Private National Mall Tour

From (USD)

^$ 360

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Washington DC, USA

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3 Hours

Moderate

From (USD)

^$ 360

Understand the Mall: Trace the history of the United States and its capital from President Washington's 1791 appointment of French engineer/architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant to plan the new "Federal City."
See its landmarks: Sites you'll visit include the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, the Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Luther King memorials, and Maya Lin's Vietnam War Memorial.
More than a guide: Even by GoBe standards, your tour leader is special. Known officially as "docents" (from the Latin for teacher), these Ph.D. and M.A.-level experts promote discussion and participation, adding depth and insight.
Your group, your tour: This private experience lets you set the departure time and the pace that works for your group's interests. The tour usually runs about three hours, but even that's flexible.

Meeting point

Please meet at the northeast corner of Independence Avenue SW and 3rd St SW, where you will see a sign for the United States Botanical Gardens Conservatory. The corner is adjacent to the gardens, just east of the National Museum of the American Indian.

Helpful hints

As in many cities, keep your wallet or purse secured and leave the bling behind.

Walks are held rain or shine with some variations to accommodate the weather.

If you are running late for your meeting with our guide, we ask that you call to alert us so that we can relay the message to the guide.

Museums and monuments can sometimes close without notice due to labor strikes, structural problems, or other civic disturbances.

The docent who leads a given walk may become unavailable at the last minute due to illness or other unforeseen circumstance. In these cases we will seek to re-organize the walk to accommodate the change; however, our responsibility in these cases is limited and we cannot be held liable for circumstances beyond our control. Price of the tour does not include entrance fees, meals or necessary transportations. These will be paid on the spot by the participants.

Getting around

Plan to walk for approximately 2 miles at a gentle pace. This itinerary can be modified for your private group to accommodate wheelchairs and those with limited mobility. Let us know ahead of time at Hello@GoBe.com.

Activity type

Walking Tour, Cultural, Private Tour

Transportation used

Public transportation may be used from time to time. Have local currency available for tickets. Your tour may involve walking only.

Included amenities

Ph.D. or MA-level scholar guide

Tour ID

PP-NAM-USA-WASH-EN-2017

Tour Participation Requirements

Activity Level

This experience is rated moderate. Full participation may require extended periods of walking over even and uneven surfaces, steep terrain and/or water activity in a slight current. There may be steps, inclines, cobblestone surfaces, and extended periods of standing. Participants with physical limitations should take this into account.

Age restrictions

Suitable for all ages. Traveling with children 12 years of age and younger? Tell us their ages and interests during the booking process so we can match you with the best guide.

Special Medical Restriction

If you use a folding wheelchair, we'll do our best to accommodate you with at least 7 days of advanced notice, providing you have someone along to assist you. Email us at Hello@GoBe.com. Accessibility at all venues cannot be guaranteed.

Special comments

Price of the tour does not include entrance fees, meals or necessary transportations. These will be paid on the spot by the participants.

He had served with Washington and Lafayette during the American Revolution, but Pierre Charles L'Enfant could scarcely imagine the battles to come when now-President Washington tasked him with creating a new nation's capital out of what was basically mosquito-infested swamp.

L'Enfant was a man of vision, and men of vision tend not to see eye to eye with the men of politics who hold the purse strings. Moreover, the Frenchman had the grandeur of Paris and ancient Rome in mind for the new city, while Thomas Jefferson, intermediary between the president and the engineer, imagined something plainer, less imperial, and more people-oriented for the new democracy.

What they came up with is a grand compromise, and your docent will lead you through the centerpiece of it all: the National Mall, where the grid layout of what would become "Washington City" comes together in a vast public space still used for festivals, demonstrations, inaugurations, and recreation. As we take in its monuments and memorials, we'll discuss the landscape as a backdrop of history and a symbol of American values and ideals.

Choose your date and time very carefully. Only a portion of this tour is refundable from the time of booking; within 72 hours of operation, it is fully non-refundable.

Private National Mall Tour