Washington, DC which is also known as the District of Columbia is the capitol of the United States of America and where the President lives in the White House as well as most of the other large political figures. This city is situated on the Potomac river and borders the 2 states of Virginia and Maryland. This whole area was founded in the mid 1700’s giving it a wonderful history to appreciate. James Madison thought that the capitol of the US should be separate from any state in order to be independent in addition to a way to keep it safer among other things. Because the political history is so strongly based here, it is a interesting city to visit to see the various sights or to even hold a special occasion at a Washington DC event venue or a Washington DC event venues.

One of the things a lot of people that go to Washington DC wish to do is to go to the various monuments around the city. In 1791, President Washington hired a French architect to plan out the city of the nation’s capitol. One of the things that makes the DC area unique from other American metropolitan areas is the height of the buildings were restricted making it the American version of Paris like Thomas Jefferson envisioned.

There are several monuments and memorials to see and it is recommended to maybe go on a tour that will visit the best ones in DC. A lot of visitors want to see the White House but most people are not allowed to go inside for a tour anymore because of heightened security. The National Cathedral and the US Capitol and Washington Monument are all amazing architectural sights to see. A couple of memorials for two Presidents are also a must see stop and they are the Thomas Jefferson Memorial as well as the Lincoln Memorial that are all located near the Mall area. The most recent memorial but one that has drawn thousands of visitors is the Vietnam Vets memorial where many families search for the names of their family members that were lost in the Vietnam War.

Besides, monuments and memorials, there are several spectacular museums to go to in the country’s capitol. 3 of the best recommendations would be the Smithsonian Institute, the National Museum of Natural History and the National Air and Space Museum. The Smithsonian Institute is located in a castle looking building and has been the site of a few movies filmed and is the main location of the offices that own and run a few of the other museums in DC. Both the Air and Space museum as well as the natural History museum are free to visit which is one of the great things about national museums; there is no admission fee.

There is so much to do and see in this great city so plan ahead and budget your finances as the hotels in the city are very pricey. Also, the best times to visit are in the spring and fall when the weather is warm and comfortable and the crowds are less.