Washington DC Day Trips From New York: How You Get There

Washington DC and New York are close, so when you're in NYC you can do a day trip to see the highlights of the US capital.

The two cities are about 220 miles apart, a trip of roughly four and a half hours. Leave early and you can be back the same day. If you can stay a couple of days, even better, because there's plenty to see in Washington DC.

What to see in Washington DC

If you grew up watching American movies and TV shows, you have to go to Washington DC.

The capital of the United States is packed with monuments, memorials and museums, but above all with symbols. What dominates is a monumental architecture inspired by Greece and Rome.

Washington was planned in painstaking detail by the Freemason founding fathers as a stage set for the young nation, the great civic district of the United States.

If you want to breathe in American patriotism, this is the place: the White House, the Capitol, the Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery where JFK rests among thousands of service members killed in battle, and the FBI headquarters, where you'll see men in black coming and going.

Below I'll walk you through the most important places in Washington DC (you'll pass most of them on the 1-day tour from NYC):

1. The White House

The White House (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) was built in 1790 under George Washington as the official residence of the presidents of the United States. You can't miss it, since it's appeared in thousands of movies and TV shows.

Standing in front of the White House, two things surprise you: it's much smaller than it looks on screen, and there are always people protesting outside.

The only way to tour the White House is by submitting a request through the US Embassy in your home country. It's a fairly cumbersome process, so you'll most likely have to settle for seeing the White House from the outside.

White House Garden Tour

Much more doable is getting tickets to visit the gardens (White House Garden Tours), where you can see Jacqueline Kennedy's rose garden and the trees planted by each president. You'll also be just steps from the house, so you can photograph it up close.

One fascinating detail: the original design of these gardens is by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same landscape architect behind New York's Central Park.

These garden tours run in spring and fall and are organized by the US National Park Service. The link has the instructions for getting tickets.

2. The Capitol

The Capitol, home of the United States Congress, is another of the most iconic buildings in Washington DC.

You can visit for free by booking ahead on the Capitol's official website. The tour lasts an hour and a half, is in English, and includes access to the Rotunda, the circular hall beneath the building's dome.

It sits in the elegant residential neighborhood of Capitol Hill, where the political power of the US government is concentrated.

Next to the Capitol is the Library of Congress, one of the largest libraries in the world.

3. The National Mall

The National Mall is the long esplanade running from the Capitol to the Washington Monument (the obelisk). This is where the memorials, gardens and museums cluster. If you're short on time, spend it on the Mall.

Just say Forrest Gump and the famous Reflecting Pool springs to mind. That's where he ran to hug Jenny, his beloved hippie played by Robin Wright, the same actress who years later would play the first lady in House of Cards.

The distance between the Capitol and the obelisk is about 2.5 miles, and the best way to cover it is on foot or by bike so you can take in all the details.

Keep in mind you'll need at least half a day for this walk, because there's a lot to see (and that's without counting the time you spend inside each museum or monument).

The best-known Washington memorials are within the National Mall, namely:

• The Washington Monument (the obelisk)
• The Lincoln Memorial
• The Jefferson Memorial
• The Iwo Jima Memorial

The Washington Monument obelisk

From the observation deck of the 555-foot obelisk, the Washington Monument, you can make out the enigmatic design of this Masonic city…

The obelisk, ringed by 50 American flags, one for each state, is the center of Washington's design, and the city's most important avenues converge on its plaza.

To go up the obelisk you need to request tickets from the National Park Service, which manages the monument. Tickets are free, but there are few slots available and each comes with a specific entry time.

The Lincoln Memorial

The Reflecting Pool is part of the Lincoln Memorial, that neoclassical building where an enormous, majestic Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, awaits inside (remember the scene from Planet of the Apes at the monument? XD)

The steps of the Lincoln Memorial have been the setting for key moments in American politics. One of the most famous is the «I have a dream» speech that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered from there.

Along the sides of the Reflecting Pool stand other memorials to soldiers killed in war: the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The Jefferson Memorial

The Hellenic Jefferson Memorial sits beside the Tidal Basin.

Jefferson may not be as cinematic as Lincoln, but he was a pivotal US president as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (if you want to learn more about his role, you'll love visiting Philadelphia).

Come to Jefferson's temple at sunset and you'll catch the Washington Monument reflected in the water (I say «temple» on purpose, because the ultimate intent of these monuments was to build a kind of pantheon for the young nation).

It's especially beautiful in spring, when the dozens of cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin are in bloom.

The Iwo Jima Memorial

The Iwo Jima Memorial, officially the US Marine Corps War Memorial, is a sculpture based on photographer Joe Rosenthal‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning photo taken on the island of Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945.

