How to spend a day in Georgetown, DC

Start your Georgetown morning at Baked & Wired on Thomas Jefferson St NW, then walk the C&O Canal towpath and stop at the free Old Stone House. After lunch, head to Dumbarton Oaks gardens (open 2 to 6 pm, Tue to Sun, $15 adults) and finish at Georgetown Waterfront Park at dusk. The whole day is entirely walkable.

Morning: coffee, the canal, and a 1765 stone house

Baked & Wired is the logical first stop. The family-owned coffee shop and bakery at 1052 Thomas Jefferson St NW opens at 8 am daily. It opened in 2001 and specializes in cupcakes but also turns out cookies, quiches, and brownies. Many locals treat it as the "insider" choice, while Georgetown Cupcake, a few blocks away on M Street, tends to draw the tourist lines. Walk south from Baked & Wired and you're on the canal within two minutes.

The C&O Canal is worth an hour of your morning. It's a former commercial canal that's since been converted into an urban greenway where you can stroll the walking path, take a historic boat tour, or admire the old red-brick structures that once housed factories and warehouses.

From the canal, walk one block north to M Street and turn left. At 3051 M St NW you'll find the Old Stone House. It is the oldest structure on its original foundation in the city of Washington, DC. Today the home is 85% original to its 18th-century construction. The National Park Service owns and operates it, and NPS rangers provide information and sometimes demonstrations about the site's pre-Revolutionary history. Admission is free. Check the NPS Rock Creek Park page for current hours before you go, as they have shifted over the years.

Midday: lunch and a walk up Wisconsin Avenue

M Street and Wisconsin Avenue have a retail and dining mix that runs from independent boutiques and artisanal shops to national brands. Georgetown's restaurant density is high enough that you won't need a reservation for a casual lunch. After eating, head north on Wisconsin Avenue toward upper Georgetown. The streets get quieter and the houses get older.

Afternoon: Dumbarton Oaks gardens

The afternoon belongs to Dumbarton Oaks, at 1703 32nd St NW (garden entrance at 31st and R streets NW). This Harvard University research institute, library, and museum sits at the highest point of Georgetown and has a 16-acre garden. Trails take you through a rose garden, an orangery greenhouse, a fountain terrace, a wisteria-covered arbor, and more.

The museum at 1703 32nd St NW is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30 am to 5:30 pm. The gardens open at 2:00 pm and close at 6:00 pm (March to October). Standard adult admission to the gardens is $15 during the regular season from March to October. Admission to the museum is free and unticketed. Buy garden tickets online in advance; they are not sold on-site. Garden entry is also free during November and December.

Visit in April or May to catch the wisteria and cherry blossoms at peak in the formal garden terraces. Expect the highest crowds on weekend afternoons in spring, so arrive right at 2:00 pm when the gates open.

Late afternoon and evening: the waterfront

Walk back down to the river and spend what's left of the day at Georgetown Waterfront Park. It's a 10-acre park on the Potomac River. The park covers those 10 riverside acres extending from 31st St west to the Key Bridge. Benches dot the way, where you can sit and watch the rowing teams out on the Potomac, and alfresco restaurants cluster at nearby Washington Harbour.

If you want to get on the water instead of watching from the bank, Key Bridge Boathouse is at 3500 Water St NW, directly under the bridge. Weekday hours run noon to 6 pm; weekend hours run 9 am to 6 pm. A single kayak rents for $22 on weekdays and $24 on weekends per hour. From the water you'll see the Georgetown waterfront, Roosevelt Island, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Key Bridge itself.

Come winter, the plaza at Washington Harbour changes entirely. In November, the fountain transforms into the Washington Harbour Ice Rink, open every day through March. At almost 12,000 square feet, it's DC's largest outdoor rink.

Getting there

Georgetown has no Metro stop. The nearest transit connections are bus routes 31, 32, and 36, and the Orange, Blue, and Silver lines to Foggy Bottom-GWU station. Rideshare drops off easily on M Street. The Washington Harbour parking garage at 3000 K St NW charges $13 for the first hour and a $23 daily maximum on weekdays. Parking is genuinely difficult on weekends, so plan around transit or a rideshare.

Sources

• Baked & Wired official site
• NPS Rock Creek Park: Old Stone House
• Dumbarton Oaks official site (doaks.org)
• Friends of Georgetown Waterfront Park
• Key Bridge Boathouse (Adventures Unbound)
• Washington Harbour