Washington, DC with Teens: The Ultimate 3-Day Itinerary to See All the Favorites

It can be hard to plan a DC itinerary, there’s so much to do, and because the time to cover the museums will vary depending on your family. Another factor to consider is the time of year which will add the issues of the length of time to go through security lines and navigating crowds.

Some museums, such as the African American History and Culture Museum, may require timed entry passes. Please check their websites before visiting.

We visited the week of Thanksgiving and found the crowds to be minimal. None of the museums we visited required timed entry passes.

Here I list our planned itinerary. Be sure to click on each day to see how we actually did and what we changed around due to weather and visit length.

With three teens and an adult college student, our family of six was able to cover a lot of ground each day. We walked 18+ miles over 3 days!

Washington, DC Day 1 Places to See:

When visiting DC, if the weather doesn’t cooperate for walking outside to view the memorials, swap the day with a museum day.

White House
Washington Monument
World War II Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Korean War Memorial
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Lunch at the US Holocaust Museum Cafe – vegetarian cafe fare.
US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Washington, DC Day 2 Places to See:

Honestly, you could spend the whole day at the Air and Space Museum; there’s a lot to cover! We only spent half a day because we had Capitol tour tickets.