Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. The Lincoln Memorial stands at the far end of the National Mall, a little under 2 miles from the Capitol. The memorial was dedicated in 1922 and the famous reflecting pool nearby opened the following year. The monument to Honest Abe is a “must see” for Washington, DC visitors.

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial location

The Lincoln Memorial is located on the western end of the National Mall. The GPS address is 2 Lincoln Circle Circle NW. It is located about three quarters of a mile from the Washington Monument and approximately the same distance from the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.

Getting to the Lincoln Memorial

There are several transportation options to get to the Lincoln Memorial. 

  • Metro: Take the orange, blue, or silver line to the Foggy Bottom station and walk towards 23rd and I Street.  It is about an eighteen minute walk. If you are coming from Virginia on the blue line, exit at Arlington Cemetery station and walk across Memorial Bridge. This is about a twenty minute walk.
  • DC Circulator: Take the National Mall Circulator bus from anywhere on the National Mall. This bus route starts at Union Station and then makes a big loop past the Capitol, museums and monuments and memorials.
  • Capital Bikeshare: You can ride a Capital Bikeshare bike from anywhere into the city to one of the two nearby stations. “Lincoln Memorial” is located on the south side of the memorial and ” Henry Bacon DR& Lincoln Memorial Circle NW” is located on the north side of the memorial next to the refreshment stand.

TIP: The best and easiest way to see the Lincoln Memorial is on a guided tour. Our walking tours cover all of the major monuments and memorials on the National Mall. We use an efficient route that allows you to see all of them in three hours or less.

A few interesting facts

  • The Lincoln Memorial is modeled after the Parthenon. There are 36 Doric columns representing the 36 states in the country at the end of the Civil War. There are also the names of 48 states above those columns. These were the states in the country at the time of dedication in 1922.
  • The Lincoln Memorial has a typo! In Lincoln’s Second Inauguration (carved in the wall closest to Lincoln’s left hand), an engraver accidentally engraved an “E” when he meant to engrave a “F”. The error has been fixed, but it is still noticeable.
  • The spot where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered I Have a Dream in 1963 is commemorated with those words carved into the floor. Look down where you are about two-thirds of your way up the stairs.

Coming to Washington, DC and want to learn a whole lot more about the Lincoln Memorial?

Trip Hacks DC was founded by Rob, a veteran tour guide in the Nation’s Capital. Trip Hacks DC provides tips, tricks and travel hacks for planning your trip; and guided tours to show you around once you get here. Our tours are family and school group friendly and our guides specialize in the major Washington, DC sites. Click here to check out the upcoming tour options and to book your tour here today! Feel free to contact us if you have any tour questions.