Alexandria Spotlight

Walking & Guided Tours

With centuries of history and hospitality, Alexandria offers plenty of historic and cultural attractions. The city's many historic homes, churches, businesses, and museums let residents and visitors experience the history that makes our city the charming town it is today. Walk down brick-lined streets in the footsteps of George Washington and Robert E. Lee. Explore elegant Federal homes and picturesque cobblestone alleyways. From Colonial times through the Civil War, Alexandria has been the scene of many "firsts" in American history. Here are a few examples:

  • During the 1700s, this seaport city had a thriving tobacco trade with England.
  • In 1755, Gen. Edward Braddock and five Royal Colonial Governors met here and recommended levying England's first tax on the Colonies.
  • In 1774, Fairfax County citizens meeting in Alexandria adopted the Fairfax County Resolves, drafted by George Washington and George Mason, calling for an end to trade with England.
  • In 1861, the very first casualties of the Civil War happened here.

 

Choose your experience!

Would you like a Guided Tour of Alexandria, or a Self-Guided Tour?

 

Self-Guided Walking Tours

The LyceumThese tours start at the Lyceum, which offers free parking, so park your car and get ready to tour the town!

* Historical Overview (approximately 75 minutes)

* George Washington (approximately 30 minutes)

* Alexandria Architecture (approximately 60 minutes)

 

 

The following tours begin in other locations:

King Street Tours - King Street is Old Town Alexandria's main street. It offers a full day's sightseeing in just one mile! Find some comfy shoes and take the tour from the George Washington Masonic National Memorial all the way to the Torpedo Factory Art Center on the banks of the beautiful Potomac River!

Ask Alex - Cell Phone Tours - Experience history using the modern-day convenience of your cell phone!

 

Guided Tours Of Alexandria


Alexandria is surrounded by beautiful neighborhoods, diverse culture, and some of the United States' most famous historical sites. One of the best ways to learn about Alexandria's history is through a guided tour. Here is a list of some of the unique guided tours Alexandria offers to its visitors. Be sure to ask your chosen Tour Company which ones they specialize in!

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Featured

Potomac Riverboat Company

  • 1 Cameron Street
  • Alexandria, VA 22314

Offers seasonal sightseeing cruises, private parties, and water taxi transportation service. Cruises include the Washington monuments, the Alexandria seaport, pirate cruises for children, baseball

Bike and Roll Alexandria

  • One Wales Alley
  • Alexandria, VA 22314

Bike and Roll encourages locals and tourists alike to hop on two wheels and Bike the Sites® of Alexandria with a bike rental. Cruise the George Washington Parkway to Gravelly Point and feel the rush

Alphabetical

Alexandria Colonial Tours

  • 201 King Street
  • Suite 302
  • Alexandria, VA 22314

Alexandria's Original Ghost & Graveyard Tour. Our Colonial costumed guides lead you by lantern light telling you ghost stories, legends and folklore. Reservations accepted. Tours leave from garden of

Alexandria Tours

  • 221 King Street
  • Alexandria, VA 22314

Explore charming Old Town Alexandria with a local historian. Stroll by 18th- and 19th-century houses and buildings and immerse yourself in the history of the city both George Washington and Robert E.

Alexandria Visitors Center at Ramsay House

  • 221 King Street
  • Alexandria, VA 22314

Named for William Ramsay, Scottish merchant and city founder. Stop by for sightseeing brochures, maps, etc. Gift shop. Save 50% when you purchase a Key to the City with admission to nine historic

Alexandria's Footsteps to the Past

  • Alexandria Visitors Center
  • 221 King Street
  • Alexandria, VA 22314

Owned by a ninth-generation Virginian, this company offers a daily 90-minute history tour from Ramsay House Visitors Center. March-Dec, (Jan-Feb by appointment only). Also offered by appointment a

Alexandria's Footsteps to the Past Ghost Tours

  • 221 King Street
  • Alexandria, VA 22314

Bring a camera and follow a lantern-carrying guide who gives you lots of early history, a little suspense and mystery and a dose of "ghost."  Tour begins at Ramsay House Visitor Center.   Reservations

Carlyle House

  • 121 N. Fairfax Street
  • Alexandria, VA 22314

A Georgian Palladian manor house built in 1753 by merchant and city founder John Carlyle. Here, five royal governors and General Braddock met to discuss funding of the French and Indian War. Daily

DC Metro Food Tours

  • Market Square
  • 301 King Street
  • Alexandria, VA 22314

We offer three-hour guided excursions that take you down the cobblestone streets of picturesque Old Town Alexandria. Take a journey through one of the nation’s largest historic districts that was once

Harmon's Horse-Drawn Hayrides and Carriages

  • Meadow Acres Farm
  • 14488 Weeping Willow Lane
  • Brandy Station, VA 22714-2344

Available for private charter only, a six-passenger carriage with formally dressed coachman.

Ivy Hill Cemetery Historical Preservation Society

  • 2823 King Street
  • Alexandria, VA 22301

Ivy Hill is one of Alexandria's largest and most historic cemeteries, with a wealth of protected flora and fauna. Educational and cultural programs as well as lectures and tours available.

Martz Gray Line of Washington DC

  • 5500 Tuxedo Road
  • Tuxedo, MD 20781

Offering inclusive tours and packages plus local guides for the area for more than 20 years. Leaves from DC's Union Station's First Parking Level.

Old Town Experience

  • 221 King Street
  • Alexandria, VA 22314

History and architecture walking tours of Old Town offered from the garden of the Ramsay House Visitors Center, March-Nov., weather permitting. (Alternates with Alexandria Tours.) Also offers tours of

Potomac Belle Charters

  • 2412 Belle Haven Meadows Court
  • Alexandria, VA 22306

Custom yacht docked in Old Town Alexandria, specializing in corporate meetings & celebrations, birthdays, anniversaries, reunions. Ideal for 10-35 guests! Apr-Dec

Woodlawn - Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey House

  • 9000 Richmond Highway
  • Mount Vernon, VA 22121

George Washington gave the estate to his adopted granddaughter and his nephew as a wedding gift. Dr. William Thornton, first architect of the U.S. Capitol, was then commissioned to design the mansion.

All Seasons Transportation

  • 1125 Broadview Road
  • Fort Washington, MD 20744

Port City Brewing Company

  • 3950 Wheeler Avenue
  • Alexandria, VA 22304

Port City Brewing Company is a new artisanal brewery producing an exciting line of hand-made, great quality, locally crafted ales. Located near Old Town Alexandria, the tasting room is open

Washington Wine Academy

  • 1201 S. Eads Street
  • Suite 400
  • Arlington, VA 22202

The Washington Wine Academy (WWA) was founded in 1999 and is a 501c3 Virginia non-profit, dedicated to the promotion and furtherance of wine education. The WWA is the premier wine school in the

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