Visitors should come prepared for an experience likely to be disturbing and difficult to forget. At the start of the tour, each visitor is given an identity card of a Holocaust victim that matches the visitor's own age and gender. Ordinary reality is skewed through off-center stairways, weird angles and the shadows of other visitors on the glass walkways overhead. An elaborate audio-visual display includes interviews, films and photographs. The Hall of Remembrance provides a calm, empty space at the end of the tour where one can reflect on the experience. The museum discourages children under 11 from attending. Free timed passes are needed to visit the permanent exhibit.

The National Gallery of Art guides Washingtonians and visitors through the world of art all day, every day (except Christmas and New Year’s Day). The National Gallery consists of the West Building (opened in 1941), the East Building (1978) and the 6.1-acre Sculpture Garden adjacent to the West Building (1999). Don’t be daunted by the size, the National Gallery has prepared “Highlights” guides for half-hour and one-hour visits. Scores of guided tours are scheduled throughout each day (too many to list here), gallery talks and lectures are held throughout the month. Free Sunday concerts take place in the West Building, usually starting at 6:30 but check ahead. The East Building Auditorium hosts original format film screenings every Saturday and Sunday (plus a few weekdays) free of charge (first come first served) with doors opening thirty minutes before each show. To the delight of locals and visitors, the Sculpture Garden ice rink is open mid-November through mid-March! It’s about the only activity that is not free, but at $7 for adults and $6 for seniors, students and kids (skate rental $3), it’s a lot of fun for a little money. Aside from all this, visitors can still walk in off the street and look at art the old fashioned way, by wandering through the galleries at leisure. Located on the National Mall, forget about parking. The Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter (Green/Yellow lines) Metrorail station is only a block away.

Near Chinatown and across from the Washington Convention Center, this modern hotel has all the conveniences for the business traveler. Government and business offices are not far away by taxi or Metro. For those who have some free time, the museums of the Smithsonian Institute are easily accessible. Stylish and plush rooms, well equipped meeting spaces and facilities like a heated swimming pool, fitness center, on-site restaurant and bar and much more is on offer here.

This 176-seater, modern brasserie offers fresh American cuisine. The name Poste comes from the fact that the place where the restaurant now stands was originally the sorting space of the General Post Office, in the year 1841. But now, the place has been given a hip and classy look, with polished wooden furnishings and beautiful paintings by American artists. A must have would be the Virginia Kobe Beef Steak Tartare. Try the Local Cherry Cobbler for dessert and such other delicacies. Poste also provides huge spaces for special occasions and meetings.

Proof is a wine-centric restaurant featuring modern American cuisine.

The Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden invites everyone in to explore modern and contemporary art. Gordon Bunshaft designed the Hirshhorn building itself as a “functional sculpture.” Elevated above manicured sculpture grounds, the four-story hollow cylinder encircles a 60-foot fountain visible from every interior window. Since each floor is a large ring, navigating the museum is very intuitive; you progress through the curved galleries and end up exactly where you began then proceed to the next floor. The Hirshhorn continuously seeks and acquires important works by current artists, hosts traveling exhibits, and features installations with the artists on hand for discussion. Meet at the information desk on Fridays at 12:30 pm for gallery talks by visiting curators, professors and artists. Thursdays offer a mix of contemporary films and meet-the-artist events in the Ring Auditorium. Every few months brings the Hirshhorn After Hours where art and nightlife come together with DJs, artists, cocktails and dancing. Check website or visit the information desk for current schedule. After Hours events are $10 advance, $12 at the door, but most other events are free, including films. Guides are available at anytime for a 30-minute tour so ask at front desk. Forget about parking. L’Enfant Plaza is the closest Metro station (blue/gree/orange/red lines). This station is large and can be confusing – take the Maryland Ave & 7th St SW exit, follow 7th street away from the station to Independence Ave and you’ll see the Hirshhorn.

The International Spy Museum provides a unique glimpse into the innovative world of espionage and its impact throughout history and present day. The state of the art exhibits include artifacts and spy stories from all over the world.

