- 1). Head to 3101 Wisconsin Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. You can drive of course, or take a N2, N4, N6 or N8 bus up Massachusetts Avenue from Dupont Circle or a 30, 32, 34, 35 or 36 series bus from Georgetown or downtown. The Cathedral is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 5:30pm, Saturday from 10 am to 4:30pm and Sunday from 8am to 6:30pm.Free tours are given Monday to Friday from 10am to 11:30am and from 12:45pm to 4pm, Saturday from 10am to 11:30am and from 12:45pm to 3:30pm and Sunday from 12:45pm to 2:30pm. It goes without saying that there are no tours on Palm Sunday, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas or any time there are services being held. Contact the Cathedral in advance to make sure nothing is scheduled the day you want to visit. During the week there's a service every day at noon and 5:30pm, and there's an 11am service on Sunday. No admission is charged to visitors of the Cathedral, but donations are very much appreciated.
- 2). Walk around the outside of the building first. It's best to bring along a pair of binoculars, so you can get good views of the 1354 gargoyles and grotesques, which include a pet dog, a donkey, monsters, dragons and Darth Vader. Gargoyle tours are offered several times a year for a small fee, or you can take a self-guided tour.If you'd like a closer look at the upper stories of the Cathedral, the The Tour and Tea program is offered at 1:30pm every Tuesday and Wednesday. Meet in the nave at the west end, just by the front door, take a guided tour of the Cathedral, then finish up wih tea in the Pilgrim Observation Gallery on the seventh floor, between the towers of Saints Peter and Paul. Admission is charged.
- 3). Enter the Cathedral on the west side. Over the main portal is a sculpture of God creating the world out of chaos, and above that, a Rose Window made of 10,500 pieces of stained glass. In the narthex, you'll find stairs to the crypt and elevators to the towers, and embedded into the floor, the seals of all fifty states, as well as the District of Columbia. Step into the nave. To the right are a row of chapels, the first dedicated to George Washington. The fifth is the Space Chapel, with a stained glass window depicting the Apollo program. It even has a moon rock embedded into it. Next to this is the chapel containing the gothic tomb of President and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, the next chapel honors Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, while the last is dedicated to Treasury Secretary and philanthropist Andrew W. Mellon. The last chapel on the left-hand side of the nave honors Abraham Lincoln.
- 4). Cross the transept just beyond the Mellon chapel and go over to the War Memorial Chapel. Beyond that, marked by the statue of the welcoming Child Jesus, is the Children's Chapel, a charming space decorated with images of animals and designed to fit the reduced scale of a six-year-old. Pass the St. John's Chapel, the High Altar, with its elaborate stone altar piece, St. Mary's Chapel and the Holy Spirit Chapel, and take the stairs down to the Crypt. At the bottom of the stairs is the Good Shepherd Chapel, which is open from 6am to 10pm.There are numerous chapels down in the Crypt, as well as a Visitor's Center, and along the southeast side under the nave, a very large bookstore and gift shop, which is open daily from 9am to 5:30pm.
- 5). Explore the 57-acre grounds, which include several schools. The greenhouse to the east of the Cathedral had to be closed due to lack of funds, but southeast of the Cathedral you can still enjoy a ramble in the five-acre Olmsted Woods and Pilgrim Way. Also, between South Road and Pilgrim Road is the Herb Cottage Gift Shop, which is open from 9am to 5pm, and sells china, tea sets, flower pots and things of that nature, while the walled Bishop's Garden features herbs, flowers and a gazebo.
- 6). Satisfy your love of music at the Cathedral. The adult, boys and girls choristers rehearse and perform several times weekly. There are organ performances and demonstrations Monday and Wednesday from 12:30pm to 1pm, carillon recitals Saturday from 12:30pm to 1:15pm and peals on Sunday around 12:30pm and Tuesday from 7pm to 9pm. There are also frequent classical concerts and choir performances.
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