How Early Should I Go To Get to the Top of the Washington Monument?

November 11, 2010 9:49 AM

If you buy your ticket ahead of time for a tour of the Washington Monument (in Washington, DC), how early should you show up in order to pick up your ticket at Will Call and make it to the tour on time? Is 30 minutes sufficent? 1 hour? This is for next week, so it is (obviously) not peak season. Thanks.

I tried to call the Parks Service a few times yesterday, but I kept getting a busy signal, so I thought I would try asking here.

posted by bluefly to Travel & Transportation around Washington, DC (2 answers total)

Best answer: Are you driving and trying to park? Or are you taking metro? Or walking from a hotel? Factor that into your arrival time.

That factor aside, showing up 30 minutes early is fine. It takes two seconds to pick up your ticket, and less than five minutes to walk to the base of the monument.
posted by matty at 9:53 AM on November 11, 2010

Best answer: Yeah, we did that tour last January, and while we didn't book in advance, it took us basically no time to get the tickets and walk over and join our tour. 30 minutes is more than sufficient.
posted by thirteenkiller at 9:56 AM on November 11, 2010