Located on the National Mall a few blocks from the Capitol Building, the National Air and Space Museum appeals to all ages. See the Wright 1903 Flyer, the Apollo 11 command module Columbia, and a lunar rock sample which visitors can touch. Children delight in the many hands-on demonstrations while IMAX Theater presentations and flight simulators engage the whole family. Fascinated with space? Explore the universe at the Albert Einstein Planetarium! Whether you visit for one hour or five, the large solarium-style food court makes this a convenient mid-day museum stop. Free admission. There is no museum parking, but public lots are within a few blocks (rates vary). Metro stations nearby: L’Enfant Plaza (blue/orange and yellow/green lines) and Smithosonian (blue/orange lines).

You'll find the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall. Its structure is a throwback to adobe homes in early American Indian culture. With a highly naturalistic design, the NMAI conducts a visitor through Indian history via a series of circles. Inside, various works of art, artifacts, and other remnants of American Indian culture are on display. The exhibit provides a valuable addition to our understanding of American Indian culture. Past exhibits have included indigenous worldviews through dress, native modernism, and contemporary indigenous viewpoints as told through poetry. Admission to the museum is free. It is, however, recommended that a timed entry pass be reserved online (with a service charge) because of the popularity of this national exhibit.

This eclectic museum is sometimes referred to as "The Nation's Attic." It houses numerous memorabilia and artifacts collected throughout American history. The American Presidency section exhibits the many facets of the nation's highest office and the impact it has had in those who have held it. Another section contains objects that highlight the cultural history of the country including Mohammed Ali's boxing gloves and the inaugural ball gowns of many of the First Ladies. Exhibits on science and technology, military history and much more can be found on the three floors of this fascinating museum. Stop by the old-fashioned ice cream parlor before you leave.

This Russian restaurant is located at the meeting point of Connecticut and Florida Avenues. The menu is essentially Russian with an ambience to match. The warm and cozy enviroment is perfect for socializing. The inter-continental menu, having Russian influences, includes an eclectic range of salads and Russian delicacies such as Beef Stroganoff. If you are a seafood fan, choose from the caviar selection - go ahead or gorge on the Salmon Kulebyaka. Pair your meal with a pick from the House Drinks. Don't forget to end your meal with one of the sumptuous desserts on offer.

Visitors to the Capitol shouldn't give Zola a skip. Nestled in the Le Droit building, the restaurant comes across as a contemporary, upscale dine-n-wine place. The brightly done up walls and sophisticated booths find takers throughout the week. The American cuisine, with influences from different cultures, features funky creations, such as Peasant Bread Salad and Sweet Soy Glazed Red Brick Chicken. Diners swear by the Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, which comes with an assortment of veggies and a lobster-sake dressing. Private celebrations are welcome.

The first art museum in Washington, the Corcoran Gallery, founded by Washington philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran in 1869, focuses on American Art. The rotating main collection includes a variety of American art spanning from older pieces to modern works by Nevelson, Warhol, and Rothko. The building of the Corcoran is in itself impressive, and its convenient location between the White House, the National Mall, and many of the national monuments make it an easily accessible museum for locals and tourists alike. Also home to a school of art, the Corcoran Gallery is well-known for its wide variety of rotating exhibitions. For the most up to date information, see http://www.corcoran.org/exhibitions/index.htm.

Dedicated to free press and free speech, the Newseum showcases the history of newsgathering. The displays include a video wall of live news broadcasts from around the world. Here visitors have the opportunity to anchor a news program, an exhibit especially popular with children. For a fee, children can also put their faces on the covers of famous magazines, including Life and Sports Illustrated. Interactive displays are the rule here, but there is much to see in a variety of dynamic formats. The Newseum website continues to offer a wealth of information regarding the news media, traveling exhibits, and on-going educational programs. Washington visitors can also view an outdoor version of the Newseum's popular 'Today's Front Pages' now on display at the future museum site.

Famous and distinguished Americans are honored here in portraits, photographs and other visual media. A wide variety of politicians, artists, scientists and social activists are represented. This gallery is a remarkable testimony to the diverse figures the United States has produced, from Grace Kelly and Boris Karloff to George Washington, Mickey Mantle and Gertrude Stein. Photographs, prints, drawings and sculptures supplement the paintings. Of particular interest is the Hall of Presidents, which features a portrait or sculpture of each chief executive.

Admission is free.