Unique Specialty Experiences

Washington National Cathedral stands on a hilltop overlooking the National Capitol, like a chunk of medieval European and Gothic architectural history an American capital couldn’t possibly own and is one of the great architectural marvels of the city.

A 90-minute tour of the cathedral’s interior with author and guide, Andy Bittner, is to be immersed in what just might be the most intense concentration of 20th-century handcraft on the planet.

Tours are limited to small group sizes and will include tours of the interior and exterior of the Cathedral with Andy.

Tours are available only when Cathedral is open to visitors.

---

---

We also offer free self guided tour of the Cathedral, though admission tickets will be required to enter so please keep that in mind!

231 stained-glass windows, an amazing collection of architectural and ornamental wrought iron, hundreds of works of hand-stitched needlepoint, and a blizzard of hand-carved wood and stone surround you as you learn about the artists and the community that created this wonder.

The minds of history lovers will swim as they stand where important national commemorations and prayer services have been held, including multiple presidential funerals.

Any first tour of Washington National Cathedral is just that, the first, and there’s no one better to show you what you want to see than someone that grew up in the place, but, if you think you’ve already seen Washington National Cathedral, see it with Andy anyway. You’ll be glad you did.

Here’s why…

• “Andy’s knowledge of the cathedral is unsurpassed. I’ve asked many obscure questions, and he always knows the story behind it.”  David S. (tour guide)

• “He was full of knowledge and willing to share tidbits of this and that that made folks feel they were getting an “inside scoop” story.” Sandra C. (Washington D.C.)

• “I have never enjoyed a tour more than when Andy took me and a friend through the Cathedral. His knowledge of minute details is extensive and he even brought to light personal information regarding my love of tapestries.” Linda D. (Wickenburg, AZ)

• “Andy led a tour I was on. I admit I was expecting to be underwhelmed. But Andy’s deep knowledge of the Cathedral drew me in. His love of and passion for the Cathedral was completely evident.” Debra M. (Severna Park, MD)

• “I have had the extreme pleasure of Andy’s skills and knowledge. What is unique and refreshing about the experience with him is his ability to walk the careful line of not speaking above the tourist or below. He meets each person where they are.” LeeAnne W. (Baltimore, MD)

• “Andy makes people want to visit the cathedral again and again. He instantly connects with people of all backgrounds.” Cheri H. (tour guide)

• “He took our cub scout group around the building and the kids were SO fascinated by every story Andy told them… My son still talks about that trip.” Raquel W. (McLean, VA)

Sites we may see on a 60-90-minute tour include…

• the Space Window
• the Canterbury Pulpit
• Frederick Hart’s Creation sculptures
• War Memorial Chapel
• the Darth Vader grotesque
• the final resting place of Helen Keller

Washington National Cathedral is an active, working church, some tours may need to be modified, or canceled, to accommodate services, weddings, or events.

Private tour rates are dependent upon group size and include cathedral sightseeing. Please contact us to book a private tour at [email protected]

We’re PROUD to partner with DC Pride Walks to offer a tour of Downtown DC focusing on DC’s queer history.

From the White House to the Tenderloin, the national and local fight for political, economic, and cultural inclusion and equal rights for the LGBTQIA+ community emerged across the 20th century.

Join us on a Pride Highlights tour and explore Cruising, the Lavender Scare, Drag, the AIDS Crisis, Black Queer Spaces, Activism, and much more.

Discover a Different Side of Washington, DC, with DC Pride Walks

Uncover the Stories of Washingtonians Who Fought For Equal Rights

DC Pride Walks offers a 2.5 name-your-own-price walking tour to uncover the history of DC’s queer community.

Our passionate tour guides will take you downtown to see iconic buildings, sites, and neighborhoods while sharing the stories of Washingtonians who bravely fought to protect their local communities and jobs and helped create a foundation of activism that continues to thrive in the city today.

As the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, has been the site of the fight to secure equal rights for the LGBTQIA+ community across the United States and the world, and the stories we tell are sure to inspire continued activism.

DC Pride Walks uses the lenses of queer theory and gender analysis to highlight a very different history of DC.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Lafayette Square (Lavender Scare, Dr. Evelyn Hooker, Frank Kameny and the Mattachine Society, Black Queer Spaces)
• White House (AIDS Crisis, The Ashes Action)
• National Women’s Party at the Tayloe-Cameron House
• Gay in the Government
• Willard Hotel
• National Theatre
• Freedom Plaza – March for Equal Rights
• Harrington Hotel’s Pink Elephant Lounge
• Ford’s Theatre – Walt Whitman and Peter Doyle
• DC’s Tenderloin District

---

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Reservations: This tour runs on select dates year-round, with more dates in June! It is ALWAYS available as a private tour by emailing us [email protected]

Also available as a private option only. Please contact us to book.

Tour Starting & Ending Location

Meet your guide outside St John’s Episcopal Church at 16th and H St NW (map)

The tour ends at 9th and F St NW (closest Metro is Metro Center)

Duration

Tour lasts approx. 2.5 hours. Total walking is just under one mile (1,6km)

What Should I Bring?

• Comfortable walking shoes
• A water bottle
• Camera
• Appropriate clothing/umbrella – tours are rain or shine!

What’s Included

• Professional Historian/Tour Guide
• Recommendations for the best food, music, and museums
• Advice on must-do experiences

An informative and entertaining walk through 150 years of spying in Downtown and around the White House, a breeding ground and a playground for domestic & international spies.

You will learn about Confederate spy rings that sought to kidnap or kill Abraham Lincoln and walk in the steps of such infamous spies as the hoop-skirted “Rebel” Rose O’Neal Greenhow, Julia Child, Elizabeth Bentley, and Karl Koecher.

From Lincoln’s last days to the end of the Cold War, this tour explores revels in the history of spying in Washington, DC.

---

Like hearing about Spies but want to explore a different neighborhood? We also offer a Spies of Georgetown tour as a private option! Email us to book

Duration: Approx. 2 hrs and less than a mile. 

What Should I Bring?

• Comfortable walking shoes
• A water bottle
• Camera
• Appropriate clothing / umbrella – tours are rain or shine!

What’s Included

• Professional Historian/Tour Guide
• Recommendations for the best food, music and museums
• Advice on must-do experiences

The Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall was not built to be an emblem of any movement.

The events that have happened here – those events that would not have been possible without the Emancipation Proclamation and the preservation of the Union by Lincoln – have embedded the memorial in the American psyche as an icon of the Civil Rights Movement.

From Marion Anderson to Martin Luther King, Jr., Washington, D.C. and the National Mall in particular, are associated with this part of American history.

But that is only where the March on Washington ended. Downtown, DC has many more historic sites related to the efforts of all types of persons working towards equality.

Join DC By Foot on this special Civil Rights tour, we’ll learn about the history of the Civil Rights movement in Downtown Washington, DC by visiting and discussing:

• Site of the Epicurean Eating House and the Snow Riots
• Site of National Era offices – that first serialised Uncle Tom’s Cabin and was the site of the Pearl Riots
• Pennsylvania Avenue – the story behind the Women’s Suffrage Parade
• U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
• Freedom Plaza & The Willard Intercontinental Hotel
• Story of the Freedom Riders

…and much more.

This tour is available as a PRIVATE TOUR ONLY. Contact us to book.