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If you've ever thought of history as boring, then this tour is about to change your whole perspective about our country's past! Join this laugh out loud guided walking tour that takes you through the more sordid past of our founding fathers. From inaugurations gone awry, duels, and a first lady who committed bigamy, all the way to curses, love affairs, and the history of the secret service; this tour covers the misadventures, misfortunes and misbehaviors of some of the most notable names in American history. Uncover D.C. mysteries, such as who really saved Washington's portrait from a burning White House, and why the Treasury Building is structured in a way where it blocks the view of the Capitol from the White House. If you're looking for the lighter side of D.C.'s history, this tour is something you absolutely can't afford to miss.
Note: This tour lasts approximately 2 hours and covers a total distance of .75 miles. A max of 5 people can book at a time as per our partner's strict group booking policy. If you are group of 6 or more and place multiple bookings to go around our partner's restriction, our partner will immediately cancel your bookings. As this tour is no cost upfront, you have the opportunity to name your price depending on how you value the tour, pay-what-you-wish is for every budget! This tour works on the honor system, so please understand that if you make a reservation and don't show up without 24 hour notice, future tours will be placed on stand-by status.
Secrets and Scandals Tour
What to expect
- Gain a whole new perspective on our nation's sordid history during this guided walking tour
- Learn about the misadventures, misfortunes and misbehaviors of D.C.'s most notable characters
- Hear stories about the secret service, inaugurations gone awry, and a first lady who committed bigamy
- Follow your expert local guide to uncover the raunchier side of America's past
This activity is completely sold out. Bucket List this activity to be the first to know about new available dates!
About this Activity
Key Highlights
| Price | Free! |
| Duration / Session | 2 hours |
| # Sessions | 1 |
| Rating | 20 positive reviews |
Cancellation Policy
Cancellation must be given at least 24 hours prior to the start of the tour. Failure to do so will result in future bookings being placed on stand-by status.
Reviews
(out of 20 votes)
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Giselle 0.
Lincoln Assassination Tour July 21, 2017My siblings and I recently went on the Capitol/Library of Congress Tour and had a fabulous time. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. We highly recommend Free Tours by Foot for anyone visiting Washington, DC!
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Phillip L.
Lincoln Assassination Tour July 18, 2017I took three tours with this company and it was great.They are fairly easy to book and find. They are quite informative and I would definitely recommend them to anyone going to DC.
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Eric P.
Lincoln Assassination Tour July 16, 2017Wife and I did the Lincoln Assassination tour. Our guide was knowledgeable and entertaining. They take reservations and I love the idea of paying via tip. Yes, I tipped our guide well. She earned it. Great tour before a late dinner.
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Sarah T.
Lincoln Assassination Tour July 12, 2017Definitely check these guys out if you're in town. We signed up for three walking tours-- two ended up being canceled because of the rain. The site says rain or shine and the guide was fully ready to continue but the complete downpour decided otherwise. Even though you can easily see a lot of these sites on your own, the commentary by the tour guides make it worth it. Will be checking tours out for future travel in other cities for the future!
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Colleen B.
Lincoln Assassination Tour June 29, 2017I love this company!! I have completed 3 tours in New Orleans, 2 in Chicago and 2 in Washington DC. I did the All In One tour with Maggie on 5/26 and the Arlington National Cemetery tour with Boglarka on 5/27. Both ladies were very friendly and positive. They gave us great information and answered all of my questions. I would recommend both tours to anyone. The only thing I think would really help the guides and the customers is if the company provided the credit card readers for the guides' cell phones. It would make it safer for the guides so they don't have to carry cash and easier for the customers to pay with a credit card. Thanks Maggie and Boglarka for two great tours!!
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Jennifer B.
Secrets and Scandals Tour June 25, 2017Amazing tour! Our guide, Dan King, was knowledgable and enthusiastic during our tour. We all learned a lot of interesting facts about Georgetown. It was about 98 degrees that day, but Dan kept us in the shade whenever possible. I would definitely recommend this tour!
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Adi S.
Lincoln Assassination Tour June 4, 2017Did the All-In-One tour and it was one of the best walking tours I've ever had. Dan King held everyone's attention throughout the entire 4 hours. And that's no small feat considering the amount of locations covered. I hardly Yelp, but I just had to recommend this Dan King guy for everyone. When a lot of tour guide nowadays are unemployed actors trying to make a side income by rehearsing some bits of Wikipedia-article-intro-paragraph level info, It's hard to find a guide that is so proficient and passionate about history. And a fun guide to boot!
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Kelly N.
Secrets and Scandals Tour May 3, 2017We did the Georgetown ghost tour and we loved it! I've done many ghost tours in other cities and this one has been my favorite. It was more educational then scary but still had a lot of great spooky stories. I learned a lot and so did my kids aged 6 and 8. There is tons of civil war history in Georgetown that was fascinating. Our guide Erin was so easy to listen to and did a great job of presenting. The final location was spooky for sure but I would still recommend this tour to families with kids it's a great way to see a part of DC that's rich in history.
