Take Public Transportation to D.C. Museums & Galleries

The destinations listed below are accessible by Metrorail, Metrobus, and other public transportation systems.

Please confirm hours, fees, and directions. Hours of operation, entrance fees, and other information are subject to change. Please confirm with the venue you plan to visit. Phone numbers and Web links are provided. Most directions provided are from the nearest Metrorail station. (See interactive Metrorail system map.) Bus routes and their days and hours of operation are also subject to change. Get the most up-to-date directions, or find a more direct route from your D.C.-area location, by using Metro's Trip Planner. Addresses for each venue are provided to plug into the Trip Planner's destination field.

Have a favorite destination that you think should be added to our growing list? Send detailed information about how to get there by public transportation to our webmaster.

B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum | DAR Museum | Lincoln Museum | Hillwood Museum & Gardens | International Spy Museum | National Museum of American Jewish Military History | National Building Museum | National Children's Museum | National Museum of Health and Medicine | National Museum of Women in the Arts | Navy Museum | The Octagon Museum | Pope John Paul II Cultural Center | Lillian and Albert Small Jewish Museum | Smithsonian Institution Museums & Galleries | The Textile Museum | United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | Woodrow Wilson House Museum

B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum

2020 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
202-857-6583

The B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum is dedicated to preserving and promoting the history, culture and art of the Jewish people. Its collections comprise art, ethnographic and archeological holdings from the Biblical period through the 20th century. Advance reservations must be made in order to visit the museum. Hours and reservation information.

Take Metrorail’s Red Line to Farragut North station or the Orange or Blue lines to Farragut West station. From Farragut North, exit the station and walk three and a half blocks west on K Street NW to the museum. From Farragut West exit the station and walk 1 block north on 17th Street NW, turn left on K Street and walk three and a half blocks to the museum.

DAR Museum

1776 D Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
(202) 879-3239

The DAR Museum, operated by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, features 33 period rooms with a superb collection of pre-1840s furnishings and a gallery with changing exhibits. Hours of operation.

Take Metrorail’s Red Line to Farragut North station or the Orange or Blue lines to Farragut West station. From either station, exit the station on 17th Street and walk south on 17th Street towards Constitution. Turn right on D Street. The main entrance is in the middle of the block.

Lincoln Museum

See Ford's Theatre National Historic Site Lincoln Museum.

Hillwood Museum and Gardens

4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008
(202) 686-8500

Hillwood Museum and Gardens is a collector’s estate renowned for its extensive assemblage of 18th and 19th - century French and imperial Russian decorative and fine arts. Former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post, set amid 25 acres of small pleasure gardens and wooded hillsides in the heart of Washington, DC. Visitor information.

Take Metrorail’s Red Line to Van Ness-UDC station. Exit the station the take the Metrobus H2 (toward Brookland M), L4 (toward Dupont Circle), or L2 (toward McPherson Square) to the stop at Connecticut Avenue and Tilden Street NW. Then walk 2 blocks east on Tilden Street NW, turn left on 29th Street NW, walk 1 block, turn right on Upton Street NW and walk 3 blocks to the museum.

International Spy Museum

800 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004
(202) EYE-SPY-U (393-7798), (866) SPY-MUSEUM (779-6873)
TTY: 202.654.2840

The International Spy Museum, adjacent to the FBI headquarters, is the first public institution in the world dedicated to presenting the international history of espionage. Washington, DC is the spy capital of the world. It has always been a hotbed of espionage activity. Presidents from George Washington on have excelled at or ignored the need to gather intelligence — with expected results. The mission of the International Spy Museum is to educate the public about espionage in an engaging manner and to provide a dynamic context that fosters understanding of its important role in and impact on current and historic events. The Museum focuses on human intelligence and reveals the role spies have played in world events throughout history. Visitor information.

Take Metrorail's Green, Yellow, or Red lines to Gallery Place/Chinatown station. Exit the station to 9th and G Streets NW, and walk 2 blocks south on 9th St. NW to the museum.

