Dumbarton Oaks is the Georgetown estate that Robert and Mildred Bliss gave to Harvard University in 1940, now a research institution with two world-class museum collections. The Byzantine Collection runs to more than twelve hundred objects from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries — gold and silver liturgical treasure, cloisonne enamels, ivory icons and mosaics from Antioch — while Robert Bliss's Pre-Columbian holdings of over seven hundred works occupy Philip Johnson's 1963 pavilion, eight domed circular galleries with curved glass walls arranged in a perfect square among the trees. The Renaissance-inspired Music Room, hung with fifteenth-century Tournai tapestries and an El Greco, saw the premiere of Stravinsky's "Dumbarton Oaks" Concerto in 1938. Outside, Beatrix Farrand's sixteen acres step down from the house through formal terraces into orchards, kitchen gardens and a wooded wilderness.
1703 32nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20007, United States
Nearest station: Wisconsin Avenue & R Street NW — Metrobus D80, Q & 31st Streets NW — Metrobus C91, D94, D96, Dupont