Best DC Monuments at Night

This is an evening walking guide to the memorials in Washington, DC that look best after dark, for visitors and locals who like floodlights and thinner crowds. The route covers the Lincoln Memorial and Constitution Gardens at the west end of the National Mall, the Washington Monument at its center and the loop around the Tidal Basin. At the Lincoln Memorial, recessed lights fall on the seated statue; look for the corrected 'EUTURE' typo in the Second Inaugural engraving. The 19 steel soldiers of the Korean War Veterans Memorial are lit from below, their faces reflected in the granite wall. The black granite of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial reflects you as you read the names. The Jefferson Memorial's white marble glows across the Tidal Basin in the classic night photo.

Make the Jefferson the last stop on a Tidal Basin loop.