Visit the District in April to see the city in full bloom with vibrant theater productions, exciting outdoor sports and the only-in-DC National Cherry Blossom Festival.
Regardless of the season, you're bound to have an unforgettable experience in the nation's capital. Be sure to check out special discounts and packages, from luxurious experiences to budget-friendly options, and after you’ve read through this list, make sure to check out our things to do during the week, must-hit weekend events and accessibility guides to monuments and museums on the National Mall.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival – March 20 – April 12
DC celebrates the blooming of cherry trees with a month-long festival that commemorates the 1912 gift from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city. Check out popular festival events in the lead-up to the celebration, in addition to our guide to the celebration, how to get the most popular blossom spots and the best places to snap photos.
Cherry Blossom Peak Bloom Prediction – March 29 – April 1
Last year, Washington, DC's famed cherry blossoms reached peak bloom on the final three days of March, according to the National Park Service. Peak bloom occurs when 70% of the flowers of the cherry blossom trees are open, and the best viewing is usually in the days leading up to peak bloom and up to a week or so afterward. REMINDER: Please do your part in helping to protect the trees by never picking the cherry blossoms (it’s against the law). Plan ahead and read up on the best spots to see the blossoms.
Tidal Basin Welcome Area & ANA Stage (Open Daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
Washington Nationals Baseball
The Washington Nationals, who have four National League East titles, five postseason appearances and a World Series championship since coming to DC in 2005, are one of the city's main attractions throughout the spring and summer. Head to Nationals Park to experience MLB action with an exciting schedule, plenty of home runs and, of course, Racing Presidents. Use code VISITDC for 15% off your tickets.
Tickets
1500 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC 20003
Experience a DC Defenders game at Audi Field
Defenders football has become a springtime tradition at Audi Field in the nation’s capital. Hard-hitting action returns so expect a rowdy atmosphere as the DC squad looks to defend home field against. Purchase tickets through the link below to save up to 35%.
Tickets (up to 35% off)
Audi Field, 100 Potomac Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20024
Visit the Tidal Basin and Cleveland Park with DC Design Tours
DC Design Tours offers a 90-minute tour around the Tidal Basin to gaze at magnificent cherry blossoms that includes stops at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial and other notable stops. The company also offers an excursion through Cleveland Park, the DC neighborhood with the most cherry trees and a fascinating history. Please note: tour dates will depend on the cherry blossoms' peak bloom.
Enjoy Easter Weekend in DC – April 3-5
Stroll through blooming spring gardens, indulge in a decadent District brunch or find the perfect family-friendly hotel this Easter weekend in Washington, DC. Explore our guide to find inspiration and happenings around the city.
National Cherry Blossom Festival
Petalpalooza® – April 4
Part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, this all-ages event features outdoor performances, interactive art displays, a cashless beverage garden, hands-on fun for families, strolling entertainers and more – all along the picturesque Yards Park in Navy Yard. Be sure to stay for the official fireworks show.
Free Admission
The National Theatre
Disney's Beauty and the Beast – Through April 5
This "tale as old as time" awaits you at National Theatre, on stage like never before. Disney’s first North American production of the beloved musical in over 25 years, the show includes all your favorites from the original plus spectacular new sets and costumes, and, of course, the Oscar-winning and Tony Award-nominated score, including the classic songs “Be Our Guest” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Whether you're team Gaston (why?) or team Beast, or maybe just team love, this one's for you.
Tickets
The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004
Cherry Blossom Parade – April 11
Witness DC's grandest petal procession with the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade presented by Events DC. Catch everything from giant helium balloons to elaborate floats to live musical performances. Enjoy prime performance viewing in the grandstand (tickets are $25-$40), or stand along the parade route – which runs for 10 blocks along Constitution Avenue NW – for free.
More Info
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Eddie Izzard in The Tragedy of Hamlet – March 27 – April 11
Pay witness to the solo show talents of Eddie Izzard, who has dazzled Chicago, London, San Francisco and Seattle with her riveting one-woman interpretation of Hamlet. The comedian, actor and activist pushes boundaries and performs The Bard’s work unlike you’ve ever seen it performed before.
