This tour will take you around the Tidal Basin in the cool shade of the city's legendary cherry trees and through some of DC's most beautiful, majestic and picturesque memorials.
Wealth, power, intrigue, scandals, curses and political assassination fill the stories on this tour. Take a walk around the world and see the international side of the nation's capital city.
Take a walk through Washington, DC's oldest neighborhood on our Historic Georgetown Tour. See some of the Kennedy homes, Georgetown University, and much more!
DC by Foot is pleased to present free and name-your-own-price Washington DC tours and ticketed tours by our expert guides.
On many of our guided tours, you choose how much the tour was worth after your tour is over, encouraging your guide to provide a memorable experience.
We offer sightseeing tours of Washington DC, including Georgetown, Alexandria, and Arlington National Cemetery, which will give you a fuller appreciation of this great capital city and surrounding sights.
ExcellentDC by Foot5.0★★★★★ Based on 982 reviews fromSee all reviews review us onMaryanne W. ★★★★★ We had a great walking tour of Arlington Cemetery with Ingeborg. She gave us tons of good information and was very personable. Would definitely do another tour with her.Jeffrey K. ★★★★★ The tour was great! Eli was informative and interesting.Wendy E. ★★★★★ We had an evening tour on Abraham Lincoln’s assassination with Becca. She is a great tour guide, responsive to the groups’ questions and very knowledgeable on the topic.Her engaging nature and encouraging the group to ask questions made the tour memorable. Would strongly recommend the tour,Shea G. ★★★★★ The Ghosts of Georgetown tour was great. Walking through beautiful, historic Georgetown in the evening is nice in and of itself, but this tour made it even better. The tour lasted about 90 minutes and was a very pleasant amount of walking; nothing to steep or strenuous required. Our guide, Georgia, was very knowledgeable and fun. She told us around 5 "spooky" stories while giving us what was actually more of a fun way to do a historical tour.We had 3 kids with us, the youngest being 7, and nobody was made scared by the ghost stories. They are more whimsical than anything else.One thing to be aware of is that you should pre-plan your method of returning home at the end of the tour. The metro bus near the endpoint runs every 15-20 mins, so be ready to wait a bit if that is to be your choice of transit. We used a rideshare service, which arrived in about 5 minutes, but obviously cost more.Susan D. ★★★★★ Love a good story? This tour is a peak at the past and the development of this beautiful area in DC that once were the homes of “new wealth” and today house the embassies from all over the world. Loved it.Vikram A. ★★★★★ Very much intresting, knowledgable & entertaining tour. Highly recommended.Aaron G. ★★★★★ This tour was great! The tour guide was very energetic and super knowledgeable. We walked around a couple monuments and the White House. The tour is free and then you just pay whatever you want to guide at the end. That was an awesome feature. I would definitely recommend this tour and I will be doing it again.Kirsty G. ★★★★★ Becca was fantastic!! Her knowledge and recreation was amazing. Thank you 🌷Mariah H. ★★★★★ Becca was our guide and was absolutely fantastic! I will be recommending this tour to my friends when they come to DC!Yohana de A. ★★★★★ Brooke F S. ★★★★★ Five Stars all the way! My teens and I did the Capitol Hill and Library of Congress tour with DC by Foot and loved it. Becca was a fantastic guide! She is super knowledgeable and took time to answer everyone’s questions and snap photos for us at the most iconic sites. I’m so glad we booked the tour—we got much more out of our time at the capital than we would have on our own.Tejas S. ★★★★★ DC By Foot providing such a super excellent and knowlegable tours. I booked this tour and I got such a nice and friendly guide John. It was amesing tourlisa F. ★★★★★ Eli was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about Georgetown and its history. I enjoyed my walking tour and would highly recommend it to anyone else.David B. ★★★★★ Excellent tour of the Washington Monument to the White House and our tour guide was very knowledgeable and answered all the questions. Great pace and allowed picture taking opportunities.Dalal D. ★★★★★ We really liked