Loved it! We had an office team-building activity at the National Gallery of Art, and Museum Hack…read morehad two staff lead us on a fun and exciting and irreverent while also knowledgeable tour of the museum. It brought out different sides of my colleagues and me, and we got to know each other better and to work together better.

I typically shy away from art museums. It's not that I don't like art, I just find the experience…read moreoverwhelming and without background and context, I have a hard time getting into it. If not for the Museum Hack tour, I probably wouldn't have gone to the NGA. That being said, I absolutely loved the tour and was so happy I went. Our tour guide Hannah was enthusiastic, funny, informed and extremely entertaining. Her love for the museum and the art really shone through. If you're not someone who "gets" art and typically heads for the other museums first, this is a great option! However, do be ready for some cursing and naughty images. At the beginning of the tour she said that we would do three things: 1) Celebrate, 2) Educate and 3) Kick some ass. Mission Accomplished!

My husband I joined the moonlight tour in DC over the Easter weekend. The guide communicated well…read morebeforehand, was at the meeting place promptly, very knowledgeable and fun to share the historical background of the memorials we visited, and overall very pleasant. Evening view of the memorials and the historical sites was spectacular, especially all the cherry blossoms fully blooming :) After the tour, our hotel was only a block away so we planned to just walk back to the hotel, but the guide offered to dropped us off at the hotel we stayed. It was very sweet of him when he didn't need to do so. Overall, we had a blast and highly recommend this tour :)

The night tour was very interesting and informative! George was funny and gave lots of inside…read moreinformation about the monuments and sites. It was a very hot weekend, even the evening was hot and humid. I'm glad we had a nice air conditioning in the van. George dropped us off at our hotel at the end and that was very helpful so we didn't have to take a taxi back after 10:30 PM.

The Hirshhorn offers a distinct contrast to the National Gallery of Art, and its rotating exhibits…read morehelp keep each visit feeling fresh. Some of the outdoor sculptures were visible, though a few pieces were either being relocated or blocked off. There were not many, so it made for a quick walk around the circular exterior. Upon entering, we went through security, which led into the main lobby where there is also a café. The coffee was both expensive and underwhelming, so I would recommend grabbing a drink elsewhere. The museum has three floors, and I found it easiest to start at the top and work your way down. *Laurie Anderson Four Talks: one of my favorite exhibits. The installation was fully immersive, covering the entire room. The writing and drawings across all four walls really brought the concept together. *Adam Pendleton Love Queen: a visually striking exhibit that transitions into a black and white video. While the artwork itself did not resonate with me as much, the video left both me and other visitors in a quiet, reflective state. *Revolutions Art from the Hirshhorn Collection: more traditional in style and subject matter. I did wish there was more context provided for some of the pieces, especially the sculptures, as a few lacked historical explanation. *Basquiat x Banksy: a more modern collection that reflects themes of racial and class divide. The bold colors and strong perspectives made this one of the more engaging sections. *Big Things For Big Rooms: a bit too literal for my taste, as it largely consisted of oversized objects without much added depth. *Mark Bradford Pickett's Charge: an older but well maintained exhibit. The circular layout of the museum complemented the work nicely. The textures and use of color were particularly compelling. The gift shop offered a wide range of items, including pieces inspired by past exhibitions and collaborations. I especially liked the Basquiat and Banksy merchandise, though it was nice to see representation from other collections as well. Overall, this is an easy museum to explore in one visit. I wish I could have seen the updated sculpture garden, but the rotating exhibits alone make it worth coming back.

This is a pretty cool museum, but they REALLY overhyped the Basquiat x Banksy collaboration. There…read morewas one piece of Banksy art which was a take on a Basquiat piece. The Basquiat collection was also pretty sparse. Mr. Smithsonian should be ashamed. I hope he's looking up and reading this. The museum's upper floors are 2 concentric circles so I'd recommend doing 2 loops around to avoid missing anything. There were displays with videos, lights, paint, and other media. I enjoyed exploring. The sculpture garden was closed when I was there, so I was unable to see anything there. I also don't know what was on the ground floor besides the entrance and the cafe. Seemed like something else should have been there. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's worth a visit for sure and I enjoyed my time. But I was drawn in by the false hype.