National Museum of American Jewish Military History

1811 R Street, NW, Washington DC 20009
(202) 265-6280

The National Museum of American Jewish Military History, under the auspices of the Jewish War Veterans of the USA, documents and preserves the contributions of Jewish Americans to the peace and freedom of the United States, educates the public concerning the courage, heroism and sacrifices made by Jewish Americans who served in the armed forces, and works to combat anti-Semitism. Visitor information.

Take Metrorail’s Red Line to Dupont Circle station, exit the station at Q Street. Walk 1 block North on Connecticut Avenue to R Street, turn right walk 2 blocks East to 18th Street.

National Building Museum

401 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
(202) 272-2448

The National Building Museum was designed in the 1880s by Montgomery C. Meigs to house the Pension Bureau. The building's exterior dimensions are 400 feet by 200 feet, 75 feet to cornice level. Created by an act of Congress, the National Building Museum is America’s premier cultural institution dedicated to exploring and celebrating architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning. Visitor information.

Take Metrorail’s Red Line to Judiciary Square station. Exit the station and walk 1 block East on F Street NW.

National Children’s Museum

The National Children’s Museum is scheduled to open in June, 2008 in Washington. The museum will build on the 30 years of experience of the Capital Children's Museum, which closed in 2004.

National Museum of Health and Medicine

On the campus of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Alaska
(202) 782-2200

The National Museum of Health and Medicine The National Museum of Health and Medicine was established during the Civil War as the Army Medical Museum, a center for the collection of specimens for research in military medicine and surgery. The museum features a permanent exhibit dealing with Civil War medicine, artifacts related to President Lincoln's dealth, anatomical specimens, and more. Visitor information.

Take Metrorail's Red Line to Silver Spring station. Exit the station, take Metrobus to the Dahlia Street stop, and walk a short distance to the museum.

National Museum of Women in the Arts

1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington , DC 20005
(202) 783-5000

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to recognizing the contributions of women artists.The museum houses a permanent collection of more than 1,500 works by women artists from the Renaissance to the present. Visitor information.

Take Metrorail’s Red, Orange or Blue lines to Metro Center station. Exit the station on 13th Street NW. Walk 1 block north on 13th Street NW, turn right on New York Avenue NW and walk 1 block to the museum.

The Navy Museum

Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center
805 Kidder Breese SE - Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC
202-433-4882

The Navy Museum collects, preserves, displays, and interprets historic naval artifacts and artwork to inform, educate, and inspire naval personnel and the general public. The museum's collection features the foremast fighting top from the USS Constitution, the bathyscaphe Trieste, ship models, medals, uniforms, photographs and fine art. Hands-on and great for kids: including working submarine periscopes and WWII gun mounts.

Due to increased security at the Washington Navy Yard, all visitors without Defense Department or military identification must call the Museum 24-hours in advance for weekday visits and by noon Fridays for weekend visits: 202-433-6897.

Take Metrorail's Green Line to Navy Yard station. Exit through the Navy Yard exit and walk seven blocks east on M Street SE to the Navy Yard entrance 9th and M Streets SE. (Visitors without a valid DOD badge must use this entrance.)

The Octagon Museum

1799 New York Avenue, NW, Washington , DC 20006-5292
(202) 638-3221

The Octagon Museum, an elegant Federal town house designed by Dr. William Thornton, first architect of the U.S. Capitol, and built in 1801 for Col. John Tayloe III, served as the executive mansion for President Madison after the British burned the White House in 1814. Madison signed the Treaty of Ghent ending the War of 1812 in the second floor parlor. Today, this historic home is the museum of the American Architectural Foundation and features period furnishings and changing exhibitions of architecture and allied arts. Hours and fees.

The Octagon is located at the corner of 18th Street and New York Avenues, two blocks west of the White House. Take Metrorails Blue or Orange lines to Farragut West Station. Exit the station to 18th Street NW and walk four blocks south on 18th Street to the museum.

