DC - Washington Monument

Back to our Washington DC trip, one of the highlights was the Washington Monument, in the middle of the mall. It's 555 feet tall, and offers the best views in the city.

Here's a view of the Monument from the Lincoln Memorial.

We were lucky enough to go to the top during the daytime - you need to get tickets (which are free but normally get taken very early in the day), and there were some available when we got there shortly before noon. At the top are several small windows, which are not completely clear, explaining why the next few shots are a little blurred.

Here's a view of the Ellipse and the White House from the top of the Monument.

Here's the Capitol building.

Here's a view looking towards the Lincoln Memorial, with the World War II Memorial in the foreground.

Here's a view inside the top of the Monument - as you can see, there's not a lot of space. The central area (on the left in this picture) is taken up by the elevator.

In the elevator on the way down, you get a chance to see through the glass walls into the interior, where there are several stones gifted by various states and cities. Here's the one from the City of New York.

This is one of the must-do things in DC, and it's well worth the effort to get the tickets and come back at your appointed time.