The Art Museum is a sight to behold, pun intended! Where else can you go to see all these amazing…read moreworks of art under one roof? I loved the comfortable seating areas offered all throughout the museum. This gave me the opportunity to really reflect on what message the artist was trying to convey. Can't wait to go back again!

They should call this the Butts, Boobs, Balls, and Bare Feet museum. With that being said, they…read morehave some other cool art here for sure... Some Da Vinci stuff, modern art (in the east building), statues, furniture, and paintings galore. Every piece is displayed in a way that brings out the colors and life of them. The lighting people here must keep busy. It's amazing how old they are and how good they look, with zero plastic surgery... although I'm sure there's some restoration happening. This sentence fits the "things you can say about art that you can't say about your partner" category. This was probably the most difficult museum to navigate though. There's no clear way to see every room as you'll be going different directions, through different doors, hitting dead ends, and at certain points, going the wrong way even though there's not logical order to exploring. I used the paper map to make sure I saw everything... and it was a lot of work to do so. One thing that was interesting that for people wearing backpacks, the staff made them wear them on the front like they were human kangaroos... which is brilliant as people are F'ing idiots swinging them around without any care in the world if they're going to hit something (they should do this on airplanes too, BTW). So my advice, leave the backpack in the car or the hotel unless you really need all that crap with you. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this museum or not, but ended up really appreciating the beauty of some of the artwork. Moreso with the Oil Paintings on the 2nd floor of the middle building. And that Da Vinci painting in person... pics don't do it justice. Italians just do it better, I guess...

What an amazing museum. Truly such a deeply impactful and emotional experience. Telling American…read morehistory through the lens of African Americans. I strongly recommend starting from the bottom and working your way up. There is so much to see, read, and take in. It can easily take up 1-2 full days to take it all in. I spent 3.5 hours there and feel like I say maybe 50% of what is there. The next time I am DC I plan to visit here again.

"A baby slept in this cradle made by an enslaved person who loved her."…read more I was finally able to visit this museum and feel (to the best that I can as a white person) that they did a remarkable job centering the humanity of every Black person who spent part or -- all too frequently -- all of their lives under enslavement and systemic discrimination. In the limited time I had to visit, I was only able to visit the lower floors, which trace the history of Black folks in what's now the United States. You can find details about the artifacts and information on exhibit in better detail on the museum site than I could ever provide here, but I'll say that it does not (to my knowledge) shy away from the realities of American history: you will see everything from child-sized manacles to the original casket of Emmett Till. But the story is not told with Black Americans as passive, blankvictims; throughout the exhibits, Black folks are recognized across the centuries for everything from master craftsmanship to strategic planning of how to effect change in myriad ways. Simply put, this museum does what all too many museums, history books, and other learning tools fail to do: it continually reminds you that every subject -- named and unnamed, directly or indirectly referenced -- was a human being who loved and was loved in their time. The only criticism I had was about the building itself -- as others have noted, the bottom floors lack bathrooms (and in some spaces, seating), which could complicate visits for folks in need of more frequent stops and/or restroom visits. This is an important museum that I hope remains independent of the ongoing efforts to whitewash our nation's history. And I look forward to being able to visit again.

I was contemplating on doing the tour to kill some time before checking into my hotel. I ended up…read morebooking this tour at the last minute. And boy it did not disappoint! Derek was an amazing guide. Another couple was supposed to be with the group and ended up rescheduling, so I basically got a personal tour! Derek was very knowledgeable of the city. He named, if not all, most of the buildings we passed along the way. My favorite places were all the places that we got to stop at to enjoy. The Washington monument, Jefferson memorial, MLK memorial and, of course, the Lincoln memorial! I would definitely recommend this company and perhaps use them again in the future. Thank you!

Private 8pm sunset tour review - I'm guessing this tour is…read morea make or break based on the guide you get, ours was lack luster. While he was nice, he didn't have a lot to add off the track I pretty sure he had memorized. I actually feel like I heard most about which monuments had the best restrooms than much of anything else (we never asked about bathroom situations). Would I book this again, no. Here is what I learned, you still walk a fair amount into these monuments from where they drop you in the golf cart vs. the people who are on the bikes and scooters. If you're really looking for the least amount of walking and able to operate those that would save you time and money. Overall, there was no value for the price tag for us and the guide kind of ruined the experience.

