The Free Washington: A Local's Guide to DC's Best No-Cost Experiences

Washington is an expensive city to live in and a remarkably cheap one to enjoy. Thanks to the Smithsonian, the National Park Service, and a civic culture built around public access, some of the best experiences in the world are available here for exactly nothing. This is the local's guide to the free Washington — the one that quietly lowers your real cost of living and never gets old.

The Smithsonian: the world's largest museum complex, free

The crown jewel of free Washington is the Smithsonian Institution, a network of museums and research centers — most of them free to enter, every day. On and around the National Mall you can walk from the National Air and Space Museum to the National Museum of American History to the National Museum of Natural History without paying a cent. The National Museum of African American History and Culture, one of the most powerful museums in the country, is also free (though it is popular enough that timed passes are worth checking in advance). You could visit weekly for a year and not exhaust them.

The National Gallery of Art

Not technically a Smithsonian museum but free all the same, the National Gallery of Art houses one of the great art collections in the world — from da Vinci to the modern masters — plus a sculpture garden that becomes an ice rink in winter and a jazz-filled hangout in summer. Admission is free.

The National Zoo

The Smithsonian's National Zoo, up in Woodley Park, is a full-scale zoo — famous over the years for its giant pandas — that charges no admission. It is a genuine gift to families and a lovely way to spend a morning, connected by Metro and set on beautiful grounds in Rock Creek Park.

The monuments and memorials, especially at night

The monumental core of Washington is a free, open-air museum that is arguably at its most beautiful after dark. The Lincoln Memorial glowing over the Reflecting Pool, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the World War II and Vietnam Veterans memorials, the Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin — all free, all open, all far less crowded in the evening. A nighttime walk of the Mall is one of the city's essential experiences and costs nothing but comfortable shoes.

Free performances at the Kennedy Center

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents a free performance every day of the year on its Millennium Stage — music, dance, and more, no ticket required. It is one of the best-kept secrets in the city for a cheap, culture-rich night out.

Cherry blossoms and the great outdoors

For a few weeks each spring, the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin explode into bloom and the whole city turns out to see them — a free spectacle that is one of Washington's signature moments. Beyond the blossoms, the city is threaded with free green space: Rock Creek Park's miles of trails, the C&O Canal towpath in Georgetown, the Anacostia Riverwalk, and the U.S. National Arboretum with its famous columns. The Library of Congress and the U.S. Botanic Garden round out a long list of grand, free institutions.

How to do it like a local

• Go on weekday mornings to beat the tour groups, especially at the most popular museums.
• Check for timed passes at the busiest sites so you are not turned away.
• Save the monuments for evening — cooler, quieter, and more beautiful.
• Follow the Kennedy Center's free calendar and build a night around it.

Living in Washington is not cheap. But a life here can be rich on a modest budget, because the city's greatest assets — its art, its history, its green space, its stages — are open to everyone. That is not an accident. It is the idea of a public capital, working exactly as intended.