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Cami H.
Secrets and Scandals Tour March 30, 2017We learned so much from Carolyn on our tour! It was a great pace, we saw so many great things and were able to learn so much more than we would otherwise have been able to. She was a personable guide and sprinkled in humor. She included the kids. It was a perfect way to get to know our nation's capital.
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Ayush V.
Lincoln Assassination Tour March 22, 2017Excellent tour! I took "Lincoln Assassination" tour, which was witty and informative
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Theresa R.
Secrets and Scandals Tour October 31, 2016Amazing tours! My sister and I took two tours in Washington DC, one on a Saturday night called "The Dark side of Dupont Circle and Embassy Row" with Carolyn and the second on a Sunday afternoon of the National Mall with Dan. Both tour experiences were incredible and the value really can't be beat. They were not only very informative with a lot of history, (Carolyn is an art/architecture historian and Dan, a US history teacher) but they were a lot of fun. Neither of us can wait to do another Free Tour By Foot!
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Danielle K.
Secrets and Scandals Tour August 29, 2016SO MUCH FUN! You literally have no reason to not do one of these tours. Technically they're free, you pay what you think it's worth. But trust me, they're worth a great deal. Dan was our tour guide, a former history teacher he not only knows his stuff (in addition to knowing a great deal about DC, he was also able to answer a lot of random questions) but he's extremely funny, fun, and engaging. You wanted to listen to him and learn because he was so much fun. We took the all in one tour and learned interesting historical facts that you can't learn from Google. Totally worth your time and a tip for having such great tour guides.
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Claudio S.
Secrets and Scandals Tour July 13, 2016Very nice and knowledgeable guide.
Four hours was a long walk though - but that was the tour we selected.
We saw many interesting places. Recommended. -
Amrita G.
Secrets and Scandals Tour June 12, 2016We had a great tour of "The dark side of DuPont" with Colin on Saturday at 7. We are from the area but wanted to do a fun activity as we never do very touristy things in the city because we live/work here. This was the perfect activity for a date night!- fun and cheap!
Colin was passionate about his stories and the tour was not as dark as it was fun and humorous. We walked a LOT! Some was uphill but the majority was doable for any fairly non disabled person. My smart phone pedometer tracked 5 miles even though the tour description says it covers 1.5 miles...
He showed us some of the historic houses on Embassy row, talked about how countries obtained the houses from the nouveau riche back at the turn of the century, had stories about ambassadors and political families, even showed us some public works of art. All in all, it was a fun evening with lots of exercise! If you want an active and inexpensive touristy option, this is great!
After the tour, we went to Tealuxe for dessert/tea but there are bars and all kinds of bookstores and even the rat sanctuary to see in DuPont! -
Robert C.
Lincoln Assassination Tour May 8, 2016It was a very informative and entertaining tour. I will be signing up for another one soon. Erin did a fantastic job.
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Binh T.
Secrets and Scandals Tour April 11, 2015LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE their tours!!
If you're ever in D.C., especially for the first time, their tour schedules is the first thing to look through and plan around. I recently went on the U. S. Capitol tour where Becca was the tour guide and it was so much fun! I learned so much that I felt like a historian telling my boyfriend about what I learned afterwards.
I love that they do this for free and take only what you can give donations. It's a great way for EVERYONE to have the opportunity to learn and see some of the most historic memorials and buildings of our country.
Wear your walking shoes and be camera ready! -
Yui S.
Lincoln Assassination Tour February 24, 2014On a recent weekend trip to DC, my boyfriend and I took the Lincoln Assassination tour with Chris and the National Mall Tour with Canden. I highly recommend both--they are very knowledgeable and entertaining. The Lincoln Assassination tour tells the story of the events leading up to and the night of the assassination, and you get to walk the path of a very interesting and historic sequence of events. The National Mall tour is a good way to see the monuments with more context and history than you would get by merely walking through and reading the plaques.
Don't forget to tip--that's how the guides get paid! -
Rachel S.
Lincoln Assassination Tour July 31, 2013The Lincoln Assassination tour by Becca was like living in a novel that you can't put down. I was completely engrossed in the stories she told. I don't have a long attention span, but the tour was so well delivered and multi-dimensional that I became wrapped up in the tour without thinking about it. The weather was rainy, but I soon forgot about the rain. I feel like I actually experienced the night that Lincoln was killed.
I also went on Canden's tour of Georgetown, and it was a very lovely tour. She is very friendly and loves Georgetown. Her passion for the area really shined through. I enjoyed learning about the various places in residential Georgetown. The walk is beautiful and there are a lot of stops, so it's not tiring. -
Marina M.
Lincoln Assassination Tour November 12, 2017Did not leave comment
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Uzoma E.
Secrets and Scandals Tour June 19, 2017Did not leave comment
