As someone once referred to the Smithsonian as the attic of the American nation. No reason was missing because it is the museum and research complex in the bigger world, with 18 museums, 16 of them in Washington and more than 142 million works of art and other objects. If you’re one of those who love museums, such that each time they visit somewhere, you have to close to them, this is one of those unmissable museums to see.

Moreover, the admission is free … The Smithsonian was founded in 1846 with funds bequeathed to the United States by the British scientist James Smithson. If you want to start visiting the major museums and interesting to give you an idea of what you find.

The National Museum of Air and Space are one of the world’s most visited and compulsory for children of all ages and their parents. Do not miss the Spirit of St. Louis Charles Lindbergh, the Apollo spacecraft and the wonderful IMAX cinema films. Another museum is the Art Gallery and Freer Gallery Arthur M. Sackler, connected by an underground tunnel. Both are home to one of the best collections of Asian art in the world.

The National Museum of African Art presents a comprehensive collection of art, both traditional and contemporary, of the entire African continent. The National Museum of Natural History is a magnet for visitors through the magnificent and huge dinosaurs Hope diamond of 45.5 carats. The Museum and Sculpture Garden Hirshhorn, cylindrical in shape, was built to house 11,500 books, collector’s gift, which takes its name and is a fun walk through the art of the twentieth century. The list of the properties of the Smithsonian goes on and on …

Of the fifty-odd museums in Washington, many of them are located in front of the Capitol, where stretches of grass Mall Among them, the masterpiece is the National Gallery of Art, one of the greatest museums in the world and one of the three largest United States, along with the Metropolitan in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago. These sober buildings, constructed in 1978 by IM Pei, host a beautiful selection of Dutch and Flemish masters, French impressionists and a poetic portrait of Ginevra Benci, in 1474, the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci, which is stored in the western part of the museum.

Mall is located near the Phillips Collection, the first modern art museum in the country. Situated in a beautiful neo-Georgian mansion was once home to the collector who takes his name. To the south, the Corcoran Gallery has an exhibition of the best collection of art from the nineteenth century of the world. However, the most powerful and grim in the city there is the Holocaust Memorial Museum, dedicated to the victims of Nazi genocide that killed between 1933 and 1945.

And where but in Washington could be the International Spy Museum, which downgrading many secrets of the espionage of all ages and from all corners of the world. For those seeking more personal jewelry and least known of the city will love Dumbarton Oaks and its wonderful collections of pre-Columbian and Byzantine art, at a fabulous mansion between elaborate gardens and terraces.

In the northwest, opposite to Rock Creek Park, are the Hillwood Museum and Gardens, once a 40-bedroom Georgian house, home of Marjorie Merriweather Post, heir to the empire of the grain and the high society lady. At present it houses the vast collection of old master of decorative objects from France and the imperial Russia, as icons and Fabergé eggs.

The museum is the exhibition of the culture of a country!