Have you always wanted to visit the embassies in Washington, D.C., but you weren’t sure how? Well, the month of May is your best chance to do so! Every May, Passport DC organizes events with the DC embassies in conjunction with International Cultural Awareness Month!
DC Embassy Open Houses
The two main events that allow you access to visiting the Washington D.C. embassies are the Around the World Embassy Tour and the European Union Open House. The Around the World Embassy Tour is usually held on a Saturday in early May. More than 60 embassies hold open houses and welcome guests with food, music, and culture!
The European Union also holds an embassy open house the first Saturday after Europe Day. Almost 30 European countries open their doors to visitors. It is a wonderful way to explore European culture without leaving home. The embassies and their grounds are absolutely beautiful!
Do’s and Don’ts for Visiting the DC Embassies
- Arrive early and be prepared to walk and wait in lines.
- Expect lines for Embassy Row buildings.
- You will need to go through a bag check, a metal detector, and a second manual security wand check.
- Bring photo id if you want to purchase alcohol that is available at some embassies.
- Be patient. There will be lines to get in for security checks. The lines keep moving though so it’s not as bad as it looks when you drive up.
- Look out for the separate entrance for strollers and wheelchairs. When we went, there was no wait at all at this entrance.
- You can bring food and non-alcoholic drinks into the venues.
- Bring cash for food and beverages. Many of the embassies offer delicacies you won’t be able to find elsewhere. Most of the food stands we saw only take cash.
- Parking will be a challenge around Massachusetts Avenue. Park on side streets and take public transportation or stick to the embassies outside of the Row.
- Large backpacks will not be permitted.
- Print or download a map and figure out a plan of where you want to go.
- Follow @DCCulture and #PassportDC on Twitter to get up-to-date information on lines and activities.
Our Experience at the EU Embassy Tour
We decided to start with the German Embassy because it was set away from the cluster on Embassy Row because we weren’t sure what to expect for our first experience and it sounded like a lot was planned. Plus, France teamed up with Germany this year to commemorate the recent signing of the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation. We had to drive around a little bit, but we were able to find free parking on the street just two blocks away from the venue
Germany Embassy
The Germany Embassies re was a big line to enter, but it moved quickly. When we entered the gates, there were several tables with virtual reality tourism kits, Haribo Gummy Bears, toys, literature about both countries, free books about Germany, and other great giveaways.
Inside the embassy, German beer and sparkling wine was only $3. Plus, they had music and activities for kids.
As we went through the grounds, we saw a replica of the Fernsehturm Berlin tower, a piece of the Berlin Wall, and a statue of American Revolution leader Steuben. We also got to tour some of the ambassador’s private residence
including the magnificent dining room used for formal dinners.
On the back lawn, there were more giveaways – including my favorite Ritter Chocolate – free face painting, balloon animals. France Embassy held their event on the German embassy grounds so they also had baguette sandwiches, chocolate croissants, waffles, and wines from that country. There was also bratwurst and beers from Germany available for purchase. This ended up being the best embassy we visited!
Italian Embassy
After we finished our visit at the German Embassy, we drove over to Massachusetts Avenue where the majority of the European Embassies are situated. It took a little bit of time, but we did luck out again with free street parking. We wanted to visit the Italian Embassy next. It was up the street off Massachusetts Avenue, but the line was very long and it was not really moving. It did not look like the embassy was very big inside, so our guess was that they needed to wait for people to leave to allow others in. The UK Embassy also looked like it had a hefty line. So, we decided to move on to the Embassy of Denmark after being lured in by the vikings on the street passing out Danish butter cookies and talking up their country!
Danish Embassy
When we entered, we were greeted by an impressive Lego Supergirl. Legos were a big part of this embassy since they were developed here in 1934. There was an exhibit with a moving Lego turbine and a large area for kids to build Lego structures and race them down a course.
The Danish Embassy also featured biking exhibits and a virtual reality area to experience biking in Denmark. Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Denmark, also had a booth with kids activities and handed out exercise bands and jump ropes.
Lingonberry juice, Stella Artois beer, meatballs, and french fries were available for purchase. There was a line to tour the ambassador’s residence so we skipped that. There was also a band playing at various times throughout the day.
Latvia and Romania Embassies
Next, we walked up to Observatory Circle since we only had a little bit of time left and there are 9 embassies concentrated in that area. Many had long lines, so we settled on Latvia and Romania as our last stops. Both embassies were much smaller than the others we had visited and did not have as much outdoor space. Each one had music and dancing outside on the front lawn and offered a brief tour of the interior.
In Romania, there was a great video overview of the country. There was also food available for purchase, but it was very crowded so we didn’t get a chance to take a look at what they had.
The National Islamic Center
While the National Islamic Center was not part of the EU Open House, the building is right on Massachusetts Avenue and we noticed that it was open to the public so we wandered in.
The center has the largest mosque in Washington D.C. and it is situated right near the Muslim embassies so that the ambassadors and diplomats can visit it. We did not go inside the mosque because it was crowded and involved taking off our shoes and women needed to cover their heads. We did peak through though and it looked very pretty inside.
