You’ll have the world at your feet as you walk this broad boulevard lined with the lavish digs of Washington D.C.’s foreign consulates and monuments to world leaders.
Go globetrotting on Embassy Row, the grand district home to many of Washington D.C.’s foreign representatives. From Dupont Circle to Washington National Cathedral, Embassy Row flexes the city’s architectural muscle, showcasing a range of glorious mansions, historic buildings, and manicured estates. The district got its first claim to fame in the 1900s when the well-heeled people who settled here earned it the nickname Millionaires’ Row. Hold up, don’t call your real estate agent – these sumptuous manors now play host to some of the city’s 170-plus international embassies, and today they are the district’s defining feature.
Got time for a stroll? Perfect. Embassy Row was made for enjoying at your leisure. Starting in Dupont Circle, which started out as an enclave for D.C.’s elite in the late 19th century, head northwest along Massachusetts Avenue and watch the grand panorama unfold. The Beaux Arts-style manor hosting the Embassy of Indonesia and the statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside the Embassy of India are highlights here.
It wouldn’t be D.C. without a healthy dose of American history. Check out the Society of Cincinnati to see American Revolution artifacts and the Civil War monument in Sheridan Circle Park. President Woodrow Wilson’s final residence is just a stone’s throw away. Speaking of American history, the inventor of Coca-Cola’s crimped bottle cap commissioned the building now home to the Turkish Ambassador.
The architectural medley continues with the art nouveau Embassy of Latvia, the Romanesque Embassy of Brazil and the extravagant British Embassy. If you feel like resting your legs and catching a few rays, take a seat in leafy Dumbarton Oaks Park. Rainy day? No problem. Take shelter in the U.S. Naval Observatory or Dumbarton Park Museum, where Byzantine, pre-Columbian and European art is on display.