Embassy Open House Season in DC: How to Plan Your Route

For a few weekends each spring, Washington lets the public through doors that are normally closed. Dozens of embassies open to visitors with music, food, dance, art and a chance to see the inside of buildings that most residents only walk past. It is one of the city's most popular annual traditions, and also one of its busiest days on the sidewalks of Northwest DC. Here is how embassy open house season works, how to plan a route that does not waste the day in lines, and how to get around.

How Embassy Open House Season Works

The best-known program is Passport DC, a month-long celebration of international culture held each May, produced in recent years by Events DC. The headline events are two big open house days, typically on Saturdays:

• The Around the World Embassy Tour, when embassies from many countries outside the European Union open their doors.
• The EU Open House, when the embassies of European Union member states open to the public.

The participating embassies, the dates, and the details of each event change from year to year. Some years the two days fall on consecutive weekends; some years the arrangement differs. Check the official Passport DC and Events DC websites, and the EU Open House site, for the current year's schedule and list of participating embassies before you plan anything. Embassies sometimes drop out or join late, so check again the week of the event.

What to Expect at an Embassy

Each embassy decides what to offer. Typical experiences include traditional music and dance performances, cultural exhibits, tastings of national foods, crafts and tourism information. Many visitors collect stamps in a souvenir passport, a fun way to give the day some structure, especially with children.

A few practical realities:

• Lines. Popular embassies can have long lines, sometimes wrapping around the block. Waits of an hour or more are not unusual at the busiest ones.
• Security. Expect bag checks at many embassies, and some may ask for photo ID. Bring a small bag and an ID for every adult.
• Limited hours. Open houses run for a set window during the day, and some embassies close their lines before the official end time to manage crowds.
• Food and samples may run out by the afternoon at popular stops.

Where the Embassies Are

Washington's embassies are concentrated in a few parts of Northwest DC. Planning your route by neighborhood is the key to seeing more and walking less.

• Embassy Row, Massachusetts Avenue NW. The densest cluster, running northwest from Dupont Circle past Sheridan Circle and toward the Naval Observatory. Many embassies sit within a few blocks of each other here.
• Kalorama. The residential neighborhood just north of Embassy Row, with embassies and ambassadors' residences on quiet, hilly side streets.
• Van Ness and the International Chancery Center. A purpose-built diplomatic enclave off Connecticut Avenue near the Van Ness-UDC Metro station, home to a group of chanceries.
• Other neighborhoods. Some embassies sit along 16th Street NW, in Georgetown, downtown or elsewhere, a ride away from the main clusters.

The distance from Dupont Circle to Van Ness is a few miles. Walking between clusters takes time away from the embassies themselves, and the hills in Kalorama add effort.

Planning a Route

1. Pick a cluster to start. Choose the neighborhood with the embassies you most want to see, and arrive early, before lines build.
2. Prioritize three to five embassies. On a busy day, that is realistic. Add more as a bonus if lines are short.
3. Move between clusters by car or Metro. Dupont Circle and Van Ness-UDC are both on the Red Line, which connects the Embassy Row area and the Chancery Center.
4. Save a short-line embassy for late afternoon. Smaller embassies often have shorter waits and can be a calm end to the day.
5. Plan a meal outside the clusters. Dupont Circle and Cleveland Park have plenty of restaurants away from the lines.

Getting Around: Drop-offs and Traffic

On open house days, Massachusetts Avenue and its side streets fill with pedestrians, and traffic around Dupont Circle and Sheridan Circle slows. Parking in the area is limited at the best of times and nearly impossible on these days. Some streets may also see temporary security measures around particular embassies.

A chauffeur makes the cluster-hopping strategy easy: drop-off at the first embassy, a quick ride to the next cluster when you are ready, and a pickup at a pre-agreed corner rather than in front of a crowded embassy entrance. Hourly bookings keep the vehicle nearby for the whole day; see our hourly chauffeur service page.

Our Dupont Circle car service and Van Ness car service pages cover the two main embassy neighborhoods. If you are visiting embassies on official business rather than for an open house, our guide to embassy and diplomatic visitor transportation covers that entirely different set of logistics.

Tips for a Better Day

• Check the official schedule and list of participating embassies the week of the event.
• Wear comfortable shoes; even with a car, you will spend hours on your feet in lines.
• Bring water, sunscreen and an umbrella; May weather in Washington can swing from hot sun to rain.
• Carry photo ID for every adult in your group.
• Keep bags small to speed up security checks.
• Be patient and respectful; embassy staff and volunteers are hosting thousands of guests.

Bringing Children Along

Embassy open houses can be a wonderful day for children, with music, costumes, crafts and food from around the world, but the lines are the hard part. Choose embassies with activities that suit your kids' ages, build in breaks at a park or a cafe between clusters, and keep snacks and water on hand for the waits. Strollers can be difficult in some historic buildings and on crowded sidewalks, and some embassies may not allow them inside. Collecting passport stamps gives kids a goal, but a few great stops beat a rushed tally of many.

Coming in from Out of Town

Embassy weekends draw visitors from across the region and beyond. If you are flying in for the occasion, Reagan National is the closest airport to Northwest DC, and an airport transfer straight to your hotel, or even straight to the first embassy cluster, keeps luggage out of the lines. Book hotels and transportation early, since May is a busy month in Washington, and pack for a long day on your feet.

Booking Your Embassy Day

Tell us which embassies are on your list, and we will help plan the order and the stops. Call (877) 609-1919 or book online.