National Arboretum

The park's sprawling acres of carefully manicured gardens and its wide collection of trees from around the world are fantastic for getting away from the urban world and for a picnic. There are several attractions within the park worth seeking out, including the original columns from the Capitol Building's first incarnation, now standing alone mimicking Roman ruins, a Japanese garden, and a great bonsai collection. This is the best place in the city to enjoy the '''cherry blossom''' season—you can stroll serenely around the trees, while inwardly chuckling at the uninformed hordes sweating it out at the sardined Tidal Basin. They are not exclusively of the ''sakura'' variant downtown. Rather, there is an extensive collection of over 30 different flowering cherry trees, making for an excellent scavenger hunt!