Visit Washington's most iconic landmarks through a design focused walking tour of the National Mall. Take in the towering Washington Monument, sobering Vietnam Wall and awe inspiring Lincoln Memorial while learning about the designers and politicians that helped shape this monumental core of the Capital. Hear stories of the history, heroes, and hopes of the United States on a stroll through the heart of Washington DC!
Book directly via DC Design Tours for the best experience and price!
Posted By : Whitley_T
Guide never showed or answered messages or calls. Don't recommend. Complete waste of time. Very disappointed.
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Posted On : 2024-06-23 19:48:14 
Posted By : ryanmU5497WY
This was so informative and fun! Carolyn had such a warm, friendly personality. I’m a citizen but my friend is a visitor from abroad- she made the tour interesting for both of us.
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Posted On : 2024-01-08 17:05:27 
Posted By : JeremyBudapest
In short - the private tour was the highlight of an awesome visit to DC. The nighttime tour - and the guide (Natalie) will be remembered as a highlight of our visit for years to come.
I contacted DC Design Tours in the spring of 2023, asking for recommendations of a tour around the mall area - war memorials, Lincoln/Washington Monuments, etc. After some suggestions, we agreed on a 3-hour tour for my wife, teenager, and me.
On the day of the tour, I received an email from our guide Natalie, explaining specifically where she will meet us and the color of her shirt, which was very helpful due to the amount of people. We immediately took to Natalie, as she was very knowledgeable about the city, immediate area, and plus engaged our daughter and hit it off quite well.
A full 3 hours later, we were all exhausted, with Natalie still going strong. She shared historical insights and flavor to the:
- Washington Monument
- White House
- The general Mall area
- WWII Memorial
- Vietnam Memorial
- Lincoln Monument
- Korean Memorial
- MLK Memorial
- FDR Memorial
(And likely others that I simply cannot recall!)
It was amazing, and an absolute highlight of our trip. The insights gained made us understand so many aspects that we would have never seen/known, and Natalie’s great personality blended in with us so well. We hated to say goodbye at the end of the evening! She took time where we asked - which indeed we did ask many questions, while attempting to show us the primary sights we planned. Unfortunately, we did not get to the Jefferson Memorial - due to all of our questions, which may have been for the best as we were jet-lagged and worn out!
I highly recommend DC Deign Tours due to their correspondence and assistance with the planning, as well as the exceptional tour guide. Seeing other feedback here, Natalie is one of multiple excellent guides.
Thank you DC Design Tours and Natalie for making our DC visit extra special and unforgettable!
Jeremy
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Posted On : 2023-08-09 07:38:16
Posted By : V9442HNlindac
Most enjoyable Tours by Locals guide yet! Carol, a former architect, is the owner of DC Design Tours. Her knowledge about DC history, building construction and unique events is phenomenal. I apologized to one family for blocking their view and the father said not to worry as they were riveted by Carol’s stories. She will adjust to your gait if you take the walking tour visiting:
- Lafayette Square and Andrew Jackson statue
- White House
- Washington Monument
- WWII Memorial
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Korean War Memorial
- Lincoln Memorial
- Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
- Jefferson Memorial
- Tidal basin for the Cherry trees
I am a fast walker allowing us time to tour the postal tower to view the city, the galleries, the entire parade path used for in inauguration, Pennsylvanian Avenue, and get the back stories on the buildings, the Capitol, and as we still had a bit of time, walked me to the metro. I purchased a metro card and Carol rode with me to my destination to ensure I understood the system. Book direct with her company. Carol has six guides. She is knowledgeable, fun and gives great hugs! Tour with her before visiting galleries as she will share tidbits on how to avoid lines, which sites need tickets purchased online prior to visits and which are free.
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Posted On : 2023-03-17 07:29:53
Posted By : Abacus1970
I did the Monument and Memorials Tour and Arlington National Cemetery Tour with Carolyn of DC Tours yesterday. It was a superb experience! I have done many guided tours in cities around the world, and this combined tour was among the very best. Carolyn has an architecture and history background, so her knowledge was extraordinary, but this was complemented by her great energy and enthusiasm. I would strongly recommend DC Tours to anyone who wants to learn more about this great city.
Chris (Australia)
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Posted On : 2022-09-15 08:07:07
Posted By : Adventure661902
This was an absolutely phenomenal tour! I’ll definitely be back to explore the other tours they offer. Carolyn was knowledgeable, friendly, and just such a pleasure to learn from. She shares fascinating, little-known fun facts and stories, and she’s also just great at inserting humor into her tours. I highly recommend this tour!!!
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Posted On : 2022-09-14 08:56:34
Posted By : ahmendoza83
Our guide Sam was fantastic. His knowledge and passion of history really shined. DC Design Tours is great. I highly recommend this tour and others and they add so much to the sight seeing experience.
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Posted On : 2022-06-18 09:02:26
Posted By : JennyDerry
Carolyn is warm and personable. She told stories about the monuments that were full of interesting tidbits. Her iPad was full of great historical photos that helped us understand the origins of many of the monuments. We all loved it (5 of us aged 2 years to 68 years). Bring your walking shoes and water ... we had a stroller, too. There's no way we would have learned as much or had so much fun without Carolyn's great tour!
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Posted On : 2022-05-22 14:35:57
Posted By : Jofeen
We had a wonderful afternoon tour. Sam was a wealth of information shared through stories and details that kept our two teens enthralled over the 3 hour walk. We learned a lot and felt so lucky to have seen so much! Thank you Sam!
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Posted On : 2022-04-19 22:10:52
Posted By : Y4689TOmarkf
We had a large group - Sam Bowersox had us all engaged at every monument. Each talk crafted very thoughtfully, he kept our interest with humor, stories and a pace that challenges the brain to keep up!
Thanks Sam for your excellent tour.
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Posted On : 2021-10-10 09:11:01
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