Washington DC (USA)

Washington DC (fka District of Columbia) is a Potomac River cruise port and the USA's capital city, with urban population over 0,7 million and metro population over 6, 215 million.

As cruise port, Washington DC is included in the regular schedule of USA's largest river cruise company - ACL-American Cruise Lines.

The next table shows ACL's 10-day "American Revolution Cruise" itinerary roundtrip from Baltimore MD.

Washington DC is also visited on cruisetours (ship cruise and land tour packages) offered by Princess Cruises. These are 14-day Canada New England cruises (roundtrip from NYC New York).

The pre-cruise Land Tour (7-day) visits Washington DC (hotel overnight), follows bus travel to Mount Vernon Plantation (George Washington), Virginia's Historic Triangle (Jamestown Settlement and Williamsburg, hotel overnight in Williamsburg VA), Richmond VA (state's capital), Monticello Plantation (Thomas Jefferson), Staunton VA (hotel overnight), Gettysburg PA (hotel overnight), Philadelphia PA (hotel overnight) and ends in NYC (cruise ship embarkation on Day 8). The ocean cruise segment (7-day NYC roundtrip) visits Newport RI, Boston MA, Bar Harbor ME and in Canada - Saint John NB and Halifax NS.

In 2024 (spring and fall) ACL introduced voyages leaving roundtrip from Washington DC, with the ship (American Constitution) mooring/docking at The Wharf (along the city's southeastern waterfront).

• Themed as "American Revolution Cruise", they traverse the Chesapeake Bay, Potomac River, and the York River, with Washington DC serving as homeport.
• These are also the only cruises on the Potomac River.
• The 10-night/11-day itinerary visits Annapolis MD, St Michaels MD, Cambridge MD, Norfolk VA (overnight), Williamsburg/Yorktown VA, Mount Vernon VA, and ends with an overnight in Washington DC.

Washington DC is an important political center being the seat of the USA's federal government and also housing the headquarters of several major international political and financial organizations, large non-profits, lobbying groups, trade unions and professional associations. Among those are WBG (World Bank Group), IMF (International Monetary Fund), IFC (International Finance Corporation), OAS (Organization of American States), NatGeo (National Geographic Society), ARC (American Red Cross), HRC (Human Rights Campaign).

Large (multi-billion) corporations with headquarters in Washington DC include Lockheed Martin (military contractor), Danaher (industrial and medical manufacturer), General Dynamics (defence company), Northrop Grumman (security company), Marriott International (world’s largest hotel chain), Hilton Worldwide  (hotels, resorts, time-share properties), AvalonBay Communities (real-estate investment trust), Capital One Financial (banking services and loans), T. Rowe Price (financial services, asset management), Host Hotels and Resorts (luxury hotels, large real-estate investment trust).

Among Washington DC's best-known and most visited tourist attractions and landmarks in downtown are the White House (US President's official residence), Washington National Cathedral (Church of St Peter and St Paul), Jefferson Memorial (to Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers), Capitol Building (home of the US Congress), Lincoln Memorial (honors USA's 16th President - Abraham Lincoln / 1809-65), National World War II Memorial (themed on WW2 / 1939-45), Vietnam Veterans Memorial (themed on the USA-Vietnam War / 1955-75), Eisenhower Executive Office Building (occupied by the President's Executive Office), National Mall (nature park), museums (Smithsonian, Natural History, American Indian, Sculpture Garden, American Art, National Portrait Gallery, National Postal Museum, National Gallery of Art, National Building Museum, private art museums and galleries), Woodley Park's National Zoo (1889-opened).

The Residence Act that approved the creation of a capital district along Potomac River was signed on July 16, 1790. According to the US Constitution, as a federal district, Washington City is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and not part of any state. Maryland and Virginia both donated land to form the capital district, which originally included the pre-existing towns of Alexandria and Georgetown.

The City was officially founded in 1791 - after the American Revolution (1765-83) and named after George Washington (1732-99, USA's first President / 1789-97). The City's location was chosen by George Washington, who in January 1791 announced his choice - the 100 mi2 (259 km2) land ceded by the US states Maryland and Virginia. He also commissioned the architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant (1754-1825) as a city planner and designer.