The Smithsonian Metro station in Washington, D.C., is my go-to gateway to the National Mall, and let me tell you my first ride on the D.C. Metro was an absolute riot! I hopped on expecting a chill, leisurely cruise like some other cities' subways, but nope this thing hauled ass right out of the gate. It accelerated like it was late for a very important date, screeching around corners, jerking side to side like a caffeinated New York train on steroids. The cars were swaying wildly, I was gripping the pole for dear life, laughing out loud thinking, "Subway gone wild! This is a thrill ride disguised as public transit!" It was hilarious and exhilarating definitely not your grandma's slow commuter train. (They've probably smoothed things out a bit with more automation these days, but that memory still cracks me up.) If you're visiting D.C. in the winter months when it's freezing out, ducking into the Metro (especially at Smithsonian) is a lifesaver warm, quick, and drops you right in the heart of everything. Parking downtown is a nightmare and wallet-killer, so snag a cheaper hotel farther out, jump on the train, and zoom in without the hassle. It's a smart, affordable way to get around, and if you're a train nerd like me, that wild ride might just become the story you tell for the rest of your life. Highly recommend 5 stars for the nostalgia alone! read more

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On of the most convenient stops on the metro line, and its on the red line. If you wanna is the museums or venture around DC near the museums, this stop is it. A few walking distance from Air Space Muesum and Art Gallery, you get a lovely view of the US Capitol. I suggest wear sneakers. Don't wear sandals or Crocs. Your feet will hurt! This station is very clean, well maintained and operated. Station managers are always present and friendly! However the prices are insane unlike other major cities MTA. The so called peak time ends after 9pm on weekdays , holidays and weekends the prices are very reasonable. read more

The easiest way to get around D.C. the metro stations are clean and the signage is really good and accurate. Most of the stations have air conditioning which makes it very pleasant when you are trying to beat the heat. If you don't know where to go, just ask someone, most people are very nice and helpful. read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Still open even with the Army 250th birthday parade on Saturday. Easiest stop for Washington Monument and WWII memorial. read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

The Smithsonian Metro stop is a good exit for many of the Smithsonian museums. Exit the turnstile with your Metro walk and follow the signs for your destination. read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - Station stop - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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It is a decent station. WMATA seems to be improving. Then again, give it time due to skepticism that is appropriate. Today I was back here, and it is a lot cleaner than previous occasions. The new fare reader machines are an upgrade. They save a bit of time. Trains seemed to be running frequently too. The name is a bit of a misnomer. You'd expect to be right up on this famous institution. You're not far but it's not all that close. This is the best station distance wise for that, plus the Jefferson Memorial and others of prominence. Thank you to the friendly and helpful employees here today. It seems station managers are outside the box, and greeting customers or at least answering questions. My hope is to be back here soon, as while hike, it's a worthwhile one. read more

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You can't visit DC without visiting a Smithsonian or two or all. And what better way to arrive to where many of the Smithsonian museums are and the monuments than to take the Metro to the Smithsonian Metro Station, which gets you right in front of the Smithsonian Castle and beyond? Smithsonian Metro Station is along the blue/orange/silver lines and is easy to navigate. Once you arrive at the station, you go up the escalators that lead you right in the middle of the National Mall and walking distance to many of the Smithsonian museums, other museums and monuments. It's very easy for anyone visiting, especially first-time tourists to find their way around here upon arrival at the Smithsonian Metro Station. Plus, there's a sign with a map of the area, to help navigate visitors to many of the attractions and sites nearby. This location cannot be better. That in itself is five stars. read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - Right in the middle of the National Mall - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Came to DC for the HandsOff2025 Rally and let me tell you - the employees here were incredible! They helped with questions, directions and were so pleasant to each passenger, and there were A LOT!! The line to leave the rally wrapped around the building and moved rather quickly - these folks were tremendous!! I'd give a 5 star plus if it was option. Thanks! read more

