Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery is in Arlington, Virginia.

Just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., adjacent to the Pentagon, this national military cemetery includes John F. Kennedy's tomb and the house of Confederate General Robert E. Lee (whose property this was, before it was seized during the American Civil War).

This article also covers the areas surrounding the cemetery, including Fort Myer, the Pentagon grounds, and Columbia Island.

Understand

Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery

Get in

Arlington National Cemetery has its own stop on the Metro Blue Line, which provides access from downtown Washington D.C., Crystal City, and Alexandria.

Fees and permits

See

• 🌍 Arlington National Cemetery Welcome Center, toll-free: [phone]. If you want to explore the entire cemetery, which is enormous and hilly, in a short amount of time, there is an interpretative tour that departs continuously from the Welcome Center between 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., April through September, and between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., October through March. Cost is $12. There is also a large parking garage that is a good place to dump your car and then catch the subway into D.C. (updated May 2017)
• 🌍 Women in Military Service for America Memorial, Memorial Drive, Arlington, VA (Metro: Arlington Cemetery), ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 8AM to 5PM. The memorial honors the contribution of women to America's military. In 1932, McKim, Mead and White designed a gateway to Arlington Cemetery, and in 1997 a mostly underground museum opened behind that historic structure. It features informational displays and historic artifacts and uniforms. Free.  
• 🌍 John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame. Final resting place of President John F. Kennedy and many other members of the Kennedy family (updated May 2017)
• 🌍 Arlington House, ☎ [phone]. The plantation house of Robert E. Lee and his ancestors. Guided tours are available, and the grounds have great views looking down into Washington, D.C. (updated May 2017)
• 🌍 Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Visitors can watch the changing of the guard ceremony in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier October–March every hour, April–September every half hour.  
• 🌍 Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial), Meade St & Arlington Blvd (about a 15-minute walk from either the Rosslyn or Arlington Cemetery Metro stations). Compelling memorial that commemorates the amphibious landing and eventually victorious battle for the Pacific island of Iwo Jima during WWII. If you walk around the memorial counter clockwise, you'll notice the optical illusion of the marines planting the flag. On July 4th, this spot also provides an excellent view of the fireworks.  
• 🌍 The Pentagon (Just across the Potomac River from downtown DC. Metro: Pentagon), ☎ [phone] (tours), [phone] (memorial). While lingering is not recommended for security reasons, you should know it is the largest office building in the world, and covers 4 zip codes. (Army, Navy, Air Force and Department of Defense.Tours are available by online reservation mader 14-90 days in advance. The Pentagon Memorial is open 24 hours to visitors on the Washington Blvd side, where Flight 77 hit. Photography is allowed at the memorial, but is not permitted anywhere else on the Pentagon grounds— take photos anywhere else on site, and you may face a lengthy interrogation by the Pentagon Police and will probably be asked to delete the images. On a lighter note, the interior courtyard is irreverently referred to by employees as "Ground Zero," as it was the target of a number of Soviet missiles during the Cold War. There is no public parking at the Pentagon but it is about a 5-minute walk from the Pentagon City Mall through a tunnel.  
• 🌍 Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. Just outside the Pentagon, and accessible to visitors (updated May 2017)
• 🌍 United States Air Force Memorial (a 15 to 20 minute walk from either the Pentagon or Pentagon City metro stops, or you can ride any of the route 16 Metrobuses from the Pentagon to the memorial.). A monument dedicated in Fall 2006 to the U.S. Air Force. The monument consists of three soaring spires signifying the Thunderbird's bomb-burst formation. Also on the site are a few statues and information about various airborne campaigns the U.S. Air Force has participated in. The monument is on a hilltop with an excellent view of Arlington Cemetery, the Pentagon, and Washington DC. Limited parking is available in the lot across the street from the memorial.  
• 🌍 Arlington Memorial Bridge. A historic bridge built in 1932 providing a line-of-sight between Arlington House and the Lincoln Memorial, symbolizing the rapprochement between the North and South after the Civil War (updated May 2017)
• 🌍 Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac, ☎ [phone]. (updated May 2017)
• 🌍 Navy–Merchant Marine Memorial, George Washington Memorial Pkwy. On Columbia Island, along the Mount Vernon Trail (updated May 2017)
• 🌍 Netherlands Carillon. (updated Dec 2018)
• 🌍 National Seabee Memorial. (updated Dec 2018)

Do

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

• 🌍 The Virginian Suites, an Ascend Hotel Collection Member, 1500 Arlington Blvd., ☎ [phone]. (updated Jun 2017)
• 🌍 Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel, 900 South Orme St., ☎ [phone]. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: Noon. (updated Jun 2017)

Go next

• Rosslyn–Ballston Corridor, to the north
• Crystal City, to the south
• Washington, D.C., across the river