Smithsonian "Big 3" Highlights Tour (Air & Space Entry Included)
Description
See the best of the Smithsonian Museums on a 3-hour guided tour of the highlights of the American History, Natural History, and Air and Space Museums. Includes Reserved Entry to the Air and Space Museum! The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum complex with 21 museums and miliions of objects! The Natural History, Air and Space, and American History Museums are 3 of the most popular, often referred to as the Big 3. Each of these museums can be overwhelming so we put together a highlights tour. Our expert guide will take you through each of the museums and showcase all of the "must see" items in each. Including: Lincoln's Top Hat, Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, the Cursed Hope Diamond, iconic Dinosaur fossils, the Original Wright Flyer, and artifacts from the Apollo 11 lunar mission! Note that there is walking between the museums for a total of roughly 1 mile.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your guide inside the Unscripted Guided Tours DC Welcome Center at 400 7th Street NW, at the corner of 7th and D NW
See the famed hope diamond, visit the fossil lab and The Last American Dinosaurs exhibit.
Enjoy reserved entry to the Air and Space museum, where your guide will show you the top highlights including the Wright Flyer, space command modules, and more!
Your guide will help you explore many highlights including pop culture icons, military history, and presidents' & first ladies' artifacts.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Sites are not listed in order visited. Museum order may vary.
- Please note this tour involves roughly 2 miles of walking
Reviews(404)
Claudia was our tour guide. It was a very cold, wet and challenging day to say the least. It was Claudia’s professional, enthusiastic and knowledgeable attitude made the day amazing!
Very knowledgeable and efficient tour to see the Smithsonian highlights. Came with my husband and 3 kids (15,11, and 8).
Somewhat difficult to hear tour guide , who should carry something so that his tour can find him once inside the museums
Probably the best tour I’ve ever had!!! Evelyn was fun, humorous and very nice snd quite relatable. I also learned a few new things. Highly recommend!
Even though we were blocked on the National Mall by the state fair, Claudia maneuvered us around the long way so we could still make it to all 3. This is definitely a tour that hits the highlights as such large museums could each afford a day on their own. However she gave us a solid overview of all three so at a future time you can go back and explore more on your own if you want or avoid one. DC is definitely a city where you need to return multiple times to see everything and this tour gives you the ability to do that on your own. Claudia was very knowledgeable and kept up on schedule for those who had arrangements afterwards
Fabulous tour. Our guide Rett was really knowledgeable, answered any questions we asked and managed to show us so much in a short time. Best way to see the three museums. If we’d gone without a guide we’d have wasted a whole day being lost. Excellent tour.
Walk walk walk and more walk. It should have transportation to and from their office and the Smithsonian s. We only stayed through half and had to take a bus home
Correct, this is a walking tour and we are a walking tour company. However our office is conveniently located just off the National Mall and your tour began with a 3 block walk to the first museum, then a walk next door to the next museum, and it was at this point you chose to leave the tour as our group crossed the National Mall. In this instance, much of the roads in Downtown DC and the National Mall itself are closed for America 250 festivities making it impossible for vehicles to navigate. Our guide helps travelers navigate these obstacles and get the most out of their day and visits to the Smithsonian Museums.
Our tour was great and our tour guide, Christine was very friendly and knowledgeable. We were able to see a great deal of exhibits in the 3 hours.
This tour is a great “taste” of seeing 3 huge museums. Evelyn was a terrific guide and although it was a fast tour the information was great. Be aware this is not a tour for those that can’t walk quickly and there is some long distance between each stop.,
The Smithsonian Big 3 Walking Tour was an excellent experience! Christine was a fantastic tour guide—friendly, knowledgeable, and passionate about the history and exhibits. She shared interesting facts, answered questions with ease, and kept the tour engaging from start to finish. Her guidance made it easy to navigate the museums and get the most out of our visit. I highly recommend this tour, especially if you're visiting Washington, D.C. for the first time. Ask for Christine if you can—you won't be disappointed!