Love love love the metro system in D.C. what a great way to get around the city. I guess I've just not done much traveling in the N.E. Part of the U.S. because this is so fascinating to me. I loved Boston's train/rail/subway system too read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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A lot of Metro stations aren't that interesting to look at. In addition to how it looks, it also helps it's ratings to have a good convenient location. The Smithsonian Metro station is good in both of these. Most times it's pretty clean. You also have convenient access to close by museums. It serves the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines. It stops closest by the Smithsonian Castle, the administrative building for all the museums. There's a few exhibits there too. It's only a few minutes to walk from here. The station itself seems pretty clean compared to others in the Metro system. It's because mostly tourists go here. They want to look their best for them so they clean more regularly. It has a couple of exits. Take the 12th Street and Independence exit to go south to some of the smaller art museums. Take the 12th Street and Jefferson exit to get to the Castle or the majority of National Mall stuff. read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - Station - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Another good stop along the Metro Line to get off an explore the museums in the area. It puts you on the opposite side of the mall, near the Smithsonian Institute Building, you are not a far walk to almost all of the museums in the area. read more

Very cool that we took the train from the suburbs to the Capital Mall. Station was clean. Exited train, up the stairs and right in the middle of the Mall. read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - Clean station and modern cars on the "7000" series. - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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If you're looking to tour the DC area, you should exit at this Metro station. It drops you off right in the middle of the National Mall. All of the monuments, museums, and any other locations of interest are all within walking distance. This station serves the blue, silver, and orange lines. read more

Bottom Line: Busy, clean, full of tourists and super convenient to many Smithsonian museums. Most Metro stations are the same - red hexagon tiles on the ground, dim lighting, waffle roof, long escalators and the smell of an electrical train. This station has all of those "features," plus it is clean and energetic. Being right in the middle of the National Mall, this station gets a lot of use by tourists so its in WMATA best interest to keep it purty. This Metro station has two exits, as many of them do. 12th St. and Jefferson is marked as being for the "Mall" but both exits will get you there. A few more notes: 12th St. & Jefferson - This puts you more in the middle of the Mall - Use this exit for the Smithsonian Castle, Natural History museum and American History museum 12th St. & Independence - This exit puts you more on the edge of the Mall - Use this exit for the Freer and Sackler Asian Art Gallery, Haupt Gardens and African Art Gallery. I also think this is the closest Metro stop and exit to the Holocaust Memorial As another Yelper noted, one of the nice things about emerging from the ground here is that its easy to get your bearings based on the monuments. Walk away from the Washington Monument for: - Air and Space Museum - National Gallery of Art - Hirshorn Museum (Modern Art & Sculpture) - American Indian Museum - The Capital - US Botanic Gardens - Taft Memorial - Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism Walk towards and past the Washington Monument for: - Lincoln Memorial - Korean War Veteran's Memorial - Vietnam War Veteran's Memorial - Vietnam Women's Memorial - DC's WWI Memorial - National WWII Memorial - Constitution Gardens - Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence - Albert Einstein Memorial Keep on hoofing it for MLK Memorial, FDR Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. At the top of the escalators, Old Town Trolley is usually here selling tickets for their Hop On/Hop Off Bus and maybe even their super awesome Monuments by Moonlight tour. read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - Yep, looks like the entrance to your typical metro station. - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Absolutely perfect location, clean metro station, interesting architecture. This metro station takes you right into the heart of the mall. We used this metro stop to get to 17th street for the 57th March on Washington on 8.28.2020. read more

Location is what this station is all about. Some of the color coded lines of the Metro stop at this station. It's a typical Metro station like all other where you can buy fare cards, add value, etc. Once you ride the escalator out you are in the center of the Mall. It is convenient for some of the Smithsonian museums such as American history, Natural history, African American Museum, and not overly far from the Washington Monument. You can also work your way to the Holocaust Museum, the Bureau of engraving and printing, and what they call the "castle." There is a comprehensive map of all the museums and attractions when you get out and it does make a great photo opportunity if you want to center on Capitol Hill or get a nice shot of the Washington monument. The map also gives the recommended station if you wish to visit museums farther down. Definitely a great stop if you are touring the city. Metro stop is clean and well organized. read more

Important metro station for visitors, this puts you right smack dab where you want to be. Peruse a map before going so when you emerge you aren't easy prey for the aggressive panhandlers presenting themselves as helpful guides. Even if you don't know where you are going, walk briskly with an air of "I know what I'm doing" to get away from the entrance, in fact any direction you walk in will head you towards a place worth visiting and a nice view as well. I think this station was used as Siegfried's evil lair in "Get Smart." read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - To the Mall - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

