In Your Free Time

Whether it’s museums, music, food, or movies, Washington offers just about everything you could want in a city and often for free.

Explore Washington’s neighborhoods

SIW is located in Woodley Park, which is clustered between three neighborhoods – Cleveland Park, Adams Morgan, and Dupont Circle. Although, there are many restaurants in Woodley Park, we don’t have groceries, bookstores, movie theaters, or concert venues. For these, you’ll have to venture into other neighborhoods, each with their own culture.

Once you arrive at BSIW, you’ll receive a handbook of places to visit and information on where to get essential items. Your Resident Assistant (RA) and other SIW staff will be available to give you advice as well.

If you’re curious about what to expect before your arrival, Washington’s City Paper offers a great breakdown of each unique area of the city.

Most museums are free!

• National Gallery of Art is free, even though it is not part of the Smithsonian Institution
• American History Museum reopened in 2008 after a lengthy renovation
• Natural History Museum holds the Hope Diamond
• National Zoo is a five-minute walk from the Bass Center
• Air and Space Museum is an awe-inspiring site
• Portrait Gallery and the American Art Museum are located in the same building
• African Art Museum collection ranges from printmaking to textiles to weapons and armaments
• American Indian Museum has one of the best and most interesting dining facilities on the National Mall
• Freer Sackler Galleries opened in 1923 as the first Smithsonian museum for the fine arts
• Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is dedicated to contemporary art from the U.S. and around the world
• Postal Museum is located next door to Union Station
• The Renwick Gallery actually belongs to the American Art Museum, but is located across the street from the White House
• Anacostia Community Museum seeks to understand African American history from various community perspectives

Despite all of the free museums, there are several more that are worth the price of admission:

• Newseum
• The Phillips Collection
• Corcoran Gallery or Art
• National Museum of Women in the Arts
• International Spy Museum

Blogs are a great way to find new things to do…

• dcist is the most comprehensive Washington blog, featuring sections on arts and events, food, and news
• GOGBlog stands for “Going out Gurus” and features such sections as “Free and Cheap”
• METBLOGS features news on events around the city
• WELOVEDC covers all sorts of events, Washington myths, news, and oddities
• Wonkette is all about Washington gossip