Last weekend when the news started to spread the Cherry Blossoms at Washington DC’s Tidal Basin would be in peak bloom this week, I knew I wanted to go see the beautiful blooms! I loved walking down from my Dupont Circle apartment to see them back in 2019. I wasn’t able to see the blooms in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic, but this year, the normal celebration around the Cherry Blossoms was back on! So, I coordinated with my sister, Jennifer, and my cousin, Kara Marie, and we all went down after work on Tuesday.

A few tips if you’re planning to see the Cherry Blossoms in peak bloom. First, whether you’re local or visiting town for the Cherry Blossoms, I highly recommend taking the Metro—parking in downtown DC is always difficult, but it’s especially difficult during peak bloom. We took the Metro from Arlington to Farragut West and walked about 20 minutes down 17th Street to reach the Tidal Basin—but you could also get off at Smithsonian and walk over from The National Mall. Second, if you’re able, I recommend going on a week day—while it was a madhouse when we went on a Tuesday night, the Tidal Basin is even more packed on the weekends. And lastly, while the trees are gorgeous any time of day, they are particularly stunning during golden hour—the time of day when the sun is rising or when the sun is setting. We got to the Cherry Blossoms right around 6pm, about an hour before sunset and the lighting was perfect.

I couldn’t help but snap some photos of Washington, DC’s world famous Cherry Blossoms and wanted to share my favorites with you today—it’s always fun to play tourist in your own city!