our guide Eli. He was very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. He helped us appreciate the history and details of what we were seeing. I highly recommend this tour!Laura B. ★★★★★ The Georgetown Ghost tour was a fun and interesting way to experience history. Our 9, 11, and 13 year olds enjoyed the tour as well.Heather J. ★★★★★ My daughter and I loved this tour. So many interesting and touching stories. Love Georgetown so much.Lydia T. ★★★★★ The tour was amazing and Eli was a great guide. Highly recommendAmy O. ★★★★★ What a great tour! The guide was friendly and super knowledgeable. Made everything more relevant and interesting to have the background scoop!Melody M. ★★★★★ Katherine did the Monuments tour and it was terrific! Good pace, lots of local “tips” and full of great stories - not just facts. Katherine was very knowledgeable and made the tour fun. I highly recommend.Seeing Marine One was an added treat!Carrie T. ★★★★★ Although I personally wasn’t able to go on the tour, my husband and children ages 9-16 went on the 2 hour Memorial Tour in DC with Kevin. Despite it being rainy and cold the morning they went, they said it was one of the best things we did all week. Definitely recommend!jennifer B. ★★★★★ We had a great time with Rebecca on our DC Tour! Very thankful for the "pay your rate" pricing schedule as we were able to take our whole family and learn so much within our budget. Thanks again!Kari T. ★★★★★ Becca was great! Very informative tour about the assassination of Lincoln.marissa H. ★★★★★ We did the Lincoln Assassination Tour and it was great! Although it was raining, our guide Becca, made the tour interesting and fun…we almost forgot about the poor weather! Becca was so knowledgeable and friendly. Would definitely recommend if you visit DC. Our kids loved it too (8&9 y/o).Sheri J. ★★★★★ Loved the walking tour by Becca! She was so entertaining & informative, it felt like we were back in time.Kimberly W. ★★★★★ Our second walking tours by foot, and it was even better than the first, which was hard to imagine! Such a great night where Becca remained so energetic and positive dispute the rain! You will not be disappointed!!!Julia T. ★★★★★ Had a great time with Eli! Took my 13y.o. and he enjoyed it too. Teenage folk is hard to please, so that tells you something 🙂Courtney L. ★★★★★ Very informative tour. There was lots of historical info tied into folklore. I loved how the guide showed us several homes lived in by the Kennedy family. Would highly recommend!Jessica H. ★★★★★ Becca was an excellent, energizing and interesting tour guide. We learned so much on the Library of Congress and Capital tour. this was our favorite tour of the weekend, and we would recommend it highly. The library of Congress is the most beautiful building in DC!!Josie W. ★★★★★ Excellent tour with Katherine. Would definitely recommend.Leila B. ★★★★★ I was taking my family to DC and was looking for a cheaper alternative to the usual hop on hop off bus. I found this website and it had great reviews and for a small fee you could book a walking tour. We decided to book the evening tour of the national mall which was brilliant. The meeting details provided were easy to find and I received communication from Ingeborg before the tour which was helpful. Our tour group was average size. Ingeborg was brilliant from the beginning. Friendly, professional, welcoming, great humour and she made the tour really fun and interesting. We tipped her at the end and they do guide you as to how much but no pressure to tip it is optional. We felt she deserved a good tip, it was a brilliant tour and excellent value for money. I would definitely book a tour with them again and would be very happy if we had Ingeborg again. Please pass my sincere thank you to her for making my familys trip to DC so memorable for all the right reasons. I will also recommend to family, friends and colleagues, keep up the good work, you are amazing at what you do.Ann M. ★★★★★ Easy meet up instructions, good guide (Dan). Easy to hear, very knowledgeable, and eager to answer questions. Library of Congress tour was stunning. Ample time to take pictures and move freely even with a lot of other tourists. Would recommend.Jeff M. ★★★★★ Eli was great! Informative and funny. My daughters really liked the stories of women who lived in Georgetown - Julia Child, a code breaker, and others.Lindaura De Souza