Pope John Paul II Cultural Center

3900 Harewood Road, NE, Washington , DC 20017
(202) 635-5400

Created by an internationally known design firm, Edwin Schlossberg, Inc., the Museum at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center offers visitors an experience that is engaging and uplifting. The high-tech interactive design enables visitors to tailor their experiences according to their interests and amount of time they wish to spend at the Center. At the core of the museum experience are galleries dedicated to themes which illuminate the relationship between faith and culture. Hours and fees.

Take Metrorail’s Red Line to Brookland-CUA station. Exit the station and take Metrobus H8 toward Mt. Pleasant to the stop at Fort Drive & 2nd Street NE. Walk 1 block southeast on Taylor Street NE, bear right on Harewood Road NE, and walk 3 blocks southeast.

Lillian and Albert Small Jewish Museum

Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington
Office and Archives: 600 I St, NW Washington, DC 2000,
(202) 789-0900

Historic synagogue location:
701 3rd St, NW (Corner of 3rd and G Streets, NW)

The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington and its Lillian and Albert Small Jewish Museum preserve, chronicle and present the story of the local Jewish community through archival collections, exhibits, educational programs, publications, and the restoration and preservation of the oldest synagogue building in the nation’s capital. The historic 1876 synagogue is open to the public by appointment, Sunday through Friday. The guided tour takes 20–30 minutes. Contact the Society at least two weeks in advance to arrange a tour. Suggested donation: $3 per person. The historic synagogue is not wheelchair assessable.

The museum's collection traces the history of the Jewish community in the greater Washington, D.C. area from the mid-19th century through the present day. Includes personal and family papers, organizational and business records, congregation and synagogue archives, historical photographs, oral histories, ritual objects, and a reference library.

Take Metrorail’s Red Line to Judiciary Square station. Exit the station through the National Building Museum (F Street) exit. At the top of the escalator, turn right and proceed down F Street two blocks to 3rd and F. Turn left at 3rd Street, and walk one block until you see the small, brick building surrounded by a black iron fence at the corner of 3rd and G Streets, NW.

Smithsonian Institution

Washington, DC
(202) 357-2700

The Smithsonian's 16 national museums and the National Zoo present a fascinating array of exhibitions and complementary activities. To learn about the museums you wish to visit, consult the list below. Also visit the Smithsonian Institution Museum Guide.

Smithsonian Institution Building "The Castle" | Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture | Arthur M. Sackler Gallery | Arts & Industries Building | Freer Gallery of Art | Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden | National Air and Space Museum | National Museum of African Art | National Museum of American History | National Musem of Natural History | National Portrait Gallery | National Postal Museum | National Zoological Park | Renwick Gallery | Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Textile Museum

2320 S Street, NW, Washington , DC 20008-4088
(202) 667-0441

The Textile Museum, founded in 1925 with the collection of George Hewitt Myers, features historical and contemporary handmade textile arts housed in the former home of the Museum's founding family which was designed by John Russell Pope in 1913. In 1997 The Textile Museum opened the Textile Learning Center comprising two galleries devoted to weaving techniques, textile makers and their cultures. Visitor information.

Take Metrorail’s Red Line to Dupont Circle station, exit to Q Street. Walk 1 block north on 20th Street NW, continue walking straight onto Connecticut Avenue NW for 1 block, turn left on S Street NW and walk 4 blocks west.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, Washington , DC 20024
(202) 488-0400

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, located between 14th Street and Raoul Wallenberg Place SW (formerly 15th Street), is a somber and moving museum telling the story of the Holocaust through artifacts, films, photos and oral histories. Visitor information.

Take Metrorail’s Orange or Blue lines to Smithsonian station. Exit to Independence Avenue and walk three blocks west on Independence Avenue SW, turn left on Raoul Wallenberg Place SW, and walk 2 blocks south.

Woodrow Wilson House Museum

See Woodrow Wilson House Museum.on the Historic D.C. Sites page.