Animals

National Aquarium Take a break from history and politics and duck inside the Commerce building to find this hidden attraction; watch as sharks and piranhas devour their prey at the daily feeding shows; grab hold of crabs, sea urchins and other slimy marine creatures in the touch tank. 14th & Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.; +1 202 482 2825. Fee.

National Zoological Park Meet the zoo's most famous resident, Tai Shan, the panda cub born on site, visit the ape habitat and watch playful orang utans swing by overhead, admire South America's only bear, the spectacled bear in the Amazonia habitat. 3001 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.; +1 202 673 4800.