free audio tour washington dc

Open 365 days a year, Mount Vernon is located just 15 miles south of Washington DC.

From the mansion to lush gardens and grounds, intriguing museum galleries, immersive programs, and the distillery and gristmill. Spend the day with us!

Discover what made Washington "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".

The Mount Vernon Ladies Association has been maintaining the Mount Vernon Estate since they acquired it from the Washington family in 1858.

Need primary and secondary sources, videos, or interactives? Explore our Education Pages!

The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only.

"The audio tour was well worth it, as much more detail was given for many of the places on the tour." - TripAdvisor Review

Take the Tour Home

While exploring the estate, the device tracks the stops you visit. When turning in the device at the exit desk:

• Visit a kiosk.
• Scan the device.
• Enter your email address to receive a recap of the stops you visited and information about the stops you missed.

Multiple Languages

Mount Vernon's audio tour is available in multiple languages including:

Youth Audio Tour

For those visiting with children, a youth audio tour features more than 10 stops and shares the stories of George Washington, the Mansion, and the people who lived on the estate. 

This tour is currently available only in English.

Sample Clip

Listen to a preview of the audio content from the Spinning House.

Please upgrade your browser to listen to this audio file.

Quick Links

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Skip to global NPS navigation
• Skip to the main content
• Skip to the footer section

Exiting nps.gov

Explore dc’s national parks with a new, free app.

Exploring all the national parks in Washington, DC can be a challenge because there are so many! Before now, you would have needed a fistful of brochures to explore the parks and learn about them. But no more! Now you can use our new app to explore all the parks with one convenient tool.

App features

• Find the must-see sites and discover lesser-known places
• Follow recommended tour routes or explore on your own with location-aware maps and detailed descriptions of nearly 800 points of interest
• Find ranger programs and events
• Accessibility features include proximity alerts and audio descriptions

Visit the Apple App Store to start your download.

Visit the Google Play store to start your download.

What parks are included?

• National Mall - Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Ford's Theatre, and hundreds of other memorials and small parks throughout downtown Washington.
• President's Park - The White House, Lafayette Park, and the Ellipse
• Rock Creek Park
• Anacostia Park
• Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
• Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
• Carter G. Woodson National Historic Site
• Civil War Defenses of Washington
• Theodore Roosevelt Island
• Arlington House
• and much more!

You Might Also Like

• african american civil war memorial
• anacostia park
• arlington house, the robert e. lee memorial
• capitol hill parks
• carter g. woodson home national historic site
• chesapeake & ohio canal national historical park
• civil war defenses of washington
• constitution gardens
• ford's theatre
• fort dupont park
• franklin delano roosevelt memorial
• frederick douglass national historic site
• kenilworth park & aquatic gardens
• korean war veterans memorial
• lbj memorial grove on the potomac
• lincoln memorial
• martin luther king, jr. memorial
• mary mcleod bethune council house national historic site
• national capital parks-east
• national mall and memorial parks
• pennsylvania avenue
• the white house and president's park
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• theodore roosevelt island
• thomas jefferson memorial
• vietnam veterans memorial
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• wolf trap national park for the performing arts
• world war ii memorial
• virtual experience
• plan your visit
• self-guided tour
• trip planning

African American Civil War Memorial , Anacostia Park , Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial , Capitol Hill Parks , Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site , Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park , Civil War Defenses of Washington , Constitution Gardens , Ford's Theatre , Fort Dupont Park , Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial , Frederick Douglass National Historic Site , Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens , Korean War Veterans Memorial , LBJ Memorial Grove on the Potomac , Lincoln Memorial , Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial , Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site , National Capital Parks-East , National Mall and Memorial Parks , Pennsylvania Avenue , The White House and President's Park , Rock Creek Park , Theodore Roosevelt Island , Thomas Jefferson Memorial , Vietnam Veterans Memorial , Washington Monument , Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts , World War II Memorial more »

