States inside. If you come in spring, the walk to the memorial that is full of cherry trees, you can see it in full bloom, a spectacular moment, which you will surely not forget.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
War Veterans Memorial
There are several monuments and memorials dedicated to those who gave their lives for the United States that are worth visiting. After our experience, we would highlight the following:
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial, composed of a memorial wall with the names of dead soldiers and a statue with three soldiers.
- Korean War Veterans Memorial, has 19 white statues of soldiers in combat formation within the vegetation, which pay tribute to the veterans of this war.
- National World War II Memorial in memory of the thousands of American soldiers killed in this terrible war.
- United States Marine Corps War Memorial also called Iwo Jima Memorial, famous for photography "Raising the flag on Iwo Jima" and the movie "Flags of our parents"from Clint Eastwood.
Iwo Jima Memorial
How to have internet in Washington?If you want to have internet in the United States a good option is to buy one Holafly SIM card, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, several GB of data, keeping your WhatsApp number and support service in Spanish.
You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader.
Statues
Other statues and memorials that we would recommend your visit, if you make a Washington tour from New York would:
- Martin Luther King Memorial, a huge statue of the leader of the civil rights movement for African Americans, with folded arms and the text "a stone of hope from a mountain of despair".
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, an extensive monument in honor of one of the best presidents of the United States, full of his most famous phrases and statues of the president.
- Albert Einstein Memorial, a large bronze statue of the genius Einstein holding some papers with his famous formula on the theory of relativity. This statue can be found next to the National Academy of Sciences.
Albert Eisntein Memorial
Museum of Natural History
For us it would be a great visit if you have not visited the Natural History Museum in New York before, which in our opinion is much more complete.
It is located in a beautiful neoclassical building where you can see large dinosaur reproductions.
If you feel like helping us expand the list of places to visit in Washington from New York, add yours in the comments.