C. ★★★★★ Our tour guide was really great and the stories / places we saw were very interesting!Jeffrey N. ★★★★★ Great tour. Not very scary but very informative about the history and incredible homes of Georgetown!katie K. ★★★★★ Funny, interesting and entertaining Lincoln Assassination tour with Kathryn! Highly recommendChristine P. ★★★★★ Canadian family of 5 gives a solid 5 stars to Tour Guide Dan King who led us on an excellent Arlington Cemetery tour today. Although we had visited the cemetery several times before, I wanted to try a tour for a more personal experience. Truly, the best tour we have had EVER. Dan was very charismatic, open to questions, projected his voice extremely well, shared a few funny anecdotes and was amazingly knowledgable. I was sad that I did not have US cash on hand to tip him, so hoping he is recognized by this company for his wisdom and professionalism. Thank you Dan! We thoroughly enjoyed your tour. Highly recommend.Beryl L. ★★★★★ We had a really great guide who gave us a very interesting and informative tour around Historic GeorgeTown . We felt like we had learnt a great deal and had a good sense of the history . It was a very enjoyable experience and we would highly recommend this company .Boaz M. ★★★★★ Went on a night Lincoln Assassination tour. It was entertaining and educational at the same time. Catherine was our guide. She was a sea of knowledge, and she wrapped history in a perfect story telling format.Highly recommended!Wendy O. ★★★★★ We loved our tour. Ingeborg was a great tour guide and walked us through not just the Cherry Blossoms, but monuments as well giving us interesting historical facts on everything we visited. We would 100% recommend this tour to anyone.Dan L. ★★★★★ Bonnie W. ★★★★★ Dan was awesome!! Very knowledgeable and personable! The weather was not ideal but we made the best of it. Definitely a great value, highly recommendEmily K. ★★★★★ Absolutely fantastic tour with Inga! We learned so much history and detail - our whole family loved it!CFH TEAM P. ★★★★★ Dan was a great guide. He was very knowledgeable about Arlington Cemetery and DC history. Great tour!Michelle G. ★★★★★ This tour is so well thought out and gives so much information about the days leading up to, and night of, Lincoln’s assassination! (I am not a huge museum/history person for anyone reading this as I wondered beforehand if maybe this was geared more towards those types of people - it is not; everyone will love it.) The whole tour is only a one mile walk and the tour guide stops frequently at places with benches, stairs, or buildings, to allow people to rest while giving more info on what happened. Our tour was led by Becca, who is a history buff (not just someone learning a script for a tour) and filled in details we asked about outside of Lincoln himself and pointed out beautiful scenes along the way so we could stop for some photos. It was so incredibly interesting and is hands down the best experience we’ve had so far in DC!! Both my husband and I recommend this a million percent (and kids 10-12 and older would also absolutely love this)!! The whole group size was 10-12 people and we were left alone for the entire tour which also allowed us to take in DC without having a million loud people around us which was also great. Thank you so much for this awesome experience!!!Keith D. ★★★★★ Bethany P ★★★★★ DC by Foot run super enjoyable and informative tours. I booked on originally just for the Ghosts of Georgetown tour with Colin, and enjoyed it so much that I subsequently took two more tours with DC by Foot on the following days: The Assassination Of Lincoln and the tour of the National Mall with Trevor. Both tours covered lots of ground and were suitable for both those with a lot of knowledge of American History, and only a little (like me!). In particular the National Mall tour was on a rainy day, and I was the only participant, but Trevor still ran the tour for me, took photos and tailored it omit my interests.Nataliya H. ★★★★★ Very professional, very entertaining very knowledgeable. Strongly recommendedChris M. ★★★★★ We did a cherry blossom walking tour with Katherine and it was an absolutely 5-star experience. Katherine was very knowledgeable not only about the cherry blossoms but also about DC generally. We learned a lot of interesting facts and had a lovely walk around the tidal basin. We will definitely do tours with