Diffcult to access, no parking. They do free tours but you must set up weeks in advance. The grounds a quite beautiful and their art collection is decent. This is a place to go if who happen to be near by and have an hour to kill.
It is a museum of the cave. Not only exhibits but also architecture is interesting. It's almost like being in the forest.
The museum is free, but if you want to visit its garden, the admission is $10. You can buy the ticket at the gate of the garden or online. The garden is Italian style I very well designed and intriguing. It has lots of paths to go around. However, since those paths are very narrow, often rough, and hilly, I do not recommend to visit here if you have to use a wheelchair or a stroller.
Stepping into this place is like walking into a green forest hidden in a city. Forgetting even the exquisite museum the lush outside gardens are beautiful.
I wrote a review a while back, but when I look back on what I wrote I feel I have not done this museum justice. The history of the building and land it is built on is reason enough to visit, let alone the incredible Byzantine and Pre-Columbian collection within the museum itself. Most people who visit DC think the Smithsonian museums are the best the city has to offer. While the Smithsonian museums are great, they lack a certain intimacy. If you're a lover of history, art, or gardens Dumbarton Oaks is the museum to visit!
The Pre-Columbian exhibits are housed in a wonderfully designed addition to the main house. The exhibits do a great job of telling the story of Pre-Columbian America. I have never quite been interested in history of this sort, but the museum does a fine job piquing my interest nonetheless. If you find yourself alone in one of the circular Pre-Columbian rooms, stand in the center with your head angled up slightly and whisper something - you'll thank me later.
The Byzantine collection is an amazing set of art, coins, textiles, and artifacts. It gives an intimate look into one of the most influential and important powers of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. More importantly, it allows you to not only see the Byzantine Empire as a whole, but to get insight into how the people who made up the empire lived their lives. It tells a story of how religion, economy, and culture came together in Byzantium.
I've lived in DC for about 5 years now, and whenever family or friends visit I make it a point to take them to Dumbarton Oaks. Once you visit this museum you will feel like you've discovered a hidden treasure that is off the beaten path just enough to feel like it's your own personal gem. I highly encourage you to read about the history of the estate and the surrounding land, as well as visit the Dumbarton Oaks Garden and the park located behind the estate.
very crowded on Sundays. great architectural designs and beautiful place to visit. The entrance fee is good and they do offer senior discounts. hahaha (only because this place is free.)
Classic pieces beautifully displayed. The companion contemporary art exhibit was a standout!
This is a great multi level, multi theme museum strategically located in Washington DC. They have an entrance fee (unusual for DC where most museums have free admission) but I believe they waive it on certain weekdays and for students etc. Details are at their website. They have a really nice garden with an eco friendly theme. The settings are serene and conducive to introspection. We actually enjoyed the outdoors a lot more than the actual museum. A great place to spend an afternoon
A master work of a garden and a jewel box of a museum. The perfect place to recharge if you are feeling overwhelmed by the massive offerings on the mall.
Exquisite artifacts and displays in a gorgeous historic building. The Pre-Columbian collection rooms are an art form in themselves. Very impressive, well- managed, clean, gracious museum open to the public for free. Beautiful unique items in the gift shop with a very helpful staff member. I can't rave about this place enough. This-- along with the gardens-- was a most pleasant and peaceful experience!!
Lovely Byzantine artifacts and much more. It feels really tucked away but if you like museums it is a DC must
Best gardens I have ever visited, the whole is not overwhelming which is often the case with extensive gardens. The exquisitely thoughtful design lends itself to layers of revelation as you ramble. I enjoyed every vista and found wonder with every turn.
The house and museum are really what all museums should be; fascinating, intelligent, relaxing and edifying.
I can't wait for the Dumbarton Oaks Gardens to reopen!! Such a remarkable, historic gift to the city to roam both the gardens AND Museum. One of the largest collections of pre-Columbian art is housed at Dumbarton Oaks - and there is the added wonderment of great work on behalf of the United Nations and world peace.
