What Else Is There to See?

◀ The country’s official memorial to its 35th president is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It houses three theaters, an opera house, a concert hall, and a movie house. Flags from more than 100 countries hang in the Hall of Nations, while the Hall of States displays a flag from each of the 50 states.

The Organization of American States (OAS), with headquarters in Washington, was founded in 1948 to promote peace and cooperation among all nations in the Americas. Inside the building is a courtyard planted with banana, coffee, rubber, and papaya trees. ▶ 

◀ The International Spy Museum has a huge collection of espionage artifacts, from a 1777 letter written by George Washington, in which he authorized a New York spy network, to a car just like the one used by James Bond, code name 007, in the movie Goldfinger.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum presents the history of the Holocaust—the persecution and murder of millions of Jews and others during Nazi rule of Germany from 1933 to 1945. ▶

◀ At the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater, classic stories and folktales are told through puppet shows, storytellers, dancers, musicians, and mimes. 

▲ Where in the world is. . . Explorer’s Hall? In the National Geographic Society Building, of course. This is the place to touch a tornado or learn about Earth and its people on an interactive display.

▼ To enjoy D.C., you might pedal a paddleboat on the Tidal Basin, take a mule-drawn barge ride on the C&O Canal, or visit Rock Creek Park, 1,750 acres that wind through Washington.  

History comes alive at Ford’s Theatre, where John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln on the night of April 14, 1865. Lincoln died the next day, and the theater went out of business. Restored to its original splendor, it reopened 103 years later in 1968. Now you can see a play there and view a collection of items owned and used by Lincoln. ▶