It's time for a revamp. Let's board! This stop is served by Orange, Blue, and Silver Lines. It's the primary stop for those who need to head to the Smithsonian Museums in the general area. Those on the Red Line can transfer to this station at Metro Center, and at the L'Enfant Plaza stop for those coming from the Yellow and Green Lines. Those stations even have a sign saying "Trains To Smithsonian" with an arrow because Metro knows that the Smithsonian area is a hot tourist spot and want to make it easy for those who want to head in that direction. "Flashback Rail" - When I was little, and my parents took myself to Washington D.C, we took the Yellow and/or Green Lines to L'Enfant Plaza and transferred in favor of this stop. We went to numerous museums from there. When I was older and with my relatives in Virgina, we took the Red Line to Metro Center and transferred to this stop as well. This was also in favor of some of the museums in the vicinity. "Present Express" - For my recent experience, I came from Union Station alone on the Red Line and transferred at Metro Center for this stop. This was so I can meet up with my parents and look at 2 Smithsonian museums and the WWII Memorial (more on this later). However, when our day was over, we came back to this station and rode to L'Enfant Plaza in favor of the Green Line back to College Park, MD. This was one stop over via the Orange, Blue, and Silver Lines. For those of you heading to the WWII Memorial, this is the closest Metro stop. Get off here and walk over. This will take up to 30 minutes to and from. That's what we did, and we thought this was worth it. This station is dedicated to Carmen E. Turner, as indicated on top of the station entrance. Once riders enter the station from the escalator and swipe their cards, they go down another escalator and reach the boarding platforms. Speaking of, even though the 3 lines serve this station, they're all accessible from one platform. Just make sure you know what side and line to be on for your destination so you don't end up on the wrong train. The station itself was very clean. Because this stop caters those who want to go the Smithsonian museums and the memorials where there are no other Metro stops available than this one, keep in mind that this station does get crowded at times. Overall, an excellent location. read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

This one is sure convenient to the museums. However, this is also kind of the problem. It just gets so oppressively crowded during major events in the area that it's just better to walk to one of the other downtown stops. The gates and the escalators and the platforms are just totally inadequate for the volume of people trying to use them; this should be one of the biggest stops in the city but it isn't. It actually gets shut down sometimes because of excess volume. I also note that this is one of the stops that doesn't have the distinctive Metro-style roof over the entrance, which is annoying when weather happens and makes it harder to locate. This is the closest stop to the monuments and the Memorial Bridge; the Metro conspicuously skips the region immediately west of the Mall, which is where many of the big attractions are. read more

The location is perfect when visiting the mall and museums. The only disappointment is when the escalator isn't working and I have to schlepp down "on my own volition." The station employees are nice. read more

Man... Never try to hustle a hustler! If you've never been to the area, you'll get all twisted around. Coming out of the Smithsonian Metro Station subway is tricky if you're looking at map. There is ALWAYS a guy out front, sometimes with a map, sometimes with a helpful tip on what direction is your destination. After their helpfulness, they wanna get paid! Hey brother, let me hold onto a dollar for that advice. Canadians might give them a buck, I have a phone with GPS thankyouverymuch. No need for your directions and all you need to do is look up at the monument for bearings. Good DAY to you sir! read more

Unless you are doing touristy things or work nearby, you will probably not find yourself at this station. There is nothing really of note here-serviced by blue, orange, and silver lines, easy walking distance to the museums (hence the name), and not too far from l'enfant plaza station either, which you can use as a transfer point to get to Smithsonian station if you are on the yellow/green lines. The station is relatively clean and seems easy for the average tourist (although I'm not speaking from that perspective) to navigate. read more

Station puts you Right in the middle of all the Smithsonian museums. Even better once you get off the train and go upstairs, there's a map of where all the museums are for you to visit. The station is clean and there's a timer that tells you how long the trains will be read more

Good location for a metro stop - right in the center of the Mall. Wish the platforms were a bit wider - at least double their current size since it gets over-crowded during peak tourist times. Also during Cherry Blossom season and other busy periods, they often close one the entrances to control the sea of humanity from entering and flooding the station. Not smart strategy in my opinion. read more

Not just another stop for the Metro. This one is in the center of the action, with the Washington monument and the capitol building within sight and walking distance of the Smithsonian along with other government buildings. Great location! read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

From October to April you mostly see federal workers with very few incidents or weirdos. People stand where they're supposed to on the escalators, know what they're doing at the farecard machines, and don't need much assistance from the metro employees. During the Summer you see tourists, tourists, and more tourists! It's tourist city since the station is the best way to get to the National Mall and surrounding museums, monuments, etc. You will see large tour groups that are mostly comprised of kids and several families. You have to deal with people not standing on the right side of the escalators, crowding around the farecard machines, and unsuccessfully trying to go through the gates. But try to take it all in stride DC employees. Don't bark at people to move to the right side of the escalator and take a moment to direct people in the right direction if you can. They'll learn, probably not till day 5 of their 6 day trip to DC, but eventually they'll figure it out. We all did :-) read more

