Arlington National Cemetery
The ground holding 400,000 graves was seized from Robert E. Lee's own family over an unpaid tax bill in 1864.
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Established during the Civil War on the 639-acre Arlington Estate confiscated from Lee's family, this is the largest cemetery in the US National Cemetery System — and still fully active, conducting up to 30 funerals every weekday. The site sits at the intersection of the Custis and Lee family stories, Washington's legacy, and the ongoing cost of American wars.
What to look for
- Arlington House, completed 1818 and originally built as a private memorial to George Washington by his step-grandson George Washington Parke Custis
- The Military Women's Memorial, part of the Arlington National Cemetery Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014
- An active funeral procession — the cemetery runs 141 to 158 services per week, so you will almost certainly witness one
Located in Arlington County, Virginia. The Historic District also includes Arlington Memorial Bridge and Memorial Drive.
Arlington National Cemetery is one of 37 sights worth the detour in Washington, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Washington pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Washington
- White HouseBritish forces torched it in 1814. It has been the U.S. president's home and office ever since.
- The PentagonDesigned and built in 16 months during World War II — 17.5 miles of corridors, a five-acre central courtyard, and a 9/11 memorial at the exact point of impact.
- United States CapitolEvery street address in Washington DC radiates outward from this building — it is literally the zero point of the city.
- Washington MonumentThe faint color seam partway up the shaft marks where construction stopped for 23 years.
- Smithsonian InstitutionBritish scientist James Smithson left a bequest that became 157 million objects, 21 museums, and a zoo — almost all free to walk into.
- Lincoln MemorialThe exact steps where King delivered "I Have a Dream" on August 28, 1963 — stand there and the date stops being abstract.