The scene shows five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi in the middle of the brutal Battle of Iwo Jima.

Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers (2006) tells the story of that moment, if you want more context.

The Iwo Jima statue is very close to Arlington Cemetery, another of Washington's iconic sites.

4. Arlington National Cemetery

Between the Iwo Jima Memorial and the Pentagon lies this landmark American cemetery, with its endless, symmetrical rows of white headstones.

It holds the remains of war veterans who fell in battle, along with major figures such as John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

If you visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, on one of the highest hills in Arlington Cemetery, you'll get a sweeping view of Washington, including the impenetrable Pentagon.

5. The Smithsonian museums in Washington

Most of the museums in Washington DC are free, unlike the pricey museums in New York.

There are so many of them, all so huge and so good, that if you're short on time I'd pick one and promise yourself you'll come back for more.

Among the most famous is the National Museum of Natural History, where Night at the Museum 2 was filmed.

Another standout is the National Gallery of Art, home to one of the country's most important collections of American art (think of it as a giant version of New York's Whitney Museum).

For many visitors, especially those traveling with kids, the most popular one is the Air and Space Museum, where you'll find famous aircraft like the Wright brothers' plane and the Apollo 11 command module that Armstrong and Aldrin rode to the moon.

6. The Pentagon

You can't visit the Pentagon. You're not even allowed to stop in front of the building to take photos. Remember, it's a military facility.

The best way to see the whole span of it is from Arlington Cemetery (from the hill near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier).

7. Georgetown

If you've read this far, you've probably noticed how much I love movies. For me, walking around Washington always feels like touring the Hollywood studios. The whole city is a set! 😜

With that hint you can probably guess why I'm bringing up Georgetown. Regan, Father Merrin, Father Karras, Pazuzu… ring any bells?

This charming neighborhood on the banks of the Potomac River is where the unsettling story of William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973) takes place.

It's the Jesuits at Georgetown University that Ellen Burstyn's character turns to for help, it's a street in this neighborhood where they shot the exterior of the McNeil house, and it's here that you'll find the steps Karras tumbled down after the exorcism.

And yes, the house and the steps are real, and plenty of nerds like us go see them. The address of the house is 3600 Prospect Street Northwest, and the steps connect Prospect Street with 36th (keep in mind people actually live there ;).

You can hear the stories and trivia behind many of these iconic spots on a free walking tour of Washington DC, with a Spanish-speaking guide.

How to get from New York to Washington

There are 4 ways to get to Washington from New York: on a guided tour to Washington, D.C. from Manhattan, by train, by bus, or by renting a car

If you go by train or bus, I'd suggest staying at least one night in Washington to make the trip worth it. You can search for hotels at good prices here (booking early matters).

Tour to Washington from New York

If you're short on time and don't want to deal with the logistics, you can book a day trip to Washington from New York.

A Spanish-speaking guide is with you the whole way, the bus takes you from one landmark to the next so you save time, and it costs less than the train.

Just know that you'll leave very early and spend close to 10 hours on the road. There won't be much time to linger at each stop, but you'll get a first look at this cinematic city for a very good price and in very little time.

Train to Washington from Penn Station

Amtrak trains are the fastest way to reach Washington from Penn Station in New York (3 hours 30), but also the most expensive (around $100 round trip).

Bus to Washington from Port Authority

The bus ride takes about 5 hours. Buses leave frequently from Port Authority and they're pretty cheap ($20 to $40).

Tips for visiting Washington

🛌 Ideally you'd stay in Washington for at least two nights so you can take advantage of the dozens of free museums and monuments in the city.

🚶🏻🚶‍♂️You can see the main sights on foot or by bike 🚲 (you can rent bikes by the hour).

🚇 Use the Metro for longer distances (to get to Arlington, for example). It's expensive!

🚌 If you're comfortable with English and with public transit, you can use the Washington DC Circulator. It's much cheaper than the Metro, but the system is a little confusing.

🕶 Security checks in Washington are airport-style (you've probably already been through this visiting the Statue of Liberty). Try to travel light to avoid delays.

☀️ If you're doing Washington in summer, bring plenty of water and sunscreen. The sun is brutal and there's very little shade along the way.

–o–

I'll wrap up this post, which turned out so personal, with my brother and me paying heartfelt tribute to this city that has given us so many movies! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

More day trips from NYC

Did you know there's plenty to see in Philadelphia, Boston and Niagara Falls? Those are all places you can visit from New York too! Check out these and other nearby destinations you can do as a day trip from NYC.