Current Time in Washington, United States

Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States of America and one of the most politically significant cities in the world. Officially the District of Columbia, it is a federal district that is not part of any state, covering approximately 177 square kilometers on the Potomac River between Virginia and Maryland. With a population of approximately 700,000 residents, and several million in the broader metropolitan area, Washington is the seat of the U.S. federal government and home to the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court.

The city was established by an act of Congress in 1790, following a compromise that located the new national capital on the Potomac River, partway between the northern and southern states. President George Washington selected the site, and French engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant was commissioned to design the city on a grand scale with sweeping diagonal boulevards, monumental public spaces, and a rational grid. Construction began in the 1790s, and the federal government relocated from Philadelphia to the new capital in 1800.

The National Mall is the symbolic heart of Washington, a broad green promenade stretching nearly three kilometers from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol, flanked by the world's most extraordinary concentration of free museums. The Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex, operates seventeen museums and galleries along and near the Mall, including the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the National Gallery of Art. The Washington Monument, towering 169 meters above the Mall, and the reflective pool before the Lincoln Memorial are among the most iconic images in American public life.

Beyond the Mall, Washington is a city of embassies, think tanks, law firms, universities, and nonprofit organizations that make it the nerve center of American political and policy life. Georgetown University, George Washington University, and American University are among the prestigious institutions giving the city a significant academic presence. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a world-class venue for music, theater, and dance.

Washington's neighborhoods reflect its diverse character — from the elegant rowhouses of Georgetown to the vibrant U Street Corridor and Adams Morgan entertainment districts, to the revitalized Navy Yard and Southwest Waterfront development along the Potomac. The city's food scene has exploded in recent decades, earning national and international recognition.

Washington Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport serve the metropolitan area with extensive domestic and international connections. Washington's combination of global political power, extraordinary free cultural institutions, beautiful monumental design, and vibrant urban neighborhoods makes it one of the most compelling and visited capitals in the world.