Not to miss

National Gallery of Art

This author has fond memories of getting lost amid the National Gallery of Art's exotic treasures as a kid. She'll never forget the way it felt to stand tiny next to Alexander Calder's massive child-like mobile. Made from cutouts of the brightest primary colors and set in a four-story atrium, it generally knocks the breath out of everyone who sees it.

Affiliated with but not a part of the Smithsonian, the National Gallery needs two buildings (connected by an underground tunnel) to house its massive collections (more than 110,000 objects) of painting, sculpture and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the present. It also houses scores of touring exhibitions that go on display here. Kids love the walking escalator that traverses the two buildings (and conveniently empties into the airy cafeteria where you can let the wind from the air-conditioning vent blow out your skirt while you press your nose against the giant sheet of glass looking out onto a cascading waterfall). The place has the whole underground Louvre pyramid thing going on.

The original neoclassical building, known as the West Building, exhibits primarily European works, from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, including pieces by El Greco, Monet and Cézanne. Don't miss the room full of Renoirs, including the famous Girl with a Hoop, an 1881 portrait Renoir was commissioned to paint of nine-year-old Marie Goujon. The National Gallery is also the only gallery in America displaying a da Vinci painting (Ginevra di' Benci). Interactive computers in the Micro Gallery allow visitors to design their own tour.

Across 4th St NW, the angular East Building, designed by IM Pei, is where you'll find the Calder mobile along with other abstract and modern works. Smaller upstairs galleries hold special exhibits and permanent items like Picasso's Family of Saltimbanques. A small Matisse cutouts gallery on the 3rd floor opens for limited hours.

International Spy Museum

If you've ever wanted to step into James Bond's shoes and live a glamorous spy life, this is the place to learn the secrets. DC's hottest attraction illustrates high-tech gadgetry, notorious spy cases, secret methods and the not-so-pleasant consequences of being an international person of mystery.

The much-acclaimed museum of espionage opened just in time to fill a void left by the end of FBI tours: spy fans can still get their fill of spy artifacts, anecdotes and interactive displays. All visitors are invited to play the role of a secret agent by adopting a cover at the start of their visit. Throughout the museum, you can try to identify disguises, listen to bugs and spot hidden cameras. Most of the exhibit is historical in nature, focusing on the Cold War in particular (a re-creation of the tunnel under the Berlin Wall is an eerie winner).

Lines form early to get in. Despite being open for years now and charging an entrance fee, the Spy Museum is as popular as ever, especially with kids. We waited dutifully in line and crammed into the elevator and packed exhibit rooms with everyone else. In the end we were impressed by the cool gadgets and interactive displays, but left with a slightly vacant feeling like the place packed more hype than meaty exhibits. There's also a shop with everything you need for your next secret mission.

White House

Every US president since John Adams has lived in this 132-room mansion at America's most famous address. Its stature has grown through the years: no longer a mere residence, it's now the central icon of the American presidency.

The Presidential Palace - as it was once known - has changed a great deal over history (and with its changing residents). It was not originally white, for example. After the British burned the building in the War of 1812, it was restored and painted. It was Teddy Roosevelt that later gave official sanction to the executive mansion's popular name.

An overhaul in 1950 gutted almost the entire interior, and Jacqueline Kennedy's extensive redecoration campaign in the 1960s replaced the previous hodgepodge with more tasteful furnishings. Presidents have customized the property over time: Grant put in a personal zoo; FDR added a pool, Truman a balcony, Bush a horseshoe-throwing lane and Clinton a jogging track. Some residents never leave: It's said that Eleanor Roosevelt and Harry Truman both sighted Lincoln's ghost in Abe's old study.

Back before Herbert Hoover's era, presidents used to open the doors at 12:00 each day to shake visitors' hands. Alas, no longer. Daily tours of the White House have been suspended since September 11, 2001 (although Laura Bush conducts a video tour at the White House Visitors Center). The White House grounds are also occasionally opened for special events, however, such as Tee-ball on the South Lawn and the Easter Egg Roll, held every Easter Monday for kids aged three to six.

Concerns for the safety of the President make the White House off-limits to the public these days unless you organize a group tour . We know it's not nearly as good as the real thing, but you can still get a feel for what the inside of the White House looks like by visiting the official website. Here in the Life of the White House section President George W Bush, Laura Bush, Vice President Cheney and other administration heavyweights narrate video tours of famous rooms including the Oval Office and Roosevelt Room. The video presentations are actually quite interesting and filled with little White House trivia nuggets. For example, Bush talks about how each president designs his own Oval Office rug and how the presidential seal in the middle of the room was altered after WWII by President Harry Truman to represent America as a nation at peace, not war - ironic commentary coming from Bush's mouth.

In lieu of touring the White House itself, visitors can also browse exhibits, watch historic reenactments and take a video tour at the Visitors Center (202-208-1631; www.nps.gov/whho; 1450 Pennsylvania Ave NW; admission free; ;07:30-16:00; ;McPherson Sq) in Malcolm Baldrige Hall of the Department of Commerce building. It's obviously not the same as seeing the real deal first-hand, but it does provide an overview of the building's history, as well as fun anecdotes about the presidential families (and pets!) who have graced its halls. Each month, the visitors center puts on free performances by actors who recreate the lives of presidents and patriots.