National Mall at Night Tour: Monuments After Dark

Please note:  Due to ongoing construction, visitors touring the National Mall between now and the Fourth of July may experience limited access to certain areas and attractions.

Additionally, guests visiting on or near the Fourth of July should expect heightened security measures and possible pedestrian closures throughout the Mall.

The National Mall is America's front yard, a 300-acre park stretching from the Potomac River to the United States Capitol building. It is embedded with iconic monuments and deep symbolism. Your 3-hour evening tour with a local historian will take you on an in-depth exploration of these must-see sights as they become illuminated. Take a stroll with your expert guide and see for yourself how this eighteenth-century landscape continues to evolve and adapt to the twenty-first century.

Ever wonder how urban planners make decisions about the design and placement of monuments? Or why the city’s street grid is divided into quadrants? Pierre Charles L’Enfant, a French engineer who served under George Washington during the American Revolution, was selected in 1791 to design the new “Federal City”. L’Enfant took inspiration from European capitals like Rome and Paris, working alongside Thomas Jefferson to develop the grid that distinguishes the District today.

As you traverse the 300-acre space, your guide will discuss the landscape as a backdrop for countless events and as a symbol of American struggles and ideologies. You will enjoy learning the ways that the Mall is used today for demonstrations, festivals and recreation. In addition to visiting well-known sites like the Washington Monument, your tour will step off the beaten path to less-visited places of remembrance like the FDR, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Vietnam Veterans Memorials.