Washington, DC and Virginia: Monticello, Mount Vernon and Shenandoah

Arrive in Washington

Reagan National (DCA), Dulles (IAD) or Union Station to your hotel downtown, then Lafayette Square on foot

• Repas du soir
• Nuit : Washington, DC
• Environ 45 min de route

Soir

John's Church, where presidents have worshipped since James Madison, and on to a welcome dinner at a local restaurant. On the walk back the Washington Monument is lit against the night sky.

Compris

• Pick-up at Reagan National (DCA), Dulles (IAD) or Union Station
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• Evening walk to Lafayette Square and the White House
• Welcome dinner

Capitol Hill and the founding documents

Downtown by Metro to Capitol Hill, the US Capitol and the Library of Congress, then the National Archives

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Washington, DC
• En train

Matin

After breakfast we ride the Metro to Capitol Hill and pass through security at the Capitol Visitor Center, under the East Front, for the tour we reserved weeks ahead. A Capitol guide takes us into the Rotunda beneath the dome, the old Supreme Court chamber in the crypt and National Statuary Hall, where the House of Representatives met until 1857. A tunnel leads from the Capitol to the Library of Congress, where the Thomas Jefferson Building opens onto the marble Great Hall; from the gallery you look down into the domed Main Reading Room, and Jefferson's own book collection is on show nearby. Across the street stands the Supreme Court.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal on Capitol Hill. In the afternoon we walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to the National Archives, where the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights lie in the Rotunda under low light to protect the ink.

Soir

The rest of the afternoon and the evening are free.

Compris

• US Capitol tour, reserved ahead: the Rotunda, the crypt and National Statuary Hall
• The Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, on timed passes
• The Supreme Court from outside
• Sit-down lunch on Capitol Hill
• The National Archives: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Arlington and the Mall at dusk

Washington by Metro to Arlington National Cemetery, back to the Smithsonian, then the National Mall memorials on foot

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Washington, DC
• En train

Après-midi

After lunch in the city we hold timed passes for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, whose history galleries begin below ground with the transatlantic slave trade and climb floor by floor to the present; the National Air and Space Museum is the alternative. A break at the hotel follows. As the light goes we walk the memorials: World War II, the Reflecting Pool, Lincoln, Korean War and Vietnam Veterans, then Martin Luther King Jr. and the Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin.

Compris

• Metro to Arlington National Cemetery and back
• Arlington with your guide: the Kennedy graves, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guard, Arlington House
• Sit-down lunch
• The National Museum of African American History and Culture on timed passes, or the National Air and Space Museum
• The National Mall memorials at dusk with your guide: World War II, Lincoln, Korean War, Vietnam Veterans, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jefferson

Mount Vernon and Old Town Alexandria

Washington along the George Washington Memorial Parkway to Mount Vernon, then Old Town Alexandria and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Washington, DC
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Après-midi

After lunch we drive fifteen minutes north to Old Town Alexandria, where your guide walks the brick pavements to Christ Church and the pew Washington rented, past Gadsby's Tavern and Carlyle House, seen from outside, and down King Street to the waterfront.

Soir

We are back in Washington by about 5 pm; the evening is free.

Compris

• Mount Vernon at opening: the mansion tour, the gardens, the outbuildings, Washington's tomb and the slave memorial
• The Mount Vernon museum and education center
• Sit-down lunch
• Old Town Alexandria walk with your guide: Christ Church, Gadsby's Tavern, Carlyle House, King Street and the waterfront

Activités en option

• The water taxi from the Alexandria waterfront back to Washington's Wharf, when it is running (spring to autumn), in place of the van

Monticello and Charlottesville

Washington by road to Monticello, then Charlottesville and the University of Virginia

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Charlottesville
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Matin

We check out after breakfast and drive southwest out of Washington through the Virginia Piedmont, about two and a half hours with a coffee stop, with the Blue Ridge appearing on the horizon as we near Charlottesville. Monticello sits on its own hilltop above the town. Our timed tour goes through the house Thomas Jefferson designed and rebuilt over forty years, with his inventions, his library and the dome room, then out to the gardens and Mulberry Row, where the people enslaved at Monticello lived and worked, among them Sally Hemings and her family. We visit Jefferson's grave on the way down.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal near the mountain. In the afternoon we walk the Academical Village of the University of Virginia, which Jefferson also designed: the Rotunda, the Lawn with its pavilions and student rooms, and the gardens behind them. Monticello and the university together are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Soir

The evening is free on the Downtown Mall, a brick pedestrian street of restaurants.

Compris

• Monticello: the house tour, the gardens, Mulberry Row and Jefferson's grave
• Sit-down lunch near Monticello
• The University of Virginia's Academical Village with your guide: the Rotunda, the Lawn and the pavilion gardens

Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive

Charlottesville by road to the Swift Run Gap entrance, north on Skyline Drive to Big Meadows and Skyland, and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Charlottesville
• Environ 3.5 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is in the park. In the afternoon we drive a few miles on to Skyland and walk the Stony Man trail, about 2.6 km there and back, to a rocky summit over 1,200 metres high with one of the widest views in the park.

Soir

We drive back along the ridge and down to Charlottesville by about 5:30 pm for the farewell dinner.

Compris

• Shenandoah National Park entry
• Skyline Drive from Swift Run Gap to Skyland, with stops at the overlooks
• Dark Hollow Falls walk with your guide
• Lunch in the park
• Stony Man summit walk with your guide
• Farewell dinner in Charlottesville

Back to Washington and home

Charlottesville by road to Dulles (IAD) or Reagan National (DCA), or to Charlottesville's airport (CHO) or Amtrak station

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Matin

A last breakfast in Charlottesville, then we leave at about 9 am for the drive back through the Virginia Piedmont to Washington: about two hours to Dulles (IAD) or two and a quarter to Reagan National (DCA), so you are at the airport by about 11 am to 11:30 am. Book a flight from Dulles after about 2:30 pm or from Reagan National after about 3 pm so there is no rush. If you are flying on from Charlottesville Albemarle Airport (CHO), about 15 minutes from the hotel, or taking the Amtrak train from Charlottesville station, we drop you there instead. If you are staying on in Washington, we can take you to a hotel downtown. Your guide rides with the group and checks everyone's onward plans before saying goodbye. With an early flight from Charlottesville, ask us and we take you to the airport at whatever time suits you.

Compris

• Drop-off at Dulles (IAD), Reagan National (DCA), Charlottesville Albemarle Airport (CHO) or Charlottesville's Amtrak station