- Pick-up and drop off for day tours will be from the Renaissance Washington D.C Hotel.
- All tours include entrance fees as per itinerary and touring in an air-conditioned bus with the service of an English -speaking guide.
- Rates for all tours are based on a minimum of 20 participants per tour.
- Changes in routes, departure/arrival times may occur for reasons beyond our control.
- Please bring comfortable walking shoes and a casual warm jacket.
- Tours throughout Washington will be offered at the Congress Excursion desk to give participants an opportunity to explore the city.
Wednesday, 19th June, 09.00-16.00
George Washington's Virginia
Today you are invited to travel along the banks of the Potomac River to
enjoy an intimate glimpse of the 18th century Virginia. Waiting beyond
the gates of Mount Vernon stands the home of George Washington. Mr. Washington's
presence can be felt throughout the plantation, from the gardens and greens
to the original furnishings placed throughout the Georgian-style manor
house. The most notable horticulturist in 18th century Northern Virginia
was George Washington. When at home, Mr. Washington devoted many hours
to his gardens and greenery. Enjoy a walking horticultural tour of the
Mount Vernon Estate. Led by one of Mt. Vernon's historical interpreters,
guests will learn of Washington's green thumb and the design and planning
that he put into his plantation.
You will have time on your own to tour the mansion and the surrounding
service buildings where you will view examples of Mr. Washington's brilliance
as an architect, a surveyor, and a gentleman farmer. Visitors to Mount
Vernon will also enjoy the Washington family museum, where personal effects
of George and Martha Washington are on display.
After your tour of the mansion and grounds, you will board your awaiting
coach for a driving tour of Alexandria, Virginia, referred to by many
as George Washington's hometown. As a young surveyor, Mr. Washington plotted
the original lots for the city in 1749. The once bustling seaport of Alexandria
was Mr. Washington's lifeline to news from the other colonies and from
Europe. Your riding tour will include Christ Church, where pews of parishioners
George Washington and Robert E. Lee are marked with brass plaques; Leadbetter
Apothecary, where exotic remedies were once doled out to Martha Washington,
and the Carlyle House, an elegant Georgian mansion where General Braddock
held a meeting to discuss the Stamp Act of 1755, and which proved to be
the spark that ignited the Revolutionary War. You will also enjoy some
free time for lunch and to window shop in the many specialty shops and
the Torpedo Factory, a mecca of artists galleries located on the River.
Rate Per person: $82 (lunch not included)
Thursday, 20th June, 09.30-13.30
Adventures In Art!
Today guests will begin their "Adventures In Art" at
the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the first museum in the world
devoted specifically to works of art produced by women throughout the
centuries and from around the world. The Museum was established in response
to a need voiced by art historians, collectors, and museum professionals
for an institution that focuses on the contributions of women to the history
of art. Located just two blocks from the White House, the Museum is housed
in a Renaissance Revival building built in 1907. The permanent collection
dates back to the Renaissance and includes not only examples of Western
Art, but also Native works from America and abroad.
Following The National Museum of Women in the Arts, guests will head
over to one of Washington's prize possessions, the National Gallery of
Art, for a docent led tour of the gallery. The National Gallery of Art,
a grand neoclassical masterpiece, is one man's gift to the nation. Andrew
Mellon, heir to steel and banking fortunes in Pittsburgh, came to Washington
in 1921. His distinguished career includes service as Ambassador to Great
Britain and Secretary of the Treasury. An avid art collector, Mellon believed
that the United States should have a national museum dedicated to the
masters. And so he began his acquisition of paintings, sculpture and graphic
arts representative of European and American masters. The collection of
French Impressionists and Italian Renaissance paintings are particularly
impressive. Highlights include a collection of works of Raphael; A Girl
With a Watering Can by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1814-1919) and other esteemed
paintings of the French Impressionists; and Ginevra de Benci, the only
Leonardo de Vinci painting outside Europe.
Rate per person: $55 per person (lunch not included)