Time for some off-the-Mall attractions. Take in a beloved museum, explore a neighborhood, and get a taste of the city’s international identity.

Start: Metro on the Red Line to reach Dupont Circle, exiting at Q St.

1. Phillips Collection

Tour this charming museum to view French, American, post-Impressionist, and modernist art, all housed in an 1897 mansion and its modern wings. Always keep an eye out for favorites, such as Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party, numerous Bonnards, the gallery devoted to Mark Rothko’s bold artworks, and on display from time to time, Night Baseball, a painting executed by founder Duncan Phillips’ wife, Marjorie Phillips.

Turn right outside the museum, turn left onto Q St., NW, then right on Connecticut Ave.:


2. Embassy Row & Dupont Circle

Stop in shops along Connecticut Avenue, and then follow side streets to discover boutiques, little art galleries, and quaint, century-old town houses. If you look carefully, you’ll start to notice that some of these buildings are actually embassies or historic homes. The most evocative embassies lie on Massachusetts Avenue, west of Dupont Circle. Turn onto S Street NW and look for no. 2340 to see where President Woodrow Wilson lived after he left the White House. The Woodrow Wilson House is worth touring if you have time. A bit farther along Massachusetts Ave., turn onto Belmont Road NW to find President and Michelle Obama’s post-presidency digs, at no. 2446. Few embassies are open to the public; those that are limit their hours. For an in-depth tour of Dupont Circle and Embassy Row, take the self-guided walking tour outlined here.

Walk, if you feel up to it, or take a taxi to the:

4. Kennedy Center

Head to the Kennedy Center for the 6pm nightly free concert in the Grand Foyer (part of the center’s Millennium Stage program). At concert’s end, proceed through the glass doors to the terrace overlooking Rock Creek Parkway and the Potomac River, and enjoy the view. You’re a short walk around the bend of the river from Georgetown; why not head there next for dinner?

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.