National Air and Space Museum Tours and Tickets

There are plenty of ways to experience the National Air and Space Museum. Looking at ratings and reviews previously given by customers, these are the best tours available right now:

• National Mall Monuments Night Tour with 10+ Stops, Entry Tickets

• DC Monuments and Capitol Hill Tour by Electric Cart

• Washington DC Moonlight Tour by Electric Cart

• National Mall Night-Time Sightseeing Tour With 10+ Attractions

• Private Washington DC City Tour

While it’s free to visit the National Air and Space Museum on your own, you must reserve your timed entry ticket in advance. Plenty of affordable tours can also help you learn more. Guided collection highlights tours start at US$79, and DC tours that pass by the museum begin at US$55.

Yes, the National Air and Space Museum is worth visiting. As one of the most popular museums in Washington DC, it's a must-do for visiting families. The recently reopened Smithsonian stalwart has it all: rocket ships, vintage planes, early-aviation artifacts, and more. In addition to its main DC site, it also operates a vast satellite location nearby in Virginia. Explore on your own, or go with a guide to learn more about its collection.

Per one customer who booked The Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum Exclusive Guided Tour, "The museum is an awesome experience and has been recently renovated. The exhibition areas are refurbished and very interactive. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and made the museum come alive."

Yes, you can take a backpack into the National Air and Space Museum. To speed up entry at the security check, it’s recommended that you leave large bags behind. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center branch in Chantilly, Virginia, has free (first-come, first-served) lockers that can accommodate small backpacks and coats.

Yes, the National Air and Space Museum—with branches in Washington, DC, and Virginia—are part of the Smithsonian. It’s the largest museum of the Smithsonian’s 21 institutions. As well as its public-facing exhibits, the museum engages in research on earth and planetary science and the history of aviation and spaceflight.

Both branches of the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum—in Washington, DC, and Virginia—are worth visiting. The DC one is more popular, but the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly has its charms. Its large hangar accommodates oversized vehicles, and it's less busy than the DC original.

Walking through the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, can take anywhere from 45 minutes to a full day. The amount of time you'll want to spend depends on your interests. Free guided tours take 90 minutes, but for most visitors two hours is the minimum.

If you judge by collection size, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is the world's largest aerospace museum. It contains more aviation and space artifacts and related art and archival materials than anywhere else. It's split between the main Washington, DC, branch and Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.

There are tons of fun things to do when you're done visiting the National Air and Space Museum. According to travelers, these are some of the top attractions in Washington DC:

• The White House

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

• US Capitol

• Lincoln Memorial

• Washington Monument

View Viator's guide to all the best attractions in Washington DC.