It was great, but some of the gardens look like they haven't been weeded in awhile. That was disappointing.
I loved this little museum. A small collection, but very impressive. It was raining so we didn't go through the gardens much, they did seem nice from what I saw. The collection includes a number of byzantine artifacts from textiles to jewelry, to marble statuary. The pre-columbian artifacts are similar in range. I will come here again.
Absolutely gorgeous museum. The artifacts are pristine. The location is peacefully urban. The building architecture is fantastic. The staff are wonderfully polite.
Magical place to appreciate art.Nature and landscaping..very beautiful ... especially the museum designed by Philip Johnson ..
Dumbarton Oaks has a beautifully landscaped garden and a great museum with Pre-Columbian artifacts.
Beautiful gardens. A hidden gem. Free during the winter
Excellent archaeological pieces in the Dumbarton Oaks Museum.
Fabulous collection, interestingly presented. I would go back. Fabulous gardens too!
A delightful little collection with impeccable signage, I especially appreciate the wide range of civilizations represented in the pre-colombian section. While I enjoyed the depth of the exhibit on the holy jongleur, Judeo- Christian myth and art is often overrepresented in art museums not dedicated to a specific area, and the drill down on a specific story therein felt very heavy if well done.
Fantastic scenery. Picture book garden and stately house with great museum construction
This small museum is devoted to Pre-Columbian America, the Byzantine Empire, and the discipline of landscape architecture. Unfortunately, the Harvard scholars who teach these subjects are not part of the exhibits. They seem to live next door in the mansion that once belonged to Senator John C. Calhoun. The medievalist hall, which is part of the museum, is the site of the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, where the Soviet agent Alger Hiss assisted in drafting the charter of the United Nations. El Greco and other masters are on display. Do not miss Georgetown's hidden jewel!
I go for the gardens and it amazing detail. Don't missed the hanging vines in the orangery. The pre-Columbian Gold Collection is a must see also.
Friendly staff, beautiful interior, well curated and displayed artifacts. The museum is free and the gift shop is stocked with fair trade items. The garden is $10, but you can skip the long line at the gate and buy a ticket at the gift shop. The garden is a fairytale.
Beautiful gardens to walk through any time of year. Be sure to see the orangerie!
Great collection and very nicely curated. Given that the museum is free, it's well worth a visit.
Beautiful grounds! I didn't go inside, but the gardens are really lovely to walk through.
Really a hidden gem as far as DC museums go. Admission is free for the museum itself (admission to the gardens will run you 10$, but is definitely worth it). Highlights include Byzantine and central American collections
A unique place in the middle of DC. Beautiful gardens and museum. It's a popular place for marriage proposals.
Another wonderfully amazing free thing to do in DC! No matter who you are or how old you are, you will definitely enjoy this museum! It isn't very big, but the amount of great stuff of historical significance to see inside is beyond amazing! I will recommend this place to everyone I meet/know.
Amazing Byzantine exhibit and pre-Columbian native artwork. Can't wait for a nice weekend to walk the gardens.
An extraordinary collection of pre-Columbian art. Truly unique.
Very good experience visiting here! I had a great time.
cool place to go get some ice cream in the night and they had various flavours to choose from.
This is just a gorgeous place to hang out in the city. many people take a book and spend the afternoon in the garden.
It's a great little escape in the middle of the city- also there are small exhibits in the garden during the summer that might be interesting and the
Nice museum. Is free. And it have a wide variety of items from different ages.
Such a beautiful place. One of my favorite spots in DC
Best small art museum in DC - and it's free! Always something new to discover here. A hidden gem!
Such an unusual find ~ with a unique & eclectic collection.
This little museum is free, air-conditioned, and a great place to pop into before the gardens open. There is a sizeable collection of religious pieces from the Byzantine era, and some pre-Columbian artifacts. Be sure to check out the music room!
