← Baltimore Marathon·Day trip

Washington DC: The Mall in a Day, Forty Minutes Down the Line

Free national museums and a 3 km run of monuments, close enough to Baltimore that the train takes less time than the walk between the far ends of the Mall.

DurationDay trip
TransitAmtrak, around 40 minutes from Baltimore Penn Station to Washington Union Station; MARC Penn Line is slower and cheaper
DepartsBaltimore Penn Station

After the Baltimore Marathon: Washington DC

The Route: Baltimore Penn Station → Washington Union Station → the National Mall → back Logistics: Amtrak Northeast Regional, around 40 minutes. MARC Penn Line covers the same route for a fraction of the fare, takes around an hour, and runs a thin weekend timetable. Marathon Month: October Duration: Day trip

Baltimore Penn ──(≈40 min Amtrak / ≈1 hr MARC)──> Washington Union Station
                                                          │
                                                   (15 min on foot)
                                                          ▼
                                                  The National Mall

Washington is close enough to Baltimore that people commute between them, which makes the day after a marathon a reasonable time to go. Union Station is about fifteen minutes on foot from the Capitol end of the Mall, and the Mall itself runs roughly 3 km from the Capitol steps to the Lincoln Memorial. That is the whole problem with this day trip: the distances look small on a map and they are not, on those legs. Pick two museums and one monument and let the rest go.

The Smithsonian museums

Entry to every Smithsonian museum is free and no ticket is needed for most of them. The National Museum of Natural History and the National Air and Space Museum both sit on the Mall itself. Air and Space has been working through a long building-wide renovation with galleries reopening in stages, so check what is actually open before you build a morning around it.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the one to plan for properly. It is free like the others, but entry is by timed pass and weekend passes go early, so book before you travel. The building is organised as a climb: the history galleries start three levels below ground and work upward through to the present day. Allow three hours and expect it to be the thing you remember.

The monuments

The Lincoln Memorial sits at the west end of the Mall, with the Reflecting Pool in front of it and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Korean War Veterans Memorial a few minutes either side. Walking from the Washington Monument to Lincoln and back is around 3 km on gravel and paving.

If that is too much, the Metro's Blue, Orange and Silver lines run under the Mall with stations at Smithsonian, Federal Triangle and Foggy Bottom, and a single ride between them costs very little. Use it without guilt.

Where to Stay and Eat

Where to stay: This works as a day trip, so you do not need to. If you want a night, the blocks around Penn Quarter and Chinatown put you within walking distance of the Mall and the trains.

Where to eat: The Mall itself is badly served, which catches people out. Walk north into Penn Quarter, or go east to the halls at Union Market if you have the energy for a short Metro ride. Union Station has food on its lower level for the train home.

Getting Back

Amtrak and MARC both run late enough for an evening return to Baltimore, but the MARC Penn Line thins out considerably at weekends and stops early. Check the last departure before you commit to dinner, and treat Amtrak as the fallback: it is more expensive, and it runs.