2 Days in Washington DC: all you need to see, eat and do in 48 hours

The USA's capital houses iconic monuments, vast museums (most of them are free) and restaurants serving food from all over the world. Whether you are into politics or not, Washington DC deserves a visit.

We spent 48 hours in Washington DC and on this post I'm going to tell you how to make the most of 2 days in this amazing city. Our itinerary was pretty packed and we didn't have time for everything but we saw the most important places thanks to a carefully planned trip.

Let's take a look at where you can stay, best things to do in DC and our favorite restaurants. Plus, you can find a map with the whole plan and itinerary at the end of this post that you can take with on your trip.

Here's our 2-day Washington DC tour.

HOW TO SPEND 2 DAYS IN WASHINGTON DC: DAY 1

Getting downtown from the airport using public transport is fast and easy...the process of using the metro ticket machine not so much, you'll see what I'm talking about when you get there. We took the metro (blue line) and in 20 minutes we were in our hotel, Capital Hilton. The room was lovely, the best we had during our east coast itinerary. The decor was of a classic luxury apartment. Both the room and the bathroom were huge. The room consisted of a sitting-room area with TV, coffee table and sofa and the area with the bed and bedside tables. We couldn't feel cozier and more at home.

After unpacking it was lunch time so we looked for a place I had seen recommended on our Lonely Planet Guide: Duke's Grocery. Great place for a relaxed meal and for drinks later in the day.
Afterwards we took M street all the way to Georgetown University. On the way we found a lovely shopping area where you can find the best American brands.

Georgetown University amazed us with its beautiful architecture. Founded in 1789, Georgetown was the first Roman Catholic University. Look for Healy Hall -which reminded us of Harry Potter's Hogwarts- and Dalghren Chapel.

HOW TO SPEND 2 DAYS IN WASHINGTON DC: DAY 2

We devoted day 2 of our Washington DC trip to National Mall. A.k.a. "America's front yard", it holds all the major monuments and museums: the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, the Smithsonian...,etc.

We had made tour reservations to see the US Capitol (book here). The tour is free and totally worth it. Our guide was wonderful, he was extremely friendly and funny and made the experience very enjoyable. The US Capitol is where the countries' laws are written. It houses the Senate and the House of Representatives.

If you see the Capitol, you can't miss the stunning Library of Congress (also free). In fact, there's a tunnel that connects the two which makes it very easy to access especially on a rainy day like the one we had!

Library of Congress is hands down the most beautiful library I've ever seen. Look for the Jefferson Building to see the most spectacular reading room ever. It's the world's largest library with 164 million books, maps, manuscripts and other items among which is the Gutenberg Bible.

It is possible to do a White House tour as well if you are an American citizen. Tours must be arranged in advance. You have to apply via on of you state's members of Congress. Applications are taken from 21 days to 3 months in advance. If you are not an American citizen, check your countries' embassy in DC. Unfortunately for us, the Spanish embassy is not taking applications at the moment so we could just see the White House from outside.

There are many amazing museums on both sides of the National Mall including the National Air and Space Museum and the National Gallery. Most of them are free but we didn't have time to go inside.

One of the most impressive things to see in the National Mall is Washington Monument. 555 ft high and 36,000 blocks of stone make up the tallest construction in DC. In fact, nothing in DC can be taller than it.

Last but not least, the Lincoln Memorial. We had seen the image in countless movies and TV shows, but finally being able to see Abe in his chair was one of our favorite moments.

Other places at National Mall that you can't miss include:

• MLK Jr Memorial
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial
• National WWII Memorial

On this day we had Mexican food for lunch at Oyamel Cocina Mexicana. The owner, Spanish chef Jose Andres, is one of the most famous cooks in DC. He is best known for bringing traditional Spanish food to America which he serves at Spanish tapas restaurant, Jaleo. Nowadays he owns many restaurants in DC and all around the US.

WASHINGTON DC ITINERARY MAP

This DC map includes all the things you need for your trip: what to do, what to eat, where to stay and where to shop. The blue pins are the sights, yellow pins mark places to eat and the green ones are the location for my favorite shops. Click on the star next to the title to save to your maps in Google and take it with you on your trip.
WEAR THIS HERE

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