Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac in Virginia, is the burial ground for US military veterans, diplomats, and public servants. Over 400,000 people are buried here on 639 acres of land that were seized from the Lee family during the Civil War. The cemetery is still active and conducts an average of 25 to 30 burials a day.

The most-visited sites are the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, guarded by the Army's Old Guard 24 hours a day every day of the year, and the graves of John and Robert Kennedy on the hillside below Arlington House. The Changing of the Guard ceremony at the Tomb is precisely choreographed and takes place every hour on the hour in winter, every half hour in summer. The cemetery is free; parking fees apply. The grounds are extensive — bring comfortable shoes.

things to do sight
A story
The cemetery occupies land that was Robert E. Lee's family home — Arlington House, which the Lee family was forced to abandon at the start of the Civil War. The Union Army used the house as a headquarters and began burying soldiers on the grounds, partly out of practical necessity and partly to ensure that Lee could never return to live there. Lee never did return.