The Washington Monument is an obelisk that is located very close to the westernmost part of the National Mall, which is possibly the most visited place in the city of Washington D.C., capital of the United States. This monument was made to commemorate the first president of the country, George Washington, and has become a symbol not only of the city, but of the whole country.

The obelisk is just over 169 meters high, making it the tallest stone structure in the world and the tallest obelisk on the planet. This impressive monument is made of marble, granite and sandstone; it was designed by the architect Robert Mills and its construction was completed in 1884; and the difference in materials is visible from about fifty meters high.

At the time its construction was completed, this Washington Monument was the tallest building in the world and to this day is the tallest building in the city of Washington, D.C. In recent years it has undergone restoration work, in which it was cleaned, some of its parts were renovated and new exhibits were put up that show a little more in depth the life of George Washington.

This place is open every day of the year, except July 4th and December 25th, in the summer months from 9 am to 10 pm with the last tour being a little before 9:45 pm; and the rest of the year it is open until 5 pm, with the last tour at 4:45 pm. There is no entrance fee, but you need a ticket to enter, and these are distributed daily at 8:30 in the morning and are for the same day.

The tickets are distributed to the first arrivals and are for different times of the day, so you have to plan a visit for a whole day and a person can claim only up to 6 of them. During the busiest seasons, which are the summer and holiday seasons, the lines for tickets start to form around 7 am. It is also possible to reserve them in advance on the U.S. Government’s recreation page and they cost $1.50 per person.

CC. Photos by Ed Yourdon, matt.h.wade, 350z33, M. Janicki.