The ultimate Smithsonian guide to Washington, D.C.

The National Portrait Gallery is a collection of visual arts dedicated to the cast of characters that make up the story of America. It's not just Presidents, either (although it does contain the nation’s only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House). "Poets... actors, activists, visionaries, villains... and everyone in between" from precolonial times to present day are on display here. Mark Twain, Pocahontas, Jay Z, Mary Todd Lincoln, Steve Jobs, W.E.B. DuBois, Kurt Cobain, Thomas Jefferson, Shaun White... all of your favorites and more can be seen!

You've got mail! The National Postal Museum is dedicated to a fascinating little niche of our country's history: the Postal Service. From shipping and receiving all-important letters in the Colonial era to stagecoaches crisscrossing the country to small town post offices in the early 20th century, you can learn a lot here. See stamps, vehicles, mailboxes, letters, and loads more on display at this surprisingly engaging museum.

Ok, so the Anacostia Community Museum is a bit out of the way, but it's an important museum nonetheless. It provides an in-depth look at America's urban communities and the issues affecting them: modernization, gentrification, environmental issues, employment, and more. While it takes the point of view of the D.C. metro area, its messages and values speak to all of America's urban communities. Exhibits cover topics ranging from the Civil War's effect on D.C., the art of quilting, black baseball teams, and loads more.

If you're a fan of contemporary artists, then definitely make sure to stop by the Hirshhorn. Dedicated to international modern art, this collection is housed in a circular Gordon Bunshaft building that's a masterpiece in and of itself. Wander the sculpture garden, or head inside to see work by Jeff Koons, Yoko Ono, Alberto Giacometti, and more. It's a wild experience to explore the space as it works to preserve and present these pieces, in all of their forms.

Ok so the Arts & Industries Museum is currently only open for special events, it's a gorgeous building (a great example of nineteenth-century world’s fair architecture). And, the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden and carousel outside are worth checking out. Plus, this building is pretty historic. It's the second-oldest Smithsonian building, having once served as a second spot to display objects from natural history collection that didn't fit in the castle (which we'll talk about later). After that, it was an "incubator" of sorts for the history museum, art museum, and air and space museum before they leveled up to their own buildings.

The Smithsonian also runs the country's only national museum dedicated to studying, collecting, and preserving the art of Africa. Music, sculpture, paintings, photographs, and tons more from all across time (including modern and contemporary works) and the continent (it was originally focused on sub-Saharan Africa, but its focus has been expanded) are on display. It was founded by Warren M. Robbins, a former U.S. Foreign Service officer, and was originally located in a townhouse where Frederick Douglass once lived. It became part of the Smithsonian in 1979, and the collection has been growing ever since, eventually moving to its current location on the National Mall.

One of two Smithsonian galleries dedicated to Asian art, the Sackler Gallery is where you'll find ancient and contemporary pieces, ranging from Near Eastern metalware and ceramics, South and Southeast Asian sculpture, Chinese jade and bronze pieces, and Chinese lacquerware and paintings. It's also where you can view the Vever Collection, a collection of Persian and Islamic paintings and manuscripts collected by jeweler Henri Vever.

The Sackler Gallery is actually attached to the Freer Gallery. The Freer houses over 26,000 objects from across 6,000 years of history, up to the present day. On display, you'll find ancient Egyptian stone sculpture, ancient Near Eastern ceramics and metalware, Chinese paintings and ceramics, Korean pottery and porcelain, Japanese folding screens, Persian manuscripts, and Buddhist sculpture. The centerpiece of the museum is The Peacock Room, a breathtaking example of interior decorative mural art by James McNeill Whistler, painted between 1876 and 1877. The rich blue-greens and abundant gold leaf exemplify Anglo-Japanese style.

The small domed kiosk of the S. Dillon Ripley Center leads to the underground complex that connects to the Sackler and Freer Galleries and the Museum of African Art. It mostly houses offices, but there are also an art gallery and exhibition space for rotating and traveling exhibits inside as well. It's named for S. Dillon Ripley, the Secretary of the Smithsonian who shepherded the institute through a period of massive expansion, between 1964 and 1984. Ronald Reagan actually rewarded him for his work with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985.

All of the Smithsonian buildings have assorted gardens that serve as "museums without walls", and many of which are open 24 hours a day. Whether it's the formal Enid A. Haupt Garden outside The Castle, the Butterfly Gardens at the Museum of Natural History, the Greenhouse, or even the WWII-inspired recreation Victory Garden at the National Museum of American History, the amount of love put into the landscaping, caring for the plants, and adding in interpretive signs is pretty incredible.

Not only is the Renwick Gallery housed in the first building in America constructed to be an art gallery (meant to be an American Lourve), it's dedicated to American contemporary craft and decorative arts. Expect to find "high art" versions of everyday objects, like furniture from Sam Maloof and glasswork from Dale Chihuly, along with, on occasion, some modern art installations.

The Archives of American Art mostly collects and preserves the papers and primary records of the visual arts in America. Think, letters, diaries, scrapbooks, manuscripts, financial records, photographs, films, oral histories, and audiovisual recordings of artists, dealers, collectors, critics, scholars, museums, galleries, associations, and other art world figures. But, there's rotating and traveling exhibits often on display at the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery.