Georgetown is the oldest part of Washington, pre-dating the federal district by decades, and it shows in the streetscape: Federal and Victorian row houses, cobbled streets in places, and a scale that feels more like an old Maryland port town than a planned capital city. The neighbourhood runs from the Potomac waterfront north to Wisconsin Avenue and from Rock Creek west to Georgetown University.
The main shopping strips along M Street and Wisconsin Avenue have good independent retailers alongside national chains. The C&O Canal towpath — a 184-mile trail running west to Cumberland, Maryland — starts here and is excellent for walking or cycling. Dumbarton Oaks, at the top of the hill, has one of the finest formal gardens in the eastern United States and a museum of Byzantine and Pre-Columbian art.