Washington DC in 1 Day: all you need to know

Washington DC is the city where the President of the United States lives and where the history of modern America was laid. Thousands of visitors from home and abroad arrive daily, inspired by its patriotism, history and all there is to see and do in Washington.

Here's a tour of Washington DC from sunrise to sunset. To begin with, a basic one: the National Mall, where you'll see monuments and other spaces of American pride, and then you'll enter some of its museums. In the afternoon, you'll visit the Logan Circle neighbourhood and close your day either with a night tour or in the bars of the famous U St.

In Washington DC, patriotism is everywhere... so if you're a first-time visitor, a tour of the buildings and monuments on the National Mall should not be missing from your itinerary. You can do the tour on foot although, for a day trip with a lot to do, I recommend you take advantage of the Big Bus tour bus or the tourist tram.

Both options will allow you to make a first approximation of the sites that every visitor to Washington DC must see:

• White House.
• Washington Monument.
• Holocaust Memorial Museum.
• Smithsonian Institution Museums.
• And many more.

One of the great advantages of these transports is that you can hop on and off as many times as you like, allowing you to move at your own pace and spend more or less time at each attraction depending on your interests.

Among all the best museums in Washington, my favourite is the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, which is also one of the most visited and fascinating. Here you'll find exhibits on the history of man, nature and its evolution in rooms that show the importance of oceans, forests, climate, insects... even Egyptian mummies!

Getting to this museum by bus is very easy. Get off at stop #8, located at the corner of 10th NW and Constitution Ave, and the museum is right in front of you. And if you've hired the Big Bus tour bus, your arrival at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History will be even easier, because one of the stops is at the museum.

By the way, so that you don't get lost among the more than 146 million specimens of flora, fauna, minerals, etc. in the museum, I recommend that you hire a two-hour guided tour. It couldn't be easier!

To get to your next destination, the National Museum of American History, just cross 12th St NW and you'll be there in less than 5 minutes.

This visit will be fun, relaxed and amazing at the same time. You'll see everything from Morse, Edison and Bell patents, historical artifacts like cannons and guns, vintage print advertising, and childhood TV memorabilia like "The Muppets", Sesame Street and Bob Ross paintings.

As your time will be limited, I recommend that you check the exhibits available in advance on the museum's website at this link and make a note of the ones that interest you most. Remember that it's a first visit and it's impossible to see everything, but... something is better, right?

The next stop on this one-day Washington itinerary is the Logan Circle neighbourhood, a good place to stop and recharge your batteries.

The 14th St. thoroughfare is the best reference, and you'll find all kinds of restaurants and businesses. It's one of the trendiest places to eat in the city, and in Logan Circle you'll find a mix of international cuisine that reflects the richness of this neighbourhood. A richness where its faithful lifelong residents, migrants from all over the world, university students renting basements and a strong LGBTQ community, coexist peacefully.

Of course, being a highly sought after area in the city, prices can be very high, but that doesn't mean that there isn't something for everyone's budget. In this link you can see some of the options available.

How to get to Logan Circle from the National Mall

Take note of the steps you need to take to get to Logan Circle from your previous stop at the National Museum of American History:

• Cross Madison Dr NW and you'll soon be queuing at the Smithsonian Metro station.
• Take the silver line towards Wiehle-Reston East.
• Transfer at the second stop, at the Metro Center station, to the red line towards Glenmont.
• Transfer again at the next stop, this time to the yellow line for Greenbelt.
• You have arrived at your destination: Mt. Vernon Sq station.

It may sound a little complicated, but the official Metro Transit map will show you better.

Then, as you exit the underground station, walk along M St. NW from 9th to 14th St., that's 5 blocks. With the number of buildings with such fascinating architecture and a perfectly manicured tree-lined area, you'll forget for a moment why you came here.

For the rest of the tour, I leave you with two options. The first is to stay in the Logan Circle neighbourhood and enjoy the nightlife; the second is to return to the perimeter of the National Mall and the surrounding area for a night tour of the city.

Of course, if you fancy this second option, bear in mind that the tours have an approximate departure time of 7:30 pm, and you have to leave plenty of time on the underground or taxi to get there.

First option: Logan Circle

Take advantage of the fact that Logan Circle has become one of the most popular parts of the city's nightlife scene by heading to the U St. corridor. In recent years, the U St. corridor has been transformed into a long row of bars, interspersed with jazz venues and other music venues. You'll love walking down this street before packing your bags.

One option I recommend here is the 9:30 Club which, in its more than four decades of existence, has hosted live independent music shows and the occasional surprise from music legends.

Or if you want to continue eating and sampling iconic dishes of the city, you can go to Ben's Chilli Bowl, where a decades-old chili recipe awaits you in a very vintage and original establishment.

Second option: night tour

Like me, you'll know that touring a city at night is a very interesting experience and, whenever possible, you should experience it. Even if you visit places you've already visited during the day, seeing them at night is something else, thanks to the lights that adorn the streets, buildings and monuments.

In Washington DC you have several options:

• Night bike tour: On this night tour you'll cover about 8 kilometres and you'll be able to visit places and monuments such as the Vietnam War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial and learn about their history and ins and outs, as you'll be accompanied by a guide. Suitable for the more sporty ones!
• Night tour by electric car: Experience a totally personalised experience on this 2-hour tour in which a maximum of 7 people will tour the National Mall at night. This tour is for you if you like privacy and prefer to travel in small groups.
• Night Bus Tour: Tour one of the most beautiful cities in the world by night in a luxury open-top bus - an experience not to be missed!
• Ghost Tour: Experience a terrifying night in which you will learn about the legends and horror stories of the American capital by touring some of the most famous places in the city. Only suitable for mystery lovers!

• More of a "must" than a suggestion. Find out in advance about the museums within the perimeter of the National Mall, their locations and the exhibits available at each so you can choose the ones that interest you.
• With the President of the United States living in the area, it's no wonder that Washington DC, and the National Mall in particular, is an area of extreme security. The DC Police, Capitol Police, Park Police and even the Secret Service keep an eye on it, so don't worry if you have to visit at night (although it's not the most common). Either way, being alert and logical is essential for your own safety and comfort.
• Try to arrive at the National Mall with a full breakfast. Sometimes, in a hurry or simply because your stomach won't accept anything because of the excitement, you leave without a good breakfast. When you're out and about, don't rely on "there as something", because it won't be easy. On the one hand, there are too few options for the crowds that arrive here every day and, on the other hand, you will lose a lot of time that you could spend in the museums. Another thing you can do is to bring a snack and eat it at one of the stops so that hunger doesn't attack you. Oh, and don't forget to bring water, because even if you're on a tour on wheels, the intense midday sun will get the better of you.