Terrible for children but okay exhibits. I thought "oh dear" when the surly man at the front insisted I check a diaper bag. As I walked round with a four year old and a baby, it quickly became apparent that we were the highlight of the crack security team's week. My son looked in a mirror that was located under an Aztec rattlesnake and was berated because he touched the mirror, then he was too close to it, then - not making this up - because he was apparently smudging the glass from afar. To be clear, the mirror is there expressly so you can see the underside of the exhibit, it is not in fact the exhibit, and - shock - my son is short. Thanks for not tasing him, bro!
In general, this is an okay if somewhat random collection of Late Antiquity Mediterranean and pre-Colombian American pieces, the sort of museum that gets thrown together in a hurry to keep an I-can't-believe-its-not-looting collection on the right side of the law (or to save an unpleasant encounter with Indiana Jones, who knows). There are some really good pieces of Aztec jewelry and an ivory diptych that's quite rare, and some okay marbles, but really not worth the hassle.
If you're in the area and you fit the target demographic of childless, well-heeled pre-corpse you often encounter shuffling round Georgetown, you could kill an hour here. If you've got kids, I'd give it a miss unless you love being followed round by uniformed thugs looking to pick a fight with children.
My favorite pre-hispanic art collection in the area.
Very interesting - and free. Great place to visit if you're around Georgetown
Beautiful museum with a great collection of indigenous art.
Excellent house museum with a very eclectic collection. Ancient Rome, Byzantine, and pre Columbia s artifacts are the heart of this collection. House also has a beautiful adjacent garden worth a visit.
This place is really cool. The museum has free entry and is filled with some fascinating artifacts from Byzantium, Egypt, and several other places. The collection is not extensive but it is excellent. I really enjoyed browsing the pieces they had. The attached gardens do require a ticket but they let us in for free anyway because the ticket seller was not there when we got there. The gardens are very peaceful to walk around in. A great way to spend an afternoon.
The Dumbarton Oaks gardens are probably my favorite place in DC. They are so beautiful and such a great mixture of different garden "rooms" with different characters. Although it is obviously most beautiful in the spring/summer/fall, you can go for free in the winter!
This is the best museum I have been to on DC. There is so much to see, the setting is intimate, and there are no crowds!
It has been too Many years since I've been here, but like anything this beautiful, you eventually feel the pull/draw at your being telling you to come back/go back. I'll update this post asap after I return to this beautiful place:)
It was free and had interesting exhibits. The gardens have limited hours though, we didn't realize and had to come back. Totally worth it!
Great Attraction! :D
Dumbarton Oaks is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.It has pretty gardens in the park
There's so much to see in this museum, including the Byzantine collection and Renaissance-style music room, but the Pre-Columbian collection is always the highlight for me. The setting is just magnificent and enhances the enjoyment of the objects on display. The museum is free although there is a charge to tour the gardens. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The Georgetown-Union Station Circulator can drop you off a couple of blocks away on Wisconsin Avenue if you want to avoid walking uphill.
If you like gardens and small museum collections, stop by if you're in the area. The gardens are great, didn't expect to find them at in in this area.
The museum has some varied and interesting items, the building and grounds though are probably the most memorable part to me.
Great but not well known gem with museum and extraordinary gardens. Garden tour for fee but worth the cost. Allow sufficient time to explore the museum and the wonderful gardens. Went in June but plan to visit at several different times of year when variety of plants will be blooming.
On concern is that there appeared to be poison ivy near the walking paths do keep your eyes open.
The dumbarton museum is beautiful, they have lockers for your personal belongings so that you can walk around freely and enjoy learning about history. I especially loved the architecture of the viewing rooms, they provide natural sound amplification for tours and speaking to a class. The items displayed throughout are well lit and have meaning text explaining the items. I really enjoyed this place and was thankful to visit. Dc has lots to offer for free
doaks.org