Tickets
Klein Theatre, 450 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004
Sakura Matsuri: Japanese Street Festival – April 11-12
The Sakura Matsuri, produced by the Japan-America Society of Washington DC, returns for two exciting days each year. The event presents over 80 cultural groups, art vendors, food booths and dozens of hours of programming. You can also enjoy a Ginza Marketplace, popular Japan Now! Pavilion, a cosplay contest, sake tasting and more. This goes down on Pennsylvania Avenue from 3rd to 7th Streets NW.
More Info
Sasha Velour's Travesty – March 24 – April 12
The RuPaul’s Drag Race winner stages a multi-media extravaganza on queer history and resistance featuring lip syncing, video art and costume changes at Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
Tickets
Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D Street NW, Washington, DC 20004
Signature Theatre Company
Safety Not Guaranteed – Through April 12
Based on the film of the same name, this Signature Theatre Company production mixes indie rock with imagination into an unforgettable time traveling adventure. Journalist Darius sees a classified ad requesting “someone to go back in time with me” and agrees to go along for the ride. She gets in over her head very quickly.
Tickets
Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206
Folger Theatre
As You Like It – Through April 12
One of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies is reimagined by Folger Theatre’s Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels. The story concerns Rosalind and her cousin, Celia, who are forced to leave the “court” and in turn explore the vast forest of Arden, where adventure awaits. The setting conjures love for DC, and the production takes care to showcase the city as a place of redemption, resilience and community.
Tickets
Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC 20003
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Hamnet – Through April 12
With the 2025 film adaptation up for eight Oscars, you would be well-served to see the U.S. premiere of Royal Shakespeare Company’s stage take on Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel. The powerful tale focuses on the deep impacts of grief and loss while also showcasing how suffering can lead to extraordinary wonder.
Tickets
Harman Hall, 610 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20004
Filmfest DC – April 16-26
The largest and longest-running annual international film festival in Washington, DC, Filmfest DC returns each April with a new lineup featuring quite the genre exercise: comedies, dramas, thrillers, shorts, documentaries and more.
More Info
Smithsonian Craft Show – April 23-26
The country's premier showcase for the finest in hand-crafted, American artisanal works returns to the National Building Museum. Marvel at the lineup of exhibitors that represents all facets of contemporary craft and design: basketry, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper, wearable art and wood.
Tickets
National Building Museum, 401 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
Georgetown French Market – April 24-26
Georgetown's Book Hill neighborhood turns into its own version of Paris for an entire weekend every April. The Georgetown French Market features more than 35 locally owned merchants, restaurants, galleries and salons participating in an open-air shopping frenzy from Friday through Sunday. Spectacles also include a caricature artist, live music and stilt-walkers.
More Information
Wisconsin Avenue NW, O Street to Reservoir Road, Washington, DC
Back and Forth: Rozeal., Titian, Cezanne – Through April 25, 2026
Four stunning art works across six centuries are in conversation in a new exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. Through a recent piece by Rozeal., Titian’s Venus with a Mirror and Ranuccio Farnese and Cezanne’s Boy in a Red Waistcoat, visitors can find unexpected connections and visual similarities that draw the 16th, 19th and 21st centuries together.
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Free Admission
National Gallery of Art, 6th Street & Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC
ARTECHOUSE
Peak Bloom: Dome Experience – Through April 26
Hi-Lawn, in collaboration with ARTECHOUSE Studio, transforms its rooftop dome into a breathtaking digital cherry blossom spectacle. The immersive visual show features 360 degrees of petals, light and motion projected overhead, surrounding guests with luminous blooms and flowing digital landscapes.
Tickets
Hi-Lawn, 1309 5th Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Reasons to Gather: Japanese Tea Practice Unwrapped – Through April 26, 2026
The Japanese tea practice of chanoyu revolves around the appreciation of utensils that assist in the preparation and consumption of matcha (powdered green tea). This new exhibit at the National Museum of Asian Art presents 11 historic tea utensils and accessories, including ceramics, hanging scrolls, boxes and wrapping cloths. All the objects tell a story of trade and exchange across Asia and reveal a vast network of tea practitioners.
