Washington, D.C. is the undisputed capital of spies - 10,000 of them by the last unofficial count - so if you are looking for the US VIP spy tour you’ve come to the right place. The US capital is a city of cloak and swagger.

The White House tour

Let’s deal with the elephant in the room first. Yes, you can take a free, self-guided tour of the White House. Not only was President George Washington a founder of the country’s first spy ring but the White House is the setting of many real-life intrigues from Watergate to the Iran-Contra affair. It’s also the location for dozens of memorable films including Harrison Ford’s Clear and Present Danger (1994). US citizens can submit tour requests three months in advance through their Member of Congress. Foreigners should contact their Washington embassy for help with tour access.

Lafayette Park - Tragedy Square

Lafayette Park, aka ‘Tragedy Square’, has been a graveyard, a zoo, a slave market, and an encampment for 1812 soldiers. Notoriously, it is also the site where Francis Scott Key’s son, Philip Barton Key II, was murdered in 1859 by a Congressman in a sex scandal. Civil war spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow lived just across from the park. And if you cast your eyes up to the rooftop of the White House, you’ll see where first lady Dolley Madison established an observation post in 1814 to watch for the approaching British army.

The National Mall

It wouldn’t be Washington without a tour of the National Mall and the monuments a la Kevin Costner and Sean Young in No Way Out. If the stretch limousine is a budget buster, don’t despair. Washington is easy to navigate by foot or on a bus.

Lincoln Memorial

You will want to visit the Lincoln Memorial honoring one of America’s most inspiring presidents. In 1963, Martin Luther King delivered his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech here. Hollywood has paid tribute to the memorial too. Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) sat on the steps for In the Line of Fire and Jimmy Stewart checked out the monument on his tour in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (along with the Capitol, Supreme Court, Arlington Cemetery, Tomb of the Unknowns, and Constitution Hall). And let’s not forget the memorial pool scene featured in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).

Capitol Hill

During the Cold War, the KGB used the Russian news agency Tass as a cover to plant a bug at the center of Capitol Hill so agents could listen to top-secret military discussions during the House Armed Services Committee meetings. It is just one of the many intriguing stories about the historical building which was looted by a mob in January 2021. The riots were a security disaster but government business has carried on. The Capitol is normally open for visitors although Covid-related shutdowns do occur.

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All the President's Men

Is it lunchtime already? Unfortunately, the McDonald’s scene in All The President’s Men was shot in Santa Monica and the parking lot where Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) meets Deep Throat was beneath the Oakhill Office Building in Rosslyn, Virginia. The Watergate complex in Foggy Bottom is certainly real, however. It’s where, in 1972, the Democratic National Committee HQ was burglarized in a break-in ordered by President Richard Nixon’s administration. The Washington Post team worked out of 1150 15th Street NW.

The FBI HQ

The FBI's HQ in Washington may not be the most stunning architectural gem you’ve ever seen but the building makes up for it in intrigue. One of America's most notorious spies, Robert Hanssen, worked out of FBI HQ and operated as a Cold War KGB agent for 15 years. The building is open for self-guided tours. You can apply up to five months in advance for admission, and don’t be surprised when the FBI performs a real-life security check on your name, date of birth, and Social Security number. You’re in the big leagues now!

Pullman House

Why not drop by Pullman House while you're in town, the residence of Russian ambassadors since 1913? The house was originally owned by Hattie Sanger, widow of the sleeping car magnate, but it was sold to the Russian government and served as the Russian/Soviet Union Embassy until 1994. There’s plenty of intrigue linked to Pullman House. The fourth floor was crammed with dozens of Soviet intelligence officers. It was one of the places spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg met with their handler. Turncoats Aldrich Ames and Ronald Pelton dropped by as well, and It is where notorious traitor John Walker began his espionage career by walking in to trade top-secret Navy documents for cash. 

Cleveland Park

Washington D.C. is not just about monuments and monoliths. Fancy a trip out to the suburbs? A ring of Russian sleeper agents invaded Washington, D.C. and other suburban spots during the Cold War, plying their trade with backyard barbecues and leaving documents in drain pipes. Ana Belén Montes, the former Washington Defense Intelligence Agency analyst, also operated out of the suburbs. Known as the ‘Queen of Cuba’, Montes handed over so many secrets to Cuba the US may never know the extent of the damage. She operated between 1985 to 2001 out of her two-bedroom condo in D.C.’s Cleveland Park neighborhood.

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Georgetown

A stroll through the streets of Georgetown will enchant you with their beauty and sizzling spy history. William Joseph ‘Wild Bill’ Donovan, head of the Office of Strategic Services (precursor to the CIA) lived at 2920 R St. NW (later home to The Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham). Ambassador and intelligence officer David Bruce, William Colby, Desmond Fitzgerald, and Frank Wisner also made Georgetown their base. Anglophiles may also know that Amy Elizabeth Thorpe, who lived at 3327 O St. NW, worked for British intelligence and was known as WWII’s Mata Hari for her colorful lifestyle.
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A nightcap or a bush pass? 

At the end of a long day, a fine meal and a nightcap are in order. You may want to dine at the Mayflower Hotel where, in the 1960s, the CIA used the lobby to practice ‘brush pass’ tradecraft. Hotel George (previously the Bellevue Hotel) is also an excellent choice. Soviet defector and intelligence officer Walter Krivitsky was found in his room there with a single gunshot to the head. His death remains one of espionage’s great mysteries. There’s also Off the Record, Washington's place to be seen and not heard. In 1986, conservative fundraiser Carl ‘Spitz’ Channel used the bar to raise money to arm Nicaraguan rebels in the Iran-Contra affair. The 44-year-old died in mysterious circumstances.

Cheers to D.C., international city of secrets and spies!