the company and Katherine again.Owami M. ★★★★★ I have a good and trustworthy account manager that allows me to withdraw my profits anytime I want and I can monitor everything going on in my account when he is busy trading with he expert team and I don't have issues with pending withdrawals. I must admit that he's a very honest man. I have no way of thanking he than letting people know about he services and recommend him for everyone to trade on he's platform. he's 100% accurate and up-to-date. Kindly contact him: FB: Killian Bayer WhatsApp: +1 (707) 654-4150 Email: killianbayer704@gmail.comKristin K. ★★★★★ Had the pleasure of meeting Kevin today for our Arlington National Cemetery tour. He was awesome and offered so much information- on a VERY hot and humid day.Lucy M M. ★★★★★ Just wanted to say a BIG thank you to Mrs Robert Stella for handling the trading of my account. Your professionalism, genuine kindness and bluntness at times when I needed to face reality are what made me progress. I invested $500 and got $7000 in a week. I only wish I had known about you earlier from the first moment I decided to trade. Nevertheless, I am grateful! contact her via Email:robertstella385@gmail.com WhatsApp: +1(717) 742-0664Gretchen Brahier P. ★★★★★ Great tour of historic Georgetown with Becca - lots of interesting anecdotes!Karen W. ★★★★★ We absolutely loved our monuments tour with Jim last week! He was Informative and kept the tour moving (and shaded as much as possible) without making it feel rushed. We got a the perfect amount of time to just explore each stop along the tour, and we’re able to get good photos and learn a lot. My 8yr old now has a new ambition to become a tour guide!Bushy M. ★★★★★ Investing and getting positive returns is all I ever wanted and am glad I found it. Thanks to Mrs. Rochelle Nelson for her great skills of mining and trading in my account, very diligent in her work. All I did was invest and within 7days I made profit. Contact Mrs. Rochelle Nelson, via: Facebook:Rochelle Nelson WhatsApp:+16267909787 Email: rochellenelson731@gmail.comLayla I. ★★★★★ Fantastic service, i do appreciate your work ! After my first withdrawal I vow to let people know about Mrs. Victoria for her good work, with a minimum investment of $500 I made $6000 in a week, Mrs. Victoria FX has made me believed that binary/forex trading is real if you ever need any good account manager contact her. When it comes to binary options and forex trading I can say God sent her here to change lifes for better future since I started trading with her my life has totally change for good I've been uplifted financially. Contact her now via her Email: victoriabernard943@gmail.com WhatsApp: +1 (814) 475-3393Rizwan A. ★★★★★ it was a short walking tour but Eli was an informative guide and gave us tips on booking a tour of the beautiful Congress Library and Capitol.
a job well doneRyan W. ★★★★★ We had a great time! Our guide was very knowledgeable, not just about Lincoln’s Assassination, but the history of DC!Martin B. ★★★★★ i did the monuments tour. Stephen is very knowledgeable, passionate and good storyteller. His tour made my visit to Washington a great experience!Kerri M. ★★★★★ Gideon was a great tour guide. his love of history shone through and it was a pleasure to be a part of. I highly recommend this tour and really any tour by this company!Brenda L. ★★★★★ Loved, loved, loved the Ghosts of Georgetown Tour! Got creepy vibes which my daughters and I loved. Also loved the bits of history thrown in about Robert Todd Lincoln and the Kennedys. Amelia was a great tour guide-entertaining and fun! I definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a fun spooky tour.Irina B. ★★★★★ We recommend Andy for your tour of Cathedral! The tour we had with him was amazing!Karen M. ★★★★★ Just finished the Ghosts of Georgetown tour with Erin and had a wonderful time! She was fun and knowledgeable an you can tell she enjoys what she does. It was history focused with spooky stuff mixed in, which is how I like my ghost tours. I brought a friend who has never been on a ghost tour and this one has convinced her to start looking for them when she travels!LeAnn Pomeroy C. ★★★★★ What a great tour! Emilia was a fantastic tour guide. I can't believe how much we covered in 3 hours and she never made us feel rushed. She gave us plenty of time to take pictures, really see the memorials and take