Spend a night at The Watergate Hotel’s infamous room and visit the International Spy Museum.
It ’s estimated that1.4%of Washington , DC ’s universe are spies — that ’s a somewhat astounding part for a comparatively low city with just over 700,000 residents . And while there are sure enough a portion of secrets here , the metropolis ’s role in espionage is definitely not one of them . In fact , DC ’s affiliation with the world of spy is part of its selling point . After all , we are named after one of the nation ’s very first spymaster : George Washington .
As a urban center exist and breathing spy slyness , a closer surveillance will show just how profoundly it ’s absorb into the local culture .
Whether it ’s cake with names like “ Off The Record ” to spots that draw in funny onlookers with espionage artifact , spy touristry is practically its own entity here . And we ’ve rounded up the dependable billet to explore the urban center ’s clandestine legacy .
The Cyber Infinity Room at the International Spy Museum|Photo by Albert Vecerka, courtesy of the International Spy Museum
From hotels that keep their good for you history or speciality undercover agent museums to historic sites , here ’s where to peel back the level on the gist of world espionage in Washington , DC .
Spy Tourism Hotels in DC
The Watergate HotelFoggy BottomThere ’s quite possibly no hotel in the land as ill-famed as The Watergate . Located just tread from the Kennedy Center and historic Georgetown , the luxurious digs might have a cause of death rooftop bar , lush invitee rooms , and an lenient spa , but that ’s not exactly what continue it on the map . Best known as the web site of the 1972 White House break - in that ultimately lead to the toppling and surrender of Richard Nixon , it does not shy off from its go wrong espionage laden story ; it embraces it . This monument of mid - C space age glamour keep its infamous past in humble ways ( the pencils in the guest suite say “ I stole this from The Watergate Hotel ” ) to the large : “ The Scandal elbow room , ” where the break - in went down , is preserved in historic ephemera glory with era - appropriate field glasses , a reel - to - reel tape recorder , and manual typewriter . Ask the concierge for a hitch of the space which they ’ll bind if a Edgar Guest is n’t remain the night — which is available for a flamboyant ( and not so secret ) pace of $ 1,069 a dark .
The Mayflower HotelCity CenterOpened in 1925 and deemed “ Washington ’s secondly - good address ” by former American Presidents , behind the Mayflower Hotel ’s classic façade hide some of its history of espionage . Indeed , the hotel is steeped in all variety of story , not just spy history . It was here in 1927 that Charles Lindberg received the National Geographic Society ’s Hubbard Medal , and where , in 1933 , President Roosevelt indite some of the most illustrious lines in American chronicle : “ The only matter we have to venerate , is fear itself . ” But what some may not know is that the hotel , which is list on the National Register of Historical Places , playact a cardinal purpose in developing a important spy technique . In the 1960s , the CIA used the Mayflower ’s lobby to practice and perfect the “ brush pass . ” Simply put , the on the face of it innocent maneuver is used to legislate entropy between two people briskly and without out-of-door bill .
Spy Tourism Museums & Tours in DC
Central Intelligence Agency MuseumVirtualSeeing this museum IRL requires pass the rigorous CIA hiring process , but gratefully you do not have to assume a secret identity to browse its collection of espionage related artefact nigh . In 1972 , former CIA music director William E. Colby had the estimation to gather artifacts with unique espionage history to imprint a museum within the federal agency ’s Langley , Virginia . Over the decades the solicitation has turn to include patch from WWII to today — everything from undercover agent gadgets like a makeup compact that conceals top - secret message to extremely specialised weaponry . While experiencing it in person would be the most electrifying , you ’ll just have to settle for a screenland to pasture the CIA Museum ’s permanent solicitation and rotate exhibit ( no VPN take , as far as we know ) .
The Spies of Georgetown TourGeorgetownIf you ’ve ever inquire what ’s behind the façade of Georgetown ’s perfectly manicured gardens , cobblestoned side streets , and mind - bowl over existent demesne , book a spy story tour to plunk into the neighbourhood ’s secretive past tense . Led by a CIA industry veteran , the walk duty tour explores the key player who called Georgetown home around WWII , excavate some CIA history , and visits the homes of notable former spy - residents . You ’ll never bet at the neighbourhood the same way again .
International Spy MuseumSouthwest WaterfrontDedicated to the tale of spies and the tools of spy craft , The International Spy Museum features two wide floors with interactional showing that admit you to dip your toes — or at least guess to — into the world of secrecy . Standout artifacts like a very material Enigma Machine , James Bond ’s airplane propeller Aston Martin , and the Trotsky Ice Axe accompaniment rotating exhibits featuring items that you might have thought only exist in the moving picture : a lipstick side arm , a mute killing crossbow , and shoes with concealed blades . You just have to see them to consider them . The museum ’s hebdomadal podcast , SpyCast , dive into the human story and nuances of espionage and has become popular not just with casual fan , but as a must - listen for those in the diligence .