Last updated: September 15, 2020

Washington, D.C. Hunt Audio Tour

Washington, D.C. , Washington, D.C., United States

App guided audio walking tour

About the tour

Welcome to the nation's capital, where history meets adventure in our Washington, D.C. audio tour! Get ready to embark on a thrilling journey through this iconic neighborhood as you uncover hidden gems and discover the rich culture and fascinating stories that make this city truly unique. Imagine exploring the United States Botanic Garden, where nature's beauty intertwines with stunning architecture. Or stepping into the National Gallery of Art, surrounded by masterpieces that will leave you awe-inspired. From the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden to the National Air and Space Museum, each location holds its own exciting surprises and secrets waiting to be revealed. Grab your friends or family, because this scavenger hunt is all about teamwork and laughter. Whether you're a history buff or simply looking for an unforgettable adventure, our Washington, D.C. audio tour promises an experience like no other.

Just some highlights

Engaging local history

Experience a new kind of city tour with an app-led audio guide. Visit popular destinations and explore local culture in a fun and interactive way.

Interactive challenges

Engage with your surroundings like never before. Answer trivia questions and conquer challenges based on the stories you hear during the tour.

High-quality audio guides

Enjoy humorous and authoritative narration, like a friend sharing cool anecdotes about their city.

Available offline

Download your tour to ensure a seamless and uninterrupted experience whether or not you have consistent service during your adventure.

Explore at your own pace

Control the pace of your tour. Pause, skip, or cycle through stops as you wish.

Stress-free navigation

Navigate your route with ease using our interactive map and GPS-enabled feature.

Route Information

United States Botanic Garden

Step into the oasis of the United States Botanic Garden, where nature's beauty flourishes and history intertwines with lush greenery. This living museum dates back to 1820, making it one of the oldest botanic gardens in North America.

National Gallery of Art

Welcome to the National Gallery of Art, a treasure trove of artistic masterpieces! Get ready to be captivated by the works of world-renowned artists like Van Gogh, Monet, and Picasso.

National Museum of American History

This iconic spot showcases the incredible journey and achievements of our nation. From the Star-Spangled Banner that inspired hope, to Dorothy's ruby slippers that whisked us away to Oz, you'll uncover treasures that shaped our identity.

Buying for someone else?

Give the gift of adventure with let’s Roam! Purchase a gift voucher today that’s redeemable on any of Let’s Roam’s tours across the globe.

Let’s Roam large group tours

Give your coworkers or event attendees an incredible experience with an audio-guided Let’s Roam tour. They’ll have a blast as they explore together!

Explore Washington, D.C. with a Let's Roam Audio Tour

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Additional Info Skip This Step

• Legendary Hollywood
• Napa & Sonoma Valleys
• Historic Philadelphia
• Washington DC – Walking Tour
• Washington DC – Driving Tour
• The French Quarter
• Rome Eternal
• Barcelona Gothic Quarter
• Dubrovnik Walled City
• Paris La Cité
• Prague – City of Hundred Spires
• San Antonio River Walk & Alamo

About SelfTour

Here are the reasons selftour surpasses all other tours....

All turn-by-turn directions and descriptions are spoken for easy to easy navigation and understanding. Our tours are a complete circle so you end up where you started… not some unknown location!

All information is activated by GPS as you move.

No waiting at a specific time for others to show up. Go when you want, take a brake anytime, and resume at your own pace and schedule.

Should you make a wrong turn, there is a complete map indicating all the sites along the way. Also pictures of the individual sites are available to insure you are looking at the right sight.

Our travel experts do intense research choosing the best sites to see and the accurate information you want to know about each.

Both are available. The platform used in our apps is new technology engineered by iApp Tours using exclusive mobile software.

No more straining or pushing to get close to hear the tour guide. The audio comes directly to your ear buds or car stereo system.

If you missed something in the audio description, or didn’t understand the directions, no problem! Simply touch the position on the phone or tablet map and it will play again.

Excellent writers and professional voice actors, music, sound effects and a light delivery style make the listening fun.

