Washington, DC: Ideal Things to Do for Kids, Tweens or Teens, Washington D.C., USA

We’ve visited Washington, DC many times as our daughter has grown up and have had the chance to rediscover the city several times over as she’s reached different ages.

On our first trip with a preschooler, the big hits were the mall’s carousel and a food truck that sold chicken and waffles. On our latest visit, the city’s many used book stores and Library of Congress captured our teen’s attention. And she still likes food trucks.

We’ve explored must-see sites like the Vietnam Memorial (best with teens) and the free and excellent Smithsonian Zoo (great for youngsters), and we’ve found off-the-beaten track things to do, like kayaking on the Potomac.

Here, organized roughly by age group, are some of the coolest things to do, places to eat and places to stay in Washington, DC with kids.

We’ve stayed in a different hotel every time we’ve come to Washington. Sometimes we want to be in different parts of the city to be close to certain things, but often because I’m looking for the best value or trying to make the most of our hotel points.

I always like to be near a Metro station so we don’t have to deal with all the crazy parking restrictions around the mall. And we like having breakfast and dinner spots we can walk to. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).