Smithsonian Station - DC Metro
Blue Line, Orange Line and Silver Line - interchange station in Washington, DC.
About Smithsonian station
No station in the system does more tourist work than this one. Smithsonian sits under Independence Avenue at 12th Street SW, and its Mall exit delivers you straight onto the grass of the National Mall with the Washington Monument on one side and the museum row on the other. Most first-time visitors to Washington pass through here, usually on the Blue, Orange or Silver Line, and on a spring weekend the escalators run more or less continuously. The station itself is one of the classic vaulted Metro caverns, deep and dim, with two very different exits: choose wrong and you add several minutes and a road crossing to your walk. Get it right and you are on the Mall in under a minute.
The area around Smithsonian
This is not a neighborhood in the residential sense — it is the monumental core. North of the station is the open expanse of the National Mall, ringed by Smithsonian museums; south along Independence Avenue are federal headquarters buildings that empty out on weekends. Almost everyone here is either a visitor with a museum plan or a federal worker on a weekday commute.
What is near Smithsonian station?
The station's Mall exit opens directly onto the lawn between the Washington Monument and the museum buildings.
1 min walkThe red sandstone original Smithsonian building on Jefferson Drive, historically the institution's visitor orientation point.
3 min walkSmithsonian museum on the north side of the Mall holding the Star-Spangled Banner and the presidential collections.
6 min walkThe Smithsonian's most-visited museum, with the Hope Diamond, the dinosaur hall and the rotunda elephant.
8 min walkThe obelisk on the rise just west of the station; timed tickets are required to go up.
8 min walkOn Independence Avenue at 6th Street, a straight walk east from the station along the south side of the Mall.
12 min walkFirst and last trains at Smithsonian
Departure times by direction. Which way you are traveling matters – the last train toward one terminal can be an hour before the last train the other way.
| Day | Toward | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-Thu | Downtown Largo | 5:41 am | 12:04 am |
| Mon-Thu | Franconia-Springfield | 5:19 am | 11:49 pm |
| Fri | Downtown Largo | 5:41 am | 2:04 am |
| Fri | Franconia-Springfield | 5:19 am | 1:49 am |
| Sat | Downtown Largo | 6:38 am | 2:03 am |
| Sat | Franconia-Springfield | 6:19 am | 1:47 am |
| Sun | Downtown Largo | 6:41 am | 12:04 am |
| Sun | Franconia-Springfield | 6:19 am | 11:47 pm |
| Day | Toward | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-Thu | New Carrollton | 5:31 am | 12:02 am |
| Mon-Thu | Vienna | 5:24 am | 12:02 am |
| Fri | New Carrollton | 5:31 am | 2:02 am |
| Fri | Vienna | 5:24 am | 2:02 am |
| Sat | New Carrollton | 6:31 am | 1:58 am |
| Sat | Vienna | 6:24 am | 2:02 am |
| Sat | West Falls Church | 10:20 pm | 10:20 pm |
| Sun | New Carrollton | 6:31 am | 12:02 am |
| Sun | Vienna | 6:24 am | 12:02 am |
| Sun | West Falls Church | 10:20 pm | 10:20 pm |
| Day | Toward | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-Thu | Ashburn | 5:27 am | 11:54 pm |
| Mon-Thu | Downtown Largo | 5:35 am | 12:12 am |
| Mon-Thu | New Carrollton | 5:39 am | 11:57 pm |
| Fri | Ashburn | 5:27 am | 1:54 am |
| Fri | Downtown Largo | 5:35 am | 2:12 am |
| Fri | New Carrollton | 5:39 am | 1:57 am |
| Sat | Ashburn | 6:26 am | 1:56 am |
| Sat | Downtown Largo | 6:40 am | 2:12 am |
| Sat | New Carrollton | 6:26 am | 1:53 am |
| Sun | Ashburn | 6:26 am | 11:56 pm |
| Sun | Downtown Largo | 6:39 am | 12:12 am |
| Sun | New Carrollton | 6:27 am | 11:52 pm |
Travel times and fares from Smithsonian
| To | Time | Weekday to 9:30pm | Late night & weekend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Center | 3 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Gallery Pl-Chinatown | 10 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| L'Enfant Plaza | 2 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Union Station | 14 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport | 17 min | $2.55 | $2.50 |
| Washington Dulles International Airport | 56 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Pentagon | 12 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Downtown Largo | 26 min | $5.65 | $2.50 |
| Franconia-Springfield | 38 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| New Carrollton | 25 min | $5.40 | $2.50 |
Travel times and fares published by WMATA. Fares valid July 2026.
Changing lines at Smithsonian
Parking at Smithsonian
Tips for using Smithsonian
- The Mall exit and the Independence Avenue exit lead to opposite sides of a busy street — take the Mall exit for the museums on the north side and the Washington Monument, and the Independence Avenue exit for the Air and Space Museum and the Hirshhorn side.
- This station gets extremely crowded during the Cherry Blossom Festival and on July 4; L’Enfant Plaza or Federal Triangle can be calmer alternatives for reaching the same museums.
- It is a deep station with long escalators, so allow extra time if you are traveling with strollers or a group and plan to use the elevator instead.
Smithsonian station FAQ
Use the Independence Avenue exit, on the south side. Air and Space is east along Independence Avenue at 6th Street, roughly a twelve-minute walk. Taking the Mall exit puts you on the far side of the street and adds a crossing.
It is the closest Metro station, but it is still a long walk — the Lincoln Memorial sits at the far west end of the Mall, well beyond the Washington Monument. Budget a solid half hour on foot, or plan on a bus or the DC Circulator for that leg.
The Blue, Orange and Silver Lines all serve this station. That gives direct connections east toward Capitol Hill and Union Station’s side of the city, and west across the Potomac toward Arlington, Rosslyn and the Virginia suburbs.
Yes, though it is a walk. The Tidal Basin is southwest of the station, past the Washington Monument grounds, and the Jefferson Memorial sits on its far shore. Plan on fifteen to twenty-five minutes depending on which point on the basin you are aiming for.