What's happening in Washington DC this week?

DC's week pivots around the National Mall, and your timing matters more than your itinerary. Monday through Wednesday mornings are when the Smithsonian museums feel almost empty. The National Museum of Natural History, opened in 1910, still draws the heaviest weekend crowds around its elephant rotunda. By Thursday, school groups from Virginia and Maryland arrive in waves. The National Gallery of Art stays calmer through midweek. Its West Building's cool marble floors feel like a different season from the heat outside. Most Smithsonian buildings close at 5:30pm. Enter right at opening, then pull back during the early afternoon when the pavement on the Mall radiates enough warmth to feel through your shoes.

This morning Washington registered 21.4°C with 77% humidity under clear skies. Mind you, that coolness tends to be misleading in summer. By early afternoon, the air along the Mall turns heavy enough to taste. Thunderstorms tend to clear within 30 minutes, and the post-rain evenings are the best part of a DC summer day. The Lincoln Memorial, dedicated in 1922, is a different place once the sun drops. The crowds thin to a handful of people and the Reflecting Pool stretches dark and still in front of you. The Washington Monument requires timed-entry tickets reserved through recreation.gov at least 2 days ahead. Without a ticket, you see it from the outside only, which at 169 meters is still worth the walk.

Capitol Hill around Eastern Market has the best weekday lunch options for first-timers. The market itself opens Tuesday through Sunday. The outdoor flea market and farmers' stalls appear Saturday and Sunday from 7am to about 3pm. Georgetown's M Street fills up on weekends. Restaurant waits at Martin's Tavern on Wisconsin Avenue NW can reach 45 minutes by 7:30pm on Fridays. For quieter dinners, try the 14th Street NW corridor between P Street and U Street on a Tuesday or Wednesday night. That stretch has 30-plus restaurants within 4 blocks. You'll smell the wood-fired ovens from Etto before you see the sign. Adams Morgan's 18th Street stays loud Thursday through Saturday. Live music spills out of open bar doors after 9pm. The Dupont Circle Sunday FreshFarm market runs 8:30am to 1:30pm year-round on the south side of the circle.

Metro opens at 5am on weekdays and 7am on weekends. Last trains run at midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. A single ride costs $2 to $6 depending on distance and time of day. Buy a SmarTrip card at any station kiosk for $2. The ride from Ronald Reagan National Airport to the Mall area takes about 20 minutes on the Yellow line. Dulles International is farther out, roughly 50 minutes on the Silver Line. Arlington National Cemetery, established in 1854 across the Potomac in Virginia, closes to visitors at 5pm daily. Visit on a weekday morning when the grounds are quiet enough to hear the wind through the oaks above the rows of white headstones. Worth noting, the Washington National Cathedral sits in upper Northwest on Wisconsin Avenue, well away from the tourist corridor. Budget a separate 2 hours there on a weekday afternoon when organ practice sometimes fills the nave.