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The "Madams of DC" Guided Walking Tour

icon 3 hours Mobile ticket Free Cancellation
Tickets from € 42.85

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June 2025
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*Starting in March 2024, this tour is offered the first and third Friday of the month. Check website for exact schedule. All tours available for private tours. The Madams in DC walking tour gives you a totally unique side of DC's history that you won't hear anywhere else. The Civil War completely transformed the capital, and turned Pennsylvania Avenue into a red light district lined with bawdy houses, taverns, theaters, and commercial ventures. Hard to imagine, now that it's lined with monolithic government buildings! You'll learn about how the women who worked in these brothels made their way in life, and even had an impact on affairs of government.
  • 2.5 hours of fascinating information by an experienced guide. No entry fees necessary.
  • Refreshments at Hill Country BBQ half-way stop.
Departure Point

1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA The meeting point is in front of the Willard Center, next to the Occidental on Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Look for the guide wearing the costume!

Return Details

Jefferson Dr SW & 4th St SW, Washington, DC 20004, USA Tour ends at the National Museum of the American Indian, which used to be the site of a notorious brothel. Smithsonian and Federal Center Metro Stations (Orange/Blue/Silver lines) are both only two blocks away.

  • Freedom Plaza, Washington DC, District of Columbia, United States
    Where Freedom Plaza is now once used to be the notorious neighborhood known as Murder Bay. As we walk through this spacious open area currently used for festivals and music events, you'll hear all about the taverns, gambling houses, and brothels popular with Northern Arm soldiers that used to stand there.
  • 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA
    On the block where the Trump International Hotel, formerly the Old Postal Office building, currently stands, was the 11th Street strip, a subsection of the Red Light district on Pennsylvania Avenue where the Military Provost Guard harassed and arrested some of the raucous Madams in the neighborhood.
    15 minutes
  • The National Archives Museum, Washington DC, District of Columbia, United States
    Continuing in our journey through time, you'll learn about the lives of prostitutes in Civil War DC and the part they played in society, as we pass by the former site of the largest central urban Market in DC.
    10 minutes
  • 419 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA
    We'll stop for a drink at Hill Country BBQ (*cost of beverage not included), across the street from the International Order of Odd Fellows Temple. The IOOF supported the arts, and the art of having a good time. It was common to see the higher class working girls walking into a grand party hosted by the Odd Fellows, on the arm of an Army Officer. Scandalous!
    20 minutes
  • National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, District of Columbia, United States
    The former site of Marble Alley, where two of DC's highest paid Madams had a vicious rivalry.
    10 minutes
  • National Museum of the American Indian, Washington DC, District of Columbia, United States
    An archeological dig discovered the remains of DC most notorious, and yet charitable, Madams. The tour ends at this, the most glamorous of DC's Civil War-era pleasure houses.
    10 minutes
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
  • All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • Guests must be able to be on their feet for at least 2 hours.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
  • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
Joy M
02 May 2025
Took the Madams of DC tour tonight. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and an excellent storyteller. The information presented was well researched, historically accurate, and yet not boring. The guide welcomed both input and questions from the group. I took this tour at the end of a very long day - when I had a painful blister and was hot, sweaty, and considered ditching because I was so tired - yet I wholeheartedly enjoyed every minute of the tour.
67yukoy
03 Nov 2024
Our guide, Katie, shared her knowledge and insight of the lives of women who once worked in a red-light district, now the central area of DC in an engaging and interactive way. Her narrative was based on her thorough research, which allowed me to understand a topic that would otherwise have been gossipy and judgmental, in light of its political and social context. I could feel her warm and thoughtful gaze toward those women. As a DC resident, I would recommend this walking tour (as well as her other tours) especially to locals because it makes the beaten paths in and around the otherwise inorganic government offices begin to look more colorful than ever.
Traveler04625962451
18 Aug 2024
WOW! I'm a sucker for a walking tour, and this one DELIVERED. Katie, our tour guide, was warm, funny, engaging, and super knowledgeable. Not only did we learn FASCINATING stories about the DC brothels and madams during the Civil War, but we learned wonderful gems about the history of DC itself. Don't sleep on this tour company!
This tour in Washington DC is organized by Off the Mall Tours

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