Best DC Free Museums

This checklist covers the free museums on and near the National Mall in Washington, DC, for first-time visitors and locals alike. Most sit along Constitution and Independence avenues, with the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum a short walk north in Penn Quarter. The National Museum of Natural History holds the Hope Diamond and a giant African elephant in its rotunda. At the National Gallery of Art, the West Building has the only Leonardo da Vinci painting in the Americas, while the I.M. Pei East Building handles modern art. The Museum of American History displays the Star-Spangled Banner and Dorothy's ruby slippers. The Hirshhorn, the round 'doughnut' of modern art, adds a sunken sculpture garden.

Entry costs nothing, but Air and Space requires a timed pass, and same-day passes go fast. At Natural History, arrive right at opening to beat school groups.