Four killer views of Washington, D.C., from 500 feet up. The Washington Monument is actually 555 feet and 5 1/8 inches tall, making it the world's tallest structure when it was completed in 1884.
Tickets to the observation deck are VERY limited because it's a tiny space. The trick to snagging tickets is to log onto recreation.gov 30 days in advance of the date you want to visit, and be ready to POUNCE at exactly 10 a.m. Pacific Time. Be quick!
The HVAC had gone one out when we visited, so it was about a million degrees up there. Absolutely worth the stickiness.