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Free Admission
National Museum of Asian Art, 1050 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20560
The Phillips Collection
peter campus: there somewhere – Through May 3
The Phillips Collection showcases one of the leading figures in new media art with there somewhere. peter campus’ breakthrough videos from the early 1970s are displayed alongside four new, serene landscape works, which the artist has named “the phillips quartets”.
Hours & Admission
The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
National Children's Museum
The Pigeon Comes to Washington, DC! A Mo Willems Exhibit – Through May 10
The National Children’s Museum tips its cap to Mo Willems with a special exhibit that features a phone booth that makes you sound like the famous Piggie, a hot-dog-launching catapult, a fashion runway, art inspired by popular Willems characters and much, much more, all in the Visiting Exhibit Hall.
Hours & Admission
National Children’s Museum, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004
Museum of Illusions
Cherry Blossom Takeover at the Museum of Illusions – Through May 10
The Museum of Illusions partnered with local artist Hiba Alyawer for a limited-time cherry blossom-themed takeover. The immersive artistic experience is inspired by DC's most iconic season. Selected illusion rooms throughout the museum feature stunning blossom installations and floral-inspired artistic elements, blending the magic of visual perception with the delicate beauty of spring in DC. Special workshops are also available.
Buy Tickets
Museum of Illusions, 927 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
National Museum of Asian Art
Into the Waters with Senju and Bingyi: Two Contemporary Paintings – Through June 14
Japanese artists Hiroshi Senju and Bingyi and their different visualizations of water – each hypnotic and transfixing in their own way – form the basis of this new exhibit at the National Museum of Asian Art. Senju’s abstract approach and Bingy’s traditional methods along with each painter’s influences and ethos are examined in detail.
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Free Admission
National Museum of Asian Art, 1050 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20004
The Two Georges: Parallel Lives in an Age of Revolution – Through July 4
The Library of Congress brings together letters, ledgers, diaries, maps, drawings and other artifacts to illuminate the similarities and differences between two iconic figures of the Revolutionary War: George Washington and King George III. Although the two never met, visitors can envision where they would clash and where they would compromise in this stirring exhibit that features items from a wide range of collections, including the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, London’s Science Museum and George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
Hours | Free Admission
Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540
Miró and the United States – Through July 5
The Phillips Collection's new exhibit will explore the artistic conversation between Spanish artist Joan Miró (1893–1983) and American artists from the 1940s to the 1960s. The exhibition will trace Miró’s relationships with American artists, collectors and institutions in an examination of the ways this exchange spurred inspiration and experimentation on both sides of the Atlantic. Expect to see works by Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, Lee Krasner, Norman Lewis, Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Adolph Gottlieb and many more.
Hours & Admission
The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
Grandma Moses: A Good Day's Work – Through July 12
Anna Mary Robertson Moses, who was dubbed “Grandma Moses” by the press, lived through the American Civil War, two world wars and the civil rights era. In the 1940s, she emerged as a central figure thanks to her unique tapestries of American life. The Smithsonian American Art Museum introduces her essential work to new generations with an in-depth exhibit.
11:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. | Free Admission
Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th and G Streets NW, Washington, DC 20004
National Museum of African American History and Culture
At the Vanguard – Through July 19
The National Museum of African American History and Culture’s new exhibit features more than 100 objects from the collections of five Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Clark Atlanta, Florida A&M, Jackson State, Texas Southern, Tuskegee) in a stunning display of how these institutions have shaped American education and culture through innovation, ingenuity, resistance and activism.
Free Admission | Hours & Information
National Museum of African American History & Culture, 1400 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20560
Folger Shakespeare Library
Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era – Through Aug. 2
For the first time since 1805, 14 paintings from the renowned Boydell Shakespeare Gallery in London are on view together. Visit the Folger Shakespeare Library and capitalize on this rare chance to see the tremendous collection, which features depictions of scenes from the Bard’s plays as imagined by leading artists of the day.
