If you happened to attend grade school in this country, you have a pretty accurate picture in your head of what the National Mall looks like. Most of us could sketch from memory the Capitol building, the White House, the Washington Monument and the memorials to Lincoln and Jefferson: Each one absolutely worth visiting, yet as familiar as the boxy little U.S. Postal Service trucks with the steering wheel on the wrong side.

Unsurprisingly, most D.C. tourists suffer at least some degree of monument fatigue by the midpoint of their three-day national landmark checklist. Factor in the three-quarter-mile walk from Jefferson’s cherry blossoms to the nearest Metro stop and the indignities of going through an X-ray machine half a dozen times during a good Smithsonian binge, and your average visitor inevitably craves a break.

To that end, here are a few of my favorite D.C. spots that are, if not completely off the beaten path, then far enough to the side that you won’t feel trampled by the tourist hordes.

The Old Post Office Clock Tower: While not a national icon, nor even a particularly big secret among experienced D.C. visitors, Washington’s third-tallest building delivers arguably the best view of the Mall. Forget the Washington Monument. The clock tower’s windows are much bigger and its lines are a fraction of the size.

The National Park Service runs the free elevator trip to the top from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. In summer, hours are extended to 8 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively. Thinner smog wafting off the Beltway makes weekend mornings the best times to visit. Get there via the Federal Triangle Metro stop across the street.

The Hirshhorn Museum: If a video installation of performance artist Ana Mendieta lying face down, naked in the mud piques your interest, then this is the museum for you. The stark concrete cylinder brooding over the Mall opposite the National Gallery houses modernist masterpieces by the likes of Jesus Rafael Soto (brain-bending sculptures), Francis Bacon (creepy religious paintings) and James Turrell (best known in Houston for his light sculpture in the tunnel between MFAH's main galleries. In and around the Hirshhorn you’ll also find sculpture by Matisse, Picasso and Lichtenstein, not to mention another stunning panoramic view.

When I lived briefly in D.C., I always suspected this was the place where the Smithsonian Institution stashed all of the notable, but somewhat weird, art that it didn’t know quite what to do with. It’s free and open until 5:30 p.m. daily.

The National Building Museum: Washington D.C. is one of only three master planned cities in the world, and visitors with even a passing interest in architecture, design or urban planning will enjoy this museum’s insight into how it was built. Rotating exhibits during my recent visit included antique architecture-related toys, a photography project by D.C. youth and an homage to 16th-century Italian architect Palladio, whose influence is evident in the White House and the Capitol building.

Plus, for $5 kids and adults can see replicas of the world’s great buildings made from Legos and construct their own urban empires from vast bins of plastic blocks. Admission to the museum, situated inside a cavernous and ornately decorated former government building, is free with a suggested donation. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. By Metro, head to downtown’s Judiciary Square stop.

If you’re hungry, you’ll also find great deals on noodles and dumplings just around the corner in what’s left of D.C.'s Chinatown.

The Maine Avenue Fish Market: It’s a serious mistake to travel to a city that’s basically inside Maryland and not eat crab cakes. Within walking distance of the Jefferson Memorial, locals gorge themselves on the fruits of Chesapeake Bay sold from floating shops serving the best fried seafood in the city. Vendors hawk the day’s catch and live blue crabs that would have be sitting on a trawler to be any fresher.

Down the waterfront you’ll find a row of somewhat classier sit-down seafood restaurants that overlook an eclectic collection of houseboats, dinner cruisers and pleasure yachts moored in the Potomac. You may want to visit soon, though, as the brackish charm of the Southwest Waterfront is is unlikely to survive a $1.5 billion redevelopment project in the next few years.