“The Scandal Room” at The Watergate Hotel|Photo courtesy of The Watergate Hotel
Defense Intelligence Agency MuseumJoint Base Anacostia - BollingA visit to the Defense Intelligence Agency Museum at Joint Base Anacostia - Bolling requires an appointment and a DIA employee to follow you , but it ’s deserving the required surety hoop . The DIA Museum is a sprawl space with a boggling 44 showing showcasing artifacts related to defense intelligence , like Osama bin Laden ’s notebook and Soviet - produced SCUD missile . gestate to take a deep prima donna into the story of military espionage , from the twenty-four hour period of one of the country ’s first military spies — George Washington himself — to the DIA ’s formations in the 1950s following the hero and missile col controversies .
Embassy run-in Spy TourDupont CircleHow could there be an entire neighborhood of strange embassies without some pregnant espionage activity ? For a mysterious - dive into the diplomat and spy operose neighborhood , join an investigative walking duty tour on the region ’s past times . Led by intelligence residential area veterans turned term of enlistment guides , this walk of life buy the farm deep into the spy world of Embassy Row — both activity happening beneath the surface and in plain sight . The experience starts with a ( metaphoric ) excavation of the death of a Kremlin insider in Dupont Circle , and then branches out to explore where some of the city ’s most notorious spies were lie with ( or believe ) to have dwell and swop secret .
Spy Tourism Historic Sites in DC
Surratt Boarding House ( 604 H Street NW)ChinatownChances are you would have no idea that the restaurant stream at 604 H Street , Wok & Roll , was once the embarkment household where John Wilkes Booth plot the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln atFord ’s Theater(Lincoln break down from his wounds the next first light atacross the street ) . The unassuming structure was owned by the Southern sympathizer Mary Surratt who operated a boarding home . Her habitation was where Booth conspired with others ( including Surratt ’s son ) to murder the president . Days after the assassination , she was arrest for her suspected participation in the assassination confederacy and was later executed by hang — making her the first char to be fulfil by the United States political science . Surratt claimed ignorance of the blackwash patch that was drafted in her home , but historians have repeatedly conclude that ’s extremely unlikely .
Edward J. Kelly ParkFoggy BottomAs the lilliputian and nondescript Edward J. Kelly Park is locate importantly within close distance from the State Department , it ’s not wholly surprising that the unripe space has seen its portion of spy action . It was here , in the ‘ 90s , that Stanislav Borisovich Gusev , a Russian technical spy , parked his auto and then loitered around the parking area , moving between fidgeting with his briefcase and feed coin into his parking metre . All of that was a book binding for what he was in reality doing : on the Q.T. register transmissions from a germ that had been placed discreetly in a conference room at State . Gusev ’s efforts did not go unnoticed and he was arrest and detained by the FBI . For anyone interested in the city ’s undercover agent history , it ’s worth a meander through the ballpark .
Spy Tourism Museums and Historic Sites Near DC
National Cryptologic MuseumFort Meade , MarylandIf you ’re funny about the world of code - breaking , you could head out to the National Cryptologic Museum , near the National Security Agency in Maryland . The museum is home to 5,000 fascinating and priceless while , some exceedingly rare ( like the German Enigma political machine used by the German Army , Navy , and Luftwaffe in WWII ) that are one - of - a - kind spell not rule anywhere else on the major planet . Many of the items come immediately from the NSA with a focal point on piece from the Revolutionary War , the Civil War and World Wars . Unlike some of the other Intelligence Agency museums , the National Cryptologic Museum is open to the world , is free , and does not require reservations . length from DC : 35 minutes
Little Falls ParkwayBethesda , MarylandCIA agent Aldrich Almes worked as a double agent informant for the Soviet Union for years before being caught . Almes drop decades convert closed book for cash and one of the trademark of his trick was the “ dead drop , ” the spy technique of leaving entropy , document , or just a polarity or clue , in a specified location to be later retrieved . A few of his beat fall location in the DMV have become known , and if you ’re on the hunt , saunter over the pedestrian bridge at Massachusetts Avenue and Little Falls Parkway in Bethesda or walk the bridle path ( and take care for a drainpipe ) in Wheaton ’s Regional Park . aloofness from DC : 25 minutes
International Spy Museum|Photo by Nicholas Karlin, courtesy of the International Spy Museum
The Mary Surratt Boarding House at 604 H Street is known for its part in the plot of and flight from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth.|Photo courtesy of Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
Encrypted cell phones at the National Cryptologic Museum|Photo courtesy of National Cryptologic Museum