bathroom breaks. Emilia was so knowledgeable and had some very interesting stories that are not generally known. I definitely recommend DC by Foot and Emilia if you can get her.Inna Buzhaker B. ★★★★★ We went on the walking tour of Georgetown with Rebecca. She was great - welcoming, informative, funny! Highly recommend!Efro M. ★★★★★ A wonderful time, Becca was very knowledgeable!December R D. ★★★★★ We did three different tours by these ladies and they were amazing. They made them fun entertaining and had everyone engaged. I highly recommend them and would do more tours with them on my next trip. Thank you for taking the time to teach us about the history and making it fun and enjoyable to learn about. Keep up the great work.Mary Kay Tettemer L. ★★★★★ We did the Ghosts of Georgetown tour with Melissa and she was just amazing! Very knowledgeable and her stories kept us entertained! Definitely recommend!Ann Sherlock C. ★★★★★ Emilia was great fun on our tour and very informative. Every tour I have taken the guides are excellent, personable and have a great sense of humor.Greg L. ★★★★★ The Lincoln Assassination tour was the highlight of our family trip to Washington. Becca, our tour guide was outstanding. Her description of the assassination brought the night of April 14, 1865 to life. I have read a number of books on the topic but Becca added details that were new to me. She is extremely knowledgeable. I highly recommend this tour.Marilyn O M. ★★★★★ We did the monument night tour with Eli. He was knowledgeable, friendly and funny. This was so much better than any bus tour because you felt like a knowledgeable friend was showing you around. I would highly recommendAlicia P. ★★★★★ My husband and I did the evening Ghosts of Georgetown tour. Melissa was our guide and she was super entertaining and knowledgeable. Tour was well worth the price. Had a great time despite getting soaked in the rain! So glad we did this. Definitely recommend. 👍Marene C. ★★★★★ My friends and I did the DC by foot Moonlight and Memorials tour and it was one of my favorite parts of our trip. Would definitely recommend this to everyone!Lauri M. ★★★★★ My son and I joined DC Tours by Foot for the Lincoln Assassination Tour. This was one of the highlights of our trip!! Becca kept everyone in our group engaged and hanging on every twist and turn of the story. Even though we were pretty familiar with the events, and the tour had to be modified due to COVID and other closures, we both loved our experience. Our only regret is that we didn't book more of our tours through DC Tours by Foot!
Tour Calendar
If a tour is not listed at the date and time, that means we are not running a tour then.
Our Washington, DC walking tours are also a great way to meet fellow travelers and make new friends.
Our guests come from all over the world, and this means that many different perspectives are reflected in the questions asked of our tour guides and contribute to more enriching experiences for our guests.
We have over 2800 reviews with a rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Read the reviews for yourself.
We run a reduced schedule in the winter but tours operate year-round.
If you want to read a quick summary of every tour, read our Tour Options.
We also offer GPS-enabled audio tours as well as several self-guided tours, which are totally free to take.
These audio and self-guided tours allow you to take the tour whenever you want, though you won't have a live guide to answer questions!
Likewise, any of our tours can be booked as a private tour option, which can be customized.
OTHER TOURS
We also have recommendations for other tours available in DC that can get you around the city in different ways. Read more about the best options, ways to save money, and tips.
Some cities are meant to be seen by day and others at night. Washington, DC is one of the rare cities that need to be seen at both times of the day.
Most museums are closed at nightfall, so there are still plenty of hours in the day to explore the city, the monuments, and memorials. Especially the darker side.
In addition to our night walking tours (see below the video), there are also bus, boat, bike, and Segway tours of the nation's capital city.
We offer many nighttime tour options - some are family-friendly and some are adults only!
As always, check our tour calendar to see which walks are taking place when you are in the city.
