National Postal Museum

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

The Postal Museum

The National Postal Museum is a Smithsonian museum in Washington, DC. It is located just north of the U.S. Capitol Building, next to Union Station. The museum is on the lower level of the building, which is an old post office. The main entrance level has been restored to its original decor.

The museum contains a number of exhibits and displays that have information about the history of mail delivery and how the system evolved into what it is today. When we visited, there was also a special exhibit on mail during times of war. Old "V-Mail" letters were on display. The museum has a large collection of stamps from around the world. It also contains a store where you can buy special stamps.

The museum offers daily tours. The tour we went on was quite informal, and our guide, a volunteer, was quite knowledgeable about the postal system.

The postal museum probably wasn't the most interesting museum in the area, but it was mildly interesting to explore for a couple hours.

Cost

Like all Smithsonian museums, entrance to the National Postal Museum is free.

Estimated Visiting Time

Inside the National Postal Museum

We spent about two hours at the Postal Museum. We were part of a tour during the first hour, and spent the second hour exploring the museum on our own.

During the two hour period, we saw everything we wanted to see. If you are a big stamp collector, you may want to spend more time exploring the huge collection of stamps that is present here. Otherwise, two hours is sufficient.