Inside the Embassies

Fri, May 1, 2026

7:30 AM Depart Harrisburg

8:00 AM Depart Mechanicsburg

11:00 PM Arrive at Fashion Center at Pentagon City for lunch on your own.

12:30 PM Meet your local D.C. guide and depart.

1:00 PM Explore The Mansion on O Street. 100 rooms and 70 secret doors. Tour includes an introduction and Q&A about the Mansion. Be sure to pay special attention to spot a secret door or two. Continue with a self-guided journey through the uniquely themed rooms and secret doors.

2:30 PM Depart

Drive Embassy Row. After the Civil War, the powerful and socially elite built large mansions along Massachusetts Ave. After the Great Depression, many of the families who built these homes went broke. Today, the area is known as Embassy Row. Embassies, associations, foundations, and clubs have claimed and restored these lovely homes.

3:00 PM Visit the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens for a self-guided tour. The mansion is the former home of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and features one of the most comprehensive collections of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Russian Imperial art outside of Russia, as well as an extensive collection of eighteenth-century French decorative arts. Highlights include a diamond crown worn by Empress Alexandra at her marriage to Nicholas II; Beauvais tapestries designed by François Boucher; two Imperial Easter eggs by Carl Fabergé; La Nuit by William-Adolphe Bouguereau; and a collection of costumes and accessories worn by Mrs. Post or her family. The greenhouse and formal gardens are set among 25 acres of wooded hillsides located in the heart of Washington, D.C.

5:00 PM Depart

Walk through the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Explore the Hall of Flags, see the larger-than-life bronze bust of Kennedy himself, see the incredible view of the city from the rooftop terrace, and experience the Art & Ideals: John F. Kennedy Exhibit! Two months after President Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, Congress designated the National Cultural Center as a "living memorial" to Kennedy and authorized $23 million to help build what was now known as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

6:30 PM Depart

7:30 PM Enjoy dinner included at Il Porto

9:00 PM Depart

9:15 PM Check into the Springhill Suites Gaithersburg

Sat, May 2, 2026

7:00 AM Enjoy included breakfast at hotel

8:30 AM Depart

9:00 AM Meet your Local Guide for Inside the Embassies Tour!

9:30 AM Discover the secrets and unique cultural traditions inside DC’s Embassies. Line up at your choice of Dupont area Embassies to beat the lines that occur here later in the day. After seeing these, we’ll move to other open Embassies.

Lunch on own

Arrive at Washington National Cathedral. Standing higher than the Washington Monument, it is the sixth largest church in the world. This 14th-Century-style Gothic wonder is situated on 57 acres and took 83 years to build. Helen Keller and Woodrow Wilson, the only President buried within Washington, DC, are interred here. It is a living symbol of our country’s heritage of faith and religious freedom. 

Explore the Flower Mart which holds an irresistible array of festival foods, children’s rides, artisanal and boutique gifts and, of course, herbs and flowers that once again fill the nave and grounds of the Cathedral at this year’s Flower Mart, hosted by All Hallows Guild. 

4:30 PM Set out on your driving tour of Washington DC’s monuments and sites!

Stop for a photo opportunity of the White House!

Stop at The National World War I Memorial. The National World War I Memorial is a national memorial the service rendered by members of the United States Armed Forces in World War I. The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the World War I Centennial Commission to build the memorial in Pershing Park, located at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C.

Stop at The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This privately funded memorial has drawn millions who have come to touch the over 50,000 names, make pencil rubbings and leave flowers, letters, flags and personal mementos.

Stop at The Lincoln Memorial, overlooking the Reflecting Pool, was patterned on a classic Greek temple. Inside, inscriptions from his Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address flank the 19-foot marble statue of our 16th President.

Stop at The Korean War Veterans Memorial. The triangular field contains nineteen ground troopers, clad in foul weather ponchos, fully equipped for battle. Representing those who supported the ground troops are hundreds of faces etched on a polished granite wall.

7:00 PM Enjoy included dinner at The Point.

8:30 PM Depart

9:15 PM Return to hotel

Sun, May 3, 2026

7:00 AM Enjoy included breakfast at hotel prior to checking out

8:00 AM Depart

9:00 AM Stop at the following memorials:

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial. The long-awaited memorial utilizes landscape elements to powerfully convey three fundamental and recurring themes of Dr. King's life: justice, democracy and hope. The memorial is a quiet and receptive space, yet at the same time, powerful and emotionally evocative, reflecting the spirit of the message Dr. King delivered and the role he played in society. The King Memorial is intended to be personally transformative for visitors, building a sense of commitment to the promise of positive change and active citizenship.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (F.D.R.) Memorial. This memorial to FDR combines sculpture, water and natural landscape to forge a dramatic setting for recounting the events and terms of office of the nation’s 32nd President. The FDR is unique among the memorials of Washington, DC. Its shade trees, waterfalls, statuary and quiet alcoves create the feeling of a secluded garden rather than an imposing structure. The memorial is divided into four outdoor galleries, or rooms, one for each of FDR’s terms in office. Water cascades and quiet pools are present throughout.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial. The 19-foot statue of the third president stands beneath a rotunda inscribed with passages from the Declaration of Independence and Jefferson’s other famous writings. Looking from the memorial across the Tidal Basin provides an unforgettable view of the city.

11:15 AM Depart

11:30 AM Visit your choice of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museums on the National Mall. Enjoy lunch on own while visiting museums today.

3:30 PM Depart for home

6:00 PM Approximate return to Mechanicsburg

6:30 PM Approximate return to Harrisburg

B=Breakfast, D=Dinner