Georgetown

Georgetown was a tobacco port chartered in 1751, four decades before the federal city was laid out around it, and it kept its own street grid and its Federal and Victorian houses when the capital absorbed it. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal begins here and runs 300 kilometres north-west; its towpath is a walking and cycling route from the first lock. Dumbarton Oaks has a Byzantine and pre-Columbian collection and formal gardens by Beatrix Farrand. The Exorcist steps, a narrow flight of seventy-five between M Street and Prospect Street, are a minor pilgrimage. There is no metro station - the story that residents blocked it is often repeated and only partly true.

What you actually see

• A port chartered in 1751 - older than the capital around it.
• The C&O Canal towpath - starting at the first lock here.
• Dumbarton Oaks - Byzantine and pre-Columbian art, Farrand gardens.
• The Exorcist steps - seventy-five steep steps off M Street.

When to go

April to October; cherry blossom draws crowds citywide. Half a day.

Honest expectations

No metro station - it is a bus or a walk. M Street traffic and parking are bad. It is expensive. Dumbarton Oaks gardens charge separately and close in bad weather.

Nearby

The National Mall is east; Arlington is across the river.