Went on the Georgetown Waterfront GLOW tour. The guide did a good job on the Georgetown waterfront…read morepart, but was totally lacking on the GLOW part. The tour was at 6:30 pm in the daylight. When we got to the first exhibit, she said she didn't know where the lighting was or how it would look. When we asked about the GLOW experience, she said, "Oh, I guess it was false advertising." We left the tour and plan to go back later on our own when it's dark.

I took the World War I focused tour of Arlington Cemetery and was really surprised at the…read moreuniqueness of the tour. Since I live in northern Virginia, I have been able to take many tours of Arlington Cemetery by many companies, but this tour was completely unique. Brenda, our tour guide, did an amazing job of explaining the deep connection of Arlington Cemetery to World War I, the birth of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, why the Tomb is guarded, 24-7, General Robert Pershing, and it was all fantastic, but she also showed us the Gravesite of James Reese Europe, the African American pre-Jazz great who fought for and was injured with the Fighting 369th, nicknamed the Harlem Hellcats. Possible the most amazing story was that of fellow Fighting 369th member Henry Johnson who single handedly took on 20 German Fighters and won, saving the life of his partner who had been injured. I highly recommend this tour, even if you have already gone on tours of Arlington Cemetery. It will show you a side of our military history that most tours miss!

I had a friend visiting from Australia and he wanted to see the sights of DC. This FREE walking…read moretour showed both of us all the highlights of the monuments and such and our tour guide was the best. He is a former school teacher and he is both engaging and informative. The walk lasts for 3.5 hours so I highly recommend sturdy shoes and perhaps a bottle of water. Tim (the guide) provides a snack along the way and hits up rest stops at appropriate times. It is a somewhat brisk walk at times but to cover everything we saw in the time period it was perfect and totally do-able! Even if you have lived in DC or the surrounding areas all your life, if you have not taken this tour, I highly recommend that you do!

This was a great tour and Tim a wonderful guide. I would definitely suggest to anyone going to DC…read moreand wanting a tour of some on the National Mall. The tour we did lasted 4hrs and we covered White House, Washington memorial, WWII war memorial, Vietnam memorial, London Memorial, and ended at Korean war memorial. Tim was informative, interactive, personable, and all those other good words for a tour guide. He made sure to meet everyone and even gave out snacks when our tummies started to growl. The tour i took started at 10am so it went through lunch meaning you need to eat a late breakfast or bring some sustenance along in case. Highly suggest some sunscreen and good walking shoes. The starting location is a bit tricky to find due to Pennsylvania avenue doing jumping locations so be sure to check your map before you go so you don't get lost before it even starts! This is a free walking tour yes but as for all such things, tips I'm sure are welcome. I happily gave $30 at the end and actually would have given more if I could have found a Chase ATM in DC.

This was worth every penny! Finding the starting location was easy and only a block from a metro…read morestop. A staff member made sure bikes were the correct height and we were introduced to our tour guide. He was very helpful in navigating the city, making sure our group of 4 stayed together and was very knowledgeable. He was happy to let us walk around sites on our own and took pictures for us. If a memorial or location was blocked and we could see it, he adding something else in to make it worth our time and money. Excellent tour and a really fast way to get around and see everything in 3 hours!

Perfect way to explore the national mall! Bikes were great and they provided locks and lightsread more

Private DC tours offers an opportunity to travel in a Sprinter van with your family. It is…read morecomfortable and easy to see sights along the way. We were able to choose where we wanted to go. Our guide was informative and entertaining. It was a great way to avoid driving around DC by ourselves.

We thought we would be able to see all the monuments in a day. Silly me. I was told the busses…read morewould come by every 10-12 minutes. First stop. 25 minutes. The company did send a minivan to pick us up and delivered us to the first bus stop. We did ok, until we got off then were told that the busses weren't running on schedule. Another 25 minutes. The day was a complete bust. Should have hired an uber or taxi to get around.