Philadelphia to Washington DC drive: Best stop, time & distance
The best road trip stops on the Philadelphia to Washington DC drive are Longwood Gardens, Baltimore and the NASA Goddard Visitor Center. The distance from Philadelphia to Washington DC by car is 136 miles, with a 2h21m driving time.
Planning a Philadelphia to Washington DC road trip itinerary
The Philadelphia to Washington DC drive connects two of America’s greatest cities.
Historic Philadelphia has a series of absolutely stellar attractions. Independence Hall, the Eastern State Penitentiary and the National Constitution Center are all utterly engrossing.
The area around the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, meanwhile, crams in the Rodin Museum, the Barnes Foundation, the Franklin Institute and the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Other key attractions in Philadelphia include the Museum of the American Revolution, the Independence Seaport Museum and the Penn Museum. For great Philadelphia tour options, try the Old City historic walking tour, a night tour exploring the city’s dark side or an It’s Always Sunny-themed tour of South Philadelphia.
If looking for Philadelphia accommodation, the Club Quarters Rittenhouse Square is often great value, while the Kimpton Hotel Monaco has style and personality.
Washington DC has an enormous range of tours, experiences and attractions available. You could happily spend weeks in the Smithsonian Museums alone. Top choices, however, include the nighttime monuments and memorials tour, small group guided visits to the Capitol and National Library of Congress and Lincoln assassination tours that visit Fords Theatre.
Memorable Washington DC accommodation options include the Willard, where Martin Luther King Jr wrote his I Have A Dream speech. There’s also the Watergate Hotel, a luxurious conversion of the offices from the Watergate scandal.
Philadelphia to Washington DC distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Philadelphia to Washington DC is 136 miles. You can expect a driving time of around two hours and 21 minutes. The quickest route is down the I-95.
The best stops to add to a Philadelphia to Washington DC road trip itinerary are Longwood Gardens, Baltimore and the NASA Goddard Visitor Center.
Philadelphia to Washington DC road trip attractions: Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley is a showcase for the art of horticulture. There are nearly 200 acres to explore, with more than 10,000 species of plant on display, as well as some notoriously showy fountains. Things aren’t dead in winter either – the main conservatory is home to winter blooms and there are fabulous Christmas lights displays.
Philadelphia to Washington DC drive: Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore is a character-packed port city that has spruced itself up in recent years and has a wealth of attractions to explore. The National Aquarium and the Fort McHenry National Monument are arguably the biggest two sights, but there’s an excellent range of Baltimore experiences to tackle.
Top choices include historical sightseeing tours, sailing on Inner Harbor and ghost tours in the Fell’s Point neighbourhood.
For other options, try brewery-hopping tours, helicopter rides and Fell’s Point food tours.
Waterfront Baltimore accommodation options include the Canopy at Harbor Point and the Sagamore Pendry in Fell’s Point.
Best stops between Philadelphia and Washington DC: NASA Goddard Visitor Center
The NASA Goddard Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, showcases the work NASA does here. The Goddard Space Flight Center manages many space missions and is a key scientific research base.
The Visitor Center covers astrophysics, planetary science, space communications and engineering, amongst other topics. It also gives an insight into what a vast organisation NASA is. Entry is free.
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