Date Ideas in Washington DC in Washington, DC

Wander the galleries at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Penn Quarter, then take a break in the Kogod Courtyard, the link between the museum and the National Portrait Gallery. The museum is open daily except Christmas Day from 11:30am to 7pm. Its 18th- to early-20th-century galleries are closed until fall 2026.

Spend the date among French impressionist paintings at the Phillips Collection in Dupont Circle, where Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party hangs alongside works by Matisse, Cezanne and van Gogh. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm and closed Mondays, with Sunday from 10am to 11am reserved for members.

Pair art with a garden walk at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Upper Northwest. Start inside with Russian imperial and French decorative art, then head out through the manicured grounds. Hillwood welcomes visitors Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Mondays are closed days, as are national holidays and a stretch of weeks each January.

Pack a picnic for the upper level of Meridian Hill Park in Columbia Heights, where the terraces look out over downtown, then walk down toward the lower plaza. A 13-basin cascading fountain and reflecting pool run through that part of the park. Come summer the gates stay open until midnight, while winter evenings end at 9pm.

Make the Southwest Waterfront the destination at The Wharf, where you can roast s'mores over a wood-burning fire at Camp Wharf, a vintage Airstream trailer. Farmers Market SW takes over M Street Landing on Saturday mornings through November, and winter brings a skating rink to Transit Pier. Sunset is a great time to go.

Graze your way through Union Market District in NoMa, where more than 50 independent merchants sell food, arts and crafts under one roof. Mr. Brainwash created the Heart Wall mural in 2015, and you can stop by it before or after you browse.

Settle in for live jazz over a Creole, steak and seafood dinner at Blues Alley, a Georgetown supper club inside an 18th-century brick carriage house. Shows run at 7pm and 9:30pm Monday through Saturday and at 5:30pm and 8pm on Sundays. It is a listening club, so conversation drops to a whisper once the music begins.

Pair dinner with a stand-up set at DC Improv, a downtown comedy club with an on-site restaurant and shows in both a main room and a lounge. Each show has a two-item food or drink minimum. Bring a photo ID to show at the box office when you arrive.

Spend the date working through the tap list at Bluejacket, a Navy Yard brewery, restaurant and bar spread across three floors of a 1919 building. Around twenty of the brewery's own rotating beers are on tap alongside cask ales, and weekend brunch runs from 11am to 3pm.

Combine a show with Lincoln history at Ford's Theatre in Penn Quarter, which operates as both a working playhouse and a museum. The exhibits cover Lincoln's presidency and the Civil War, and a visit also includes Petersen House across the street, with guided and walking tours available. Every visitor needs a ticket, and not every ticket includes the theatre itself, so check what is covered when you book.