Georgetown

A port town older than Washington, founded in the 18th century, with boutiques along M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, Federal-style row houses, the C&O Canal, riverfront parks and Georgetown University.

Georgetown lies on the Potomac northwest of Washington. It was founded in 1751 as a tobacco port in Maryland, forty years older than the capital, and merged into Washington in 1871. It still has cobblestone streets and 18th- and 19th-century Federal and Victorian row houses, making it the most European-village-like neighborhood in Washington. The Kennedys, Kissinger and other celebrities have lived here. The commercial hub is where M Street meets Wisconsin Avenue, lined with brand stores, independent designers' boutiques, antique shops and restaurants, including Martin's Tavern, where Kennedy proposed, Georgetown Cupcake, which always has a line, and Baked & Wired, which is more favored by locals. Parallel to M Street on the south is the C&O Canal, an 1830s canal relic, and walking its towpath or riding a mule-drawn canal boat in summer is a highlight. Further south, Washington Harbour has fountains, outdoor restaurants and the Key Bridge Boathouse, which rents kayaks and paddleboards for views of the Kennedy Center and the river from the water. In winter the fountain becomes an ice rink. To the north, the residential streets feature the famous Exorcist Steps, steep stone stairs at the intersection of M Street and Prospect Street, Dumbarton Oaks, one of America's most beautiful gardens and the site of the 1944 UN preparatory conference, where garden admission is about $7, and the Old Stone House, built in 1765 and Washington's oldest building. At the western end, Georgetown University, founded in 1789, is the oldest Catholic university in the United States, and its Gothic Healy Hall can be visited. Getting there: Georgetown has no Metro station. Walk 15 minutes from Foggy Bottom station, or take the Circulator bus (Georgetown–Union Station line, $1) or bus 33 or 38B. Parking is difficult. It is good for an afternoon of shopping and a riverside dinner, and half a day is enough.

Georgetown

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