Washington, District of Columbia, occupies some 181 square kilometres (70 square miles) on the Potomac River – not a state, but an independent federal territory hived off from Virginia and Maryland to provide a fixed national capital for the previously roaming government. Based on and around the city of Washington, today the area incorporates Georgetown on the north bank of the Potomac River and overspills the original boundaries to stretch out into the surrounding states of Virginia and Maryland.

Georgetown is full of evidence of earlier times, with its lovely Georgian houses, cobbled streets and quiet air of elegance. The Georgetown University was established in 1789.

Historically, Washington, DC saw some bitter opposition to black people; the disgraceful race riot of 1919 led to the abuse and lynching of around 200,000 black people who had fought for the United States during the war in France –Croix de Guerre Awards for bravery notwithstanding, local people killed nine of these dignified WWI veterans. Fenton Johnson’s poem sums up their response:


A highly popular tourist destination, Washington sees floods of visitors. Most visited site is the official residence of the current President, The White House, which fascinates everyone. The White House lies north of The Mall and Capitol Hill; guided tours are available, but rarely, and they need advance booking. If you fail to get on a tour, there is an excellent Visitors’ Centre that gives you as close an experience as possible without actually taking you into the State Dining Room that accommodates 140 diners, the Red Room Reception Room and the Diplomatic Reception Room where dignitaries are received, or the Vermeil Room where seven of those famous First Ladies have their portraits on display.

Capitol Hill is the centre of Washington, where the administrative buildings are located – the famous United States Capitol that bears the largest dome in America. See the Old Senate Chamber for its sheer grandeur; the National Statuary Hall to examine over 100 statues of famous people housed there in order to represent the most important inhabitants from each of the United States; the breathtaking Rotunda with its beautiful fresco; and if you visit the crypt you are in the literal centre, geographically speaking, of Washington, DC.

It is an awe-inspiring experience to climb the steps of the United States Supreme Court, so familiar from TV news broadcasts. Even more exciting is to watch a court in progress or, outside session times, to attend one of the talks about the working of the Supreme Court which are given in the courtroom itself.

The Library of Congress has an outstanding Great Hall of white marble to visit, and the main reading room itself is no less beautiful.

Along The Mall are the National Art Gallery, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, various government buildings and the Smithsonian Institute American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery.

Here, too, are the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, the National Museum of American History, the National Air and Space Museum, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial.

The Watergate complex is to be found close to Washington Harbour Ferry Terminal.

The Pentagon is the headquarters of the US military, the Department of Defence, the Army, Navy and Air Force. On 11th September 2001, 189 people were killed when a hijacked American Airlines plane was flown into one side of this famous building. The Pentagon lies on the other side of the Potomac River, actually in Virginia, alongside the Arlington National Cemetery for American servicemen; also buried here are John F. Kennedy and his family.

Getting around this city is easy with an excellent Metro system and a multitude of bus routes.

The city has an amazing total of 300 parks and greens, a cathedral, five universities, two international airports, a railroad station, a ferry terminal, a network of metro stations and many art venues, including the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts.

Visitors find Washington, DC a very exciting and cosmopolitan place in which to be, and there is never enough time to see and do everything.