Dumbarton Oaks

Frommer's Review

This 19th-century Georgetown mansion named for a Scottish castle is a research center for studies in Byzantine and pre-Columbian art and history, as well as landscape architecture. Its magical yards, which wind gently down to Rock Creek Ravine, are modeled after European gardens. The pre-Columbian museum, designed by Philip Johnson, is a small gem, and the Byzantine collection is a rich one. The mansion is closed until sometime in 2008 for renovation, but its staggeringly beautiful formal gardens remain open to the public. The gardens include an Orangery, a Rose Garden, wisteria-covered arbors, groves of cherry trees, and magnolias. You're likely to spend as much as an hour here when everything is in bloom, but expect to share the winding paths with like-minded wanderers. You can't picnic here; instead, exit at R Street, turn left, cross an honest-to-goodness Lovers' Lane, and proceed next door to Montrose Park, to hold your picnic. There is parking on the street.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.