Washington, DC is home to 176 embassies for diplomatic missions from countries around the world and groups like the European Union. Many embassies hold open house and cultural events throughout the year. These events include wine tastings with traditional food as well as art, photography, and music shows. The best way to visit the embassies is to come during the Passport DC events that are held in May each year.
During the Around the World Embassy Tour and Shortcut to Europe days, more than 60 embassies have free open house events with food, music, art, demonstrations, wine and rum tastings, and many more activities. At some embassies you may even get to learn traditional dances. Each embassy website posts the activities for the day, and the activities change from year to year. It is a good idea to plan in advance which embassies you want to visit and where they are located, and also to come early to the embassy you most want to see. Lines will form at the most popular embassies even before 10 AM, so plan on standing in line throughout the day.
The majority of the participating embassies are located near Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue in Dupont Circle. During the events there are free shuttles to take you between the major areas, but plan to walk and be standing for most of the day.