This Metro station is the closest one to the National Mall, so if you're going to any of the Smithsonian buildings, this is the easiest station to use. It's fairly bare bones, but it's also clean. When I spent a few days in DC, I was surprised at how few people seemed to use this station. I realize that most normal commuters aren't visiting the Smithsonian on a daily basis, but there were a lot of obvious tourists at the Federal Triangle station. The Orange and Blue Lines service this station. read more

The thing I love best about the actual version of this station is that there aren't any mutants or rabid dogs out to get me. Just a metro station with regular humans trying to get from Point A to Point B. I'm a fan. Oh, and the fact that it stops right at the National Mall is pretty cool too. read more

I wanted to give this metro station major kudos for having the air conditioning on at full blast, all the time. It's so much better than sitting in a muggy station, with your only respite of factory-installed air coming from the doors swinging open from in/out-bound trains. read more

Smithsonian Metro Station - Photo of people ENTERING the metro station (Mall exit) during Cherry Blossom season, late afternoon. - Train Stations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Oh, come on! A clean and cheap metro system with a stop right onto the National Mall? How could a subway stop be any better? There is a directory map of the Mall right after you exit the station. And if you want to take the Tourmobile bus (one of the on-again-off-again tour buses) just turn right after you exit the Smithsonian metro stop and cross the street, there is a stop right there and you can buy tickets from the bus driver if you want (we did the two-day pass for ~$35). I suppose it would be nice if there were metro stops up by the Capitol, and also down by the memorials, but this review is for the Smithsonian stop only. The orange and blue lines stop here. If you want to transfer to any other line, though, the Metro stop (a major transfer station) is just two stops away and it's pretty darn easy to transfer. read more

It serves its purpose. The underground area is large and spacious. So much that going down to the station from the surface gives me vertigo at certain stations. One problem is that the underground area generally get very warm. Also, it might be a good idea to have some more seats available. I LOVE that there is a screen that details the time until the next train arrives. SOO useful! read more

I probably would have enjoyed this station if it weren't for two things: tourists tourists tourists (aka too damn crowded) and the fact that one of the escalators is ALWAYS under construction. Meh. I'd rather just walk. read more

Make sure to double check signs!

Omg the subway service in dc is so much better than new york, faster, cleaner, organized. Lucky you guys!

This station gets you to the sites you want to visit when you go to Washington, DC. On my recent visit, we wanted to check out the new MLK, Jr Memorial. It was a nice long walk, especially since we also had our luggage, but had we not been pressed for time, we would've been able to plan better. Once you get off the train and leave the station, you are in the national mall and can view the park map that lets you know where all the other sites are. If needed, there also is a park ranger nearby to assist. read more

So, this review is just for all of the DC metro, really. The metro is pretty easy to understand, and fares are decently priced, but note that if you are visiting and using a paper fare card all fares are +$1 each way. A little steep if you ask me, but the metro saved me from the rain this weekend, so I can't really complain. read more

D.C. and the surrounding areas have a great Metro system. The stations are clean and the trains are on time. Atlanta should take a lesson. I was very surprised to see that it was possible to find a seat during rush hour on a Metro train. read more

When I travelled to DC a few years ago, I ended up taking in this station quite a few times. I knew that it was close to the Smithsonian museums I needed, so I got out whenever I could/needed to here. It was always clean and in full-working order. However, what I didn't know is that one of their exits leads to other government buildings parallel to the "Mall"(a big downfall is signage). A big downfall, if you travel around on the Metro on Independence Day. You won't be able to get out here that day. Metro always tries to route people around this location, due to hoardes gathering and trying to enter onto the system that day. Two routes tend to stop a few stops before, and what does go through that day, does tend to go express THAT DAY ONLY. Thanks for making for several pleasant and appealing appearances. read more

If you're looking to visit the Smithsonian without having to deal with traffic and parking hassles, go through this Metro station.

This is the stop if visiting the Mall at our nation's capital. It plops you dead in the center of the action. It's usually crowded, but it's never that big of a deal unless it's the fourth of July. I'm a happy camper! read more