Hours | Free Admission
Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC 20003
Photo by Gary Staab
Bronze Bison – Ongoing
Over a century ago, bison roamed outside the Smithsonian Castle building. This spring, the National Museum of Natural History commemorates this history with three larger-than-life bronze bison created by sculptor Gary Staab. The pieces, which are at 125% scale and modeled after taxidermy specimens, will live outside the National Museum of Natural History.
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Free Admission
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street & Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20560
National Gallery of Art
Mary Cassatt: An American in Paris – Through Aug. 30
The National Gallery of Art presents the vibrant work of Mary Cassatt across three galleries. The museum’s impressionist collection served as the source for this in-depth examination of how Cassatt went about creating her radically modern pieces. Roughly 40 paintings, drawings and prints will be on display.
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Free Admission
National Gallery of Art, 6th Street & Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20560
Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art – Through Summer 2026
The National Museum of African Art has assembled a powerful showcase of works that marks the first continental and diasporic survey of its scale outside of Africa. LGBTQ+ identities and experiences are the focus of the exhibit, with many of the pieces serving as challenges to legacies of homophobia and bigotry.
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Free Admission
National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20560
Photo by Kate Capshaw
Portrait of a Nation: 2025 Honorees – Through Nov. 8
In honor of recent recipients of the Portrait of a Nation Award, the National Portrait Gallery showcases an exhibit dedicated to stunning work. The award elevates “extraordinary individuals who have made transformative contributions to the United States and its people.” This year’s group of honorees includes Jamie Dimon, business leader, by photographer Jason Alden; Temple Grandin, professor, inventor and groundbreaking researcher of animal science, by artist David Lenz; Joy Harjo, renowned poet, performer and writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and 23rd U.S. poet laureate, by artist Joel Daniel Phillips; and Steven Spielberg, Academy Award-winning director, producer and writer, by artist Kate Capshaw.
11:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. | Free Admission
National Portrait Gallery, 8th and G Streets NW, Washington, DC 20001
A South Fourty: Contemporary Architecture and Design in the American South – Through Winter 2026
The National Building Museum’s new exhibit is dedicated to distinctive modern architecture and contemporary design practices in the American South. The display aims to provide an overview of the current vibrancy of contemporary architecture through illustrated profiles of buildings and practices, statements of principles and observations by those who build in the region.
Hours & Admission
National Building Museum, 401 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
Water's Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe – Through Jan. 1, 2027
The acclaimed Ho-Chunk artist receives his first major retrospective at the National Museum of the American Indian. Truman Lowe used willow branches, feathers and organic materials to create minimalist sculptures to evoke rivers, streams and waterfalls. The exhibit also features similarly distinctive drawings and paintings by Lowe.
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Free Admission
National Museum of the American Indian, 4th Street & Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20560
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Nick Cave: Mammoth – Through Jan. 3, 2027
Internationally renowned artist Nick Cave uses surrealism, real-life experiences, raw materials and an unceasing creative intensity to create works that speak to race, gender, identity and history in America. This new installation at the Smithsonian American Art Museum explores the entanglement of land and race in the national consciousness.
11:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. | Free Admission
Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th and G Streets NW, Washington, DC 20004
Adam Pendleton: Love, Queen – Through Jan. 3, 2027
Known for his rigorous work in creating jaw-dropping paintings, Adam Pendleton will showcase new and recent pieces as well as single-channel video in this landmark exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum. Pendleton’s first solo showcase will highlight his contributions to contemporary American painting and utilize the architecture of the Hirshhorn and the vast history of DC’s National Mall.
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Free Admission
Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue & 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20560
National Museum of American History
How Can You Forget Me: Filipino American Stories – Through Nov. 28, 2027
A new exhibit at the National Museum of American History, presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, explores California’s “Little Manila,” a community of Filipinos that thrived from the 1910s to the 1970s. Through more than 50 artifacts found in preserved steamer trunks (three of which are on display in the gallery), visitors can gain insight into what was once the largest population of Filipinos living outside of their home country.
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Free Admission
National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20560
Places to Stay
The Jefferson
Need some inspiration for a place to stay in between events? Washington, DC is filled with a multitude of hotels to fit your needs. Whether you're looking for that specialty boutique hotel or booking at your favorite hotel brand, Washington, DC's booking engine has it all. Find your stay today.