Tour at a fraction of the cost of other paid guided tours. Even “free” guided tours pressure you for a “tip” or to purchase something in the guide’s “favorite store”. Our tours have no advertising or referrals.

If there’s a tour worth taking, it’s worth taking a SelfTour™

Download an App and start your tour now!

LEGENDARY HOLLYWOOD

Language: English Type: Walking Tour

NAPA & SONOMA VALLEYS

Language: English Type: Driving Tour — Great for Biking Too!

Wearing ear buds or headsets while driving is against the law in California.

HISTORIC PHILLY

WASHINGTON DC - WALKING TOUR

ROME ETERNAL

WASHINGTON DC - DRIVING TOUR

Language: English Type: Driving Tour

THE FRENCH QUARTER

BARCELONA GOTHIC QUARTER

DUBROVNIK WALLED CITY

PARIS LA CITÉ

PRAGUE - CITY OF HUNDRED SPIRES

SAN ANTONIO RIVER WALK

MUCH MORE TO COME!

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Being able to follow the route with GPS took the scariness out of roaming through a foreign city for the first time.  When will you have a tour of Paris?

Loved having Chris Thomas King guide me through the French Quarter. The tour was fantastic and the MUSIC!

“I have been to Sonoma and Napa several times, but I always ended up doing the same thing because I didn’t know were to go or what to see. Using your app opened my eyes to a lot of things in the area that I would have never seen. All the info about wine making was also interesting. I also enjoyed the jazz music. Good job.”

You need to have a children’s version of the tour.  They would learn so much about the history of the founding of our country and actually experience the history.

Along the way I wished there was more historic details.  But then when finished I appreciated the fact that too much info would have bogged down the overall experience.  The tour kept me moving along to more and more fascinating locations.

Mind blowing

I’ve learned so much about historic Philadelphia on your tour.  I am a Quaker so to know Benjamin Franklin was a Quaker, among other facts was mind blowing.   Just seeing the original cobblestone and original materials they used was amazing as well.

Developed & Produced by: SelfTour Audio Adventures

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Free Walking Tour Washington DC

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Best free tours in washington dc, highlights of a free tour in washington dc, things to do in washington dc, free tours in your language.

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WEATHER ALERT: Monday's heat breaks records at Dulles, BWI

Anacostia Riverkeeper says proposed budget shift could leave free boat tours high and dry

Kate Ryan | [email protected]

April 27, 2024, 5:46 AM

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From Friday Night Fishing to free boat tours, the Anacostia Riverkeeper program is designed to acquaint D.C. residents with the river and continue cleanup efforts.

But Anacostia Riverkeeper Trey Sherard told WTOP he’s concerned about a potential move of $1.8 million from river cleanup funding, which is part of the “Budget Support Act” that could allow for legal authority to make specific revenue changes.

Under the plan, balances in dozens of dedicated tax and special purpose funds from the Riverkeeper could be shifted to the District’s General Fund.

D.C. is facing a $700 million shortfall this year — part of the $4 billion projected budget gap over the next five years.

Sherard told WTOP that $1.8 million will come from the Anacostia River Clean Up Fund.

“That fund is responsible for covering all of the free boat tours that we and other groups offer,” Sherard explained. “That fund is also responsible for funding all of our trash trap maintenance.”

Sherard said thousands of pounds of trash are taken out of those trash traps every year — and that doesn’t include other cleanups throughout the year.

While the mayor’s budget plan includes funding for a variety of environmental goals, like remediation of hazardous materials in the Anacostia River, Sherard pointed out the Anacostia River Clean Up Fund is paid for through the District of Columbia’s bag fee. That’s the nickel added to your bill if you opt to get a paper or plastic bag at the checkout counter.

Sherard said the law that created that fee stipulated that the money from the bag fee would be restricted to paying for cleaning and protecting the Anacostia River, adding that it should not be shifted to the general fund.

Other groups, including City Wildlife and the Rock Creek Conservancy, are also lobbying to keep the money from being shifted to D.C.’s general fund.

