A historic urban neighborhood walk in Washington — Georgetown's cobblestone streets and Federal rowhouses from the 18th century, the C&O Canal towpath along the historic waterway, Dumbarton Oaks (one of the premier private gardens in America, open to the public in season), and Georgetown University's Gothic hilltop campus, connected by the neighborhood's boutique-lined M Street and Wisconsin Avenue.
Why It’s Worth Your Time
Georgetown's walkability is the best argument for staying in the neighborhood — 90 minutes of wandering reveals Federal-period buildings, the restored C&O Canal lock and towpath (the 184.5-mile waterway, 1828–1850, carrying coal from Cumberland), and residential character Washington's planned downtown lacks. The Exorcist Steps (74 steps, used in the 1973 film's climax) are a landmark. Dumbarton Oaks (1703 R Street NW) — Harvard-owned, 10 acres of formal and informal gardens among America's finest. Georgetown University (founded 1789, oldest Jesuit university in America, Gothic Healy Hall). The waterfront (Washington Harbor, Key Bridge, Thompson Boat Center) provides the Potomac dimension. M Street and Wisconsin Avenue's independent boutiques and restaurants (Cady's Alley design district is the most sophisticated) complete the neighborhood.
What Stands Out
- C&O Canal towpath: the 184.5-mile historic waterway running west to Cumberland, Maryland — the most historic walk in Georgetown
- Dumbarton Oaks gardens: a premier private gardens in America, open to the public mid-March through November
- The Exorcist Steps: 74 steps from M Street to Prospect Street, a DC landmark with its own specific visitor pilgrimage
- Georgetown University (1789): the oldest Jesuit university in America, Gothic Healy Hall visible from everywhere in the neighborhood
- Cady's Alley design district: the most sophisticated independent retail street in Washington, hidden in a former industrial alley