For an official DC welcome, stop by the Washington Welcome Center. Here, you’ll find maps, brochures, tips and advice on all the area attractions and points of interest. Also, Welcome Center staff will give you great insight into activities and sightseeing spots you won’t want to miss. Souvenirs and snacks are also available and the center serves as the transfer stop for the National Cathedral, Uptown and Georgetown Loop Tour.

The chilling story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination comes to life in the very place he was mortally shot on April 14, 1865. After being closed for 103 years, Ford’s Theater was restored and reopened in 1968. Serving as a tribute to Abraham Lincoln and his love of the performing arts, the Theater is a live, working theater that plays host to a variety of plays by some of the country’s most talented playwrights, actors and artists. Ford’s Theater is also home to The Lincoln Museum, which gives visitors a look at the elaborate conspiracy planned by actor John Wilkes Booth, a supporter of the Confederate States of America, to assassinate the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State.

After a visit to Ford’s Theater, a stop at the Petersen House is most definitely in order. It is in this house that Abraham Lincoln died after frantic doctors worked to save him throughout the night. The house, now a National Historic Site, has been restored to its original condition and even the bed on which Lincoln passed away is much like the actual one. Now furnished with period pieces, guests can see the front parlor where Mary Todd Lincoln spent the night with her son, Robert and the back parlor where Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton held a cabinet meeting and questioned witnesses. It is from that back parlor room that Stanton announced at 7:22am on April 15, 1865, "Now he belongs to the ages." Visitors can take self-guided tours to see the solemn, yet intriguing Petersen House.

Approximate Time to Allow: 1 hour

Is there really such a thing as invisible ink? Is someone watching you through a camera in their buttonhole? For answers to these questions and a million other secrets about the fascinating world of spying, stop by the International Spy Museum. See over 200 spy gadgets, weapons, bugs, cameras, vehicles, and technologies. Discover the truth and myths about microdots and invisible ink, buttonhole cameras and submarine recording systems. Examine bugs of all sizes and kinds, and ingenious disguise techniques developed by Hollywood for the CIA. Trace the history of 50 years of spy technology, developed by agencies from the OSS to the KGB. Interactive exhibits, lectures and films uncover the realities behind some the world’s most famous and interesting espionage cases. The only museum of its kind in the United States, the International Spy Museum is a captivating experience for people of all ages, come explore and expect the unexpected and find out if you have what it takes to be a spy.