D.C. Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment is holding its budget oversight hearing Monday at 9:30 a.m. to discuss the plan.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here .

© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

As a member of the award-winning WTOP News, Kate is focused on state and local government. Her focus has always been on how decisions made in a council chamber or state house affect your house. She's also covered breaking news, education and more.

• 202-895-5337
• @KateRyanWTOP

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Reserve Your Spot with Confidence! Full Refunds with 24 Hrs Notice. Reschedule at any point, even after tour, if space allows!

What tour should I take in Washington DC?

Figuring out what tour to take can be a hard choice! We offer a number of a tours, so we thought we'd put all the public tours we offer in one place to help you decide.

WHAT TOUR SHOULD I TAKE IN DC?

Kid Friendly Tours

Adults only tours, nighttime tours.

• True Crime, Scandals, Ghosts

Local Neighborhood Tours

Best tours for first time visitors.

• Best Tours for Locals & Repeat Visitors

What tours are being offered as public tours right now?

Keep in mind that any tour we offer can also be booked as a private tour, but we also offer a lot more types of tours as private tours! You can read about Private DC Tours here.

Regularly Scheduled Public Tours

• National Mall Tours
• Arlington National Cemetery and Changing of the Guard 
• Lincoln's Assassination
• Capitol Hill & Library of Congress
• Historic Georgetown
• Ghosts of Georgetown
• Capitol Hill Ghosts & Scandals
• Embassy Row
• Pride Tours
• White House Ghost Tours
• Holiday Lights (December Only)
• Georgetown Glow

Can't make any of the tours on our Public Tour Schedule and don't want to book a private tour ? We also have a number of Audio Tours available and you can take any of our Virtual Tours via our YouTube Channel

What is the difference between the three National Mall tours?

National Mall : 2 hour tour that visits: White House, Washington Monument, WWII, Vietnam, Korean and Lincoln Memorials.

National Mall & Tidal Basin : 3 hour tour that visits WWII, Vietnam, Korean, Lincoln, MLK, FDR and Jefferson Memorial

Memorials & Moonlight: 2 hour tour that visits WWII, MLK, Korean and Lincoln Memorials.

Many of our guides are former teachers, so we love kids on our tours! We don't put age limits on any of our tours (even our "adults only") but these tours are best for younger visitors:

• National Mall Tours - we have a scavenger hunt .pdf that you can use for free to our National Mall tour! We have a 2 hour National Mall tour and a 3 hour tour that extends to visit the Tidal Basin.
• Arlington National Cemetery 
• Capitol Hill
• Georgetown Glow (seasonal)

Our Historic Georgetown tour welcomes kids, but it's a lot of historic homes and political celebrities. It's not usually of interest to our younger visitors unless they love history! 

We don't put an age limit on these tours, but they do cover sex, murder, affairs. You can decide who is old enough to handle it!

• Embassy Row: True Crimes & Scandals
• Capitol Hill Ghosts & Scandals 
• White House at Night
• Wicked Georgetown

Washington DC is a 9 to 5 kind of city, so here are some tours you can take after hours.

• Memorials & Moonlight
• Lincoln Assassination 
• White House Ghosts
• Capitol Hill Ghosts and Scandals
• Holiday Lights (December only)

True Crime, Scandals & Ghost Tours

Love true crime or the scandalous side of history? What about ghosts?

• SE DC Anacostia Tours
• U St NW History & Street Art

We think all of our tours are great for first-time visitors. And what tour you would like really depends on... YOU! 

But these are the most popular tours for first-time visitors. 

• Arlington National Cemetery
• Lincoln's Assassination 

Best Tours for Locals / Repeat Visitors

Same as above - we think all our tours are great for everyone! What you find interesting is will influence what tours you'll like best. But we have a number of tours that are more popular with locals:

• U Street NW History & Street Art

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About The Author

Canden Arciniega

North america, united kingdom & ireland, middle east & india, asia & oceania.

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