Why Old Town Alexandria, VA Belongs on Your DC-Area Itinerary

Old Town Alexandria belongs on a DC-area itinerary because it fits a full, varied day into one riverfront neighborhood. Alexandria’s historic district lies a short trip south of downtown Washington. Colonial taverns, a working art center, and a hard chapter of American history all sit within walking distance of one another.

At 17, George Washington drew a map of the new town’s lots. By tradition, he also assisted surveyor John West Jr. He later came to town often from his plantation home at Mount Vernon, about 8 miles south. Several buildings he visited still stand among cafés, boutiques, and homes.

Blue and Yellow Line trains stop at the King Street-Old Town station. From there, a free trolley runs to City Hall and Market Square between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday works best, since the farmers’ market runs that morning and nearly every museum in town opens its doors.

Morning: Cobblestones, a Market, and a Pew

The morning starts early at the Old Town Farmers’ Market, whose roots at Market Square predate the Revolution. A few blocks toward the river, Captain’s Row on the 100 block of Prince Street still has its cobblestones. Homes from the late 1700s line the block.

Several blocks west, at Christ Church, Washington bought a box pew for £36.10, the highest price any parishioner paid.

Anyone arriving by Metro can start uphill instead, at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial near the station. Its design takes inspiration from the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt, and an elevator brings visitors to a ninth-floor outdoor deck with a 360-degree view. Washington served as charter master when the local lodge became Alexandria Lodge No. 22.

• During the City Hall renovation, vendors fill the 100 block of North Royal Street and the Tavern Square courtyard from 7 a.m. to noon.
• Admission to the church costs nothing. It opens at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and from Thursday to Saturday, with shorter afternoon hours on Wednesday and Sunday.
• Memorial visits start at 9:30 a.m., cost $20, and require an advance reservation and a photo ID. The memorial welcomes the public Monday and Thursday through Sunday, except on federal holidays.

Midday: Washington’s Tavern and a Merchant’s Mansion

The colonial buildings around Market Square come next. Gadsby’s Tavern hosted Washington’s Birthnight Ball celebrations late in his life, and Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette counted among its patrons too. The Metropolitan Museum of Art bought the ballroom’s woodwork, so the room in Alexandria today shows a reproduction.

Lunch can happen right next door, where Gadsby’s Tavern Restaurant still serves meals in colonial dining rooms. The restaurant opens at 11:30 a.m., and the museum’s first guided visit starts at 1:15 p.m., so lunch fits in before it. Afterward, John Carlyle’s Georgian mansion sits a short walk away. General Edward Braddock called together five colonial governors there during the French and Indian War. Across King Street, the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum preserves a family pharmacy that operated on the site for more than a century.

• Gadsby’s museum closes on Wednesdays. From November to mid-March, it also closes on Mondays and Tuesdays. Guided 45-minute visits cost $8 and start at 1:15, 2:15, and 3:15 p.m.
• Carlyle House closes on Wednesdays. Adults pay $8, and guided visits start on the hour, with the last one at 3 p.m.
• An $8 guided visit covers both floors of the apothecary, while $5 buys a self-guided look at the first.

Afternoon: Artists at Work by the River

Down at the water, the Torpedo Factory Art Center fills a former U.S. Naval Torpedo Station. Its story began the day after the World War I armistice. A green Mark XIV torpedo from the World War II era still sits in the main hall. The building now holds 71 artists’ studios, which it bills as the nation’s largest collection of working artists’ open studios under one roof.

Admission is free, and the doors are open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Upstairs, the free Alexandria Archaeology Museum explores the city’s waterfront discoveries, including the remains of four historic ships. It opens at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and closes at 5 p.m., an hour before the art center.

On the way back from the river, a short detour north leads to the Spite House at 523 Queen Street. It fills what used to be an alley. At about 7 feet wide, it is the narrowest house in town. It is a private home, so you see it from the sidewalk.

Evening: Dinner on King Street, a Boat Back to DC

By dinnertime, the car-free stretch of King Street between the waterfront and Fairfax Street fills with café tables. The street then settles into an evening of dinner and drinks. Some well-known choices:

• Seasonal Mid-Atlantic cooking draws a crowd to Vermilion at 1120 King Street, which opens for dinner at 5 p.m. and closes on Mondays.
• Down by the water, Virtue Feed & Grain pours drinks in a gastropub on South Union Street.
• For a river view, Chart House sets its dining room and patio at the foot of Cameron Street.
• Farther out in Old Town North, Hank’s Oyster Bar serves oysters at 818 North St. Asaph Street.

Afterward, the Potomac Water Taxi leaves from the marina behind the Torpedo Factory for The Wharf in DC from March to December.

Dates That Change the Day

• In mid-February, the George Washington Birthday Parade marches through town. Organizers bill it as the oldest and largest of its kind.
• In July, Alexandria celebrates its birthday alongside the nation’s with live music and fireworks at Oronoco Bay Park. Check the city’s annual event calendar for the exact date.
• On the first Saturday of December, the Alexandria Scottish Walk Holiday Parade brings Scottish clans, bagpipers, and marching bands to Old Town’s streets. That evening, the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights illuminates the Potomac waterfront.

Worth the Short Trip South

Washington’s monuments tell the nation’s story at full scale. Alexandria tells it at street level. The town works best as a full day of its own, not a quick stop between DC sights.

That range explains its place on the itinerary. Few days near the capital hold this much variety within such an easy walk.