We’ve Been Telling DC’s Stories Since 2004

6 Million+

Guests Guided

100,000+

Five-Star Reviews

100+

Tours Available

DC by Foot started in 2004 with a simple idea: what if anyone could experience a great guided tour of Washington DC, regardless of budget? We launched as the original name-your-own-price walking tour company in the city – and the response was immediate. Travelers loved it. Word spread. And we grew.

Twenty years later we’re one of the most recognized walking tour companies in DC. We’ve guided over six million guests, earned more than 100,000 five-star reviews, and built a team of guides that most tour companies can only dream about – licensed historians and educators who found their passion in their twenties and never looked back.

We’ve given tours to Hollywood stars, NBA teams, and foreign ambassadors. We’ve guided local elementary school classes and international university students. We’ve been featured in Lonely Planet, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, and we’re regularly recognized by TripAdvisor and local publications for the quality of our experiences.

But the thing we’re most proud of? The schools that have come back to us every single year for two decades. The families who book us on every DC trip. The guests who take three tours in a week because they can’t get enough. That’s what twenty years of doing this right looks like.

Awards & Accolades

Recognized consistently for excellence in guided experiences, storytelling, and guest satisfaction.

DC by Foot awards including TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence and other recognition
DC by Foot has consistently awarded Excellent status by top travel partners.

Organizations That Have Toured With Us

From Fortune 500 companies to foreign embassies, university groups to NBA teams — here’s a sample of who’s trusted us with their DC experience.

Organizations that have booked DC by Foot tours including corporations, universities, and government groups
We’ve given tours to everyone from the local preschool to Ivy League to the federal government and top tier corporations.

Meet Our Leadership Team

DC by Foot is led by two women who didn’t just grow a tour company – they built a philosophy around what travel and education should look like.

Priyanka Zielinski – CEO

Pri believes that great travel experiences should be accessible, sustainable, and genuinely meaningful. Twenty years later she’s still leading tours herself in Dubai and Abu Dhabi alongside the team she built. She is also the author of The Ultimate Family Business Survival Guide.

Priyanka Zielinski, CEO and co-founder of DC by Foot Washington DC walking tours

Canden Arciniega – COO

Canden is a historian, educator, and the driving force behind DC by Foot’s educational programming. She has homeschooled her own children since kindergarten, and that experience shapes every student and school program she designs. She is the author of four books on DC history – Wicked Georgetown, Wild Women of Washington, Images of America: Georgetown, and LeDroit Park – and has been featured by the Washington Post, BBC, NPR, and the Travel Channel.

Our Guides

DC by Foot guides aren’t retired teachers who drifted into tourism. They’re educators who chose this as a career – and it shows.

  • Most hold advanced degrees in history, education, or museum studies
  • Nearly all have classroom teaching experience – many still teach at local colleges and continuing education programs
  • They’ve been working with student groups for over a decade
  • They found tour guiding as a passion in their twenties – energetic, youthful, and genuinely love what they do
  • They connect with kids because most have their own – or are simply young at heart

The result: guides who don’t just know the material, but know how to deliver it to a room full of students who’d rather be on their phones.

Get in Touch

Questions about a tour? Want to book a private experience? We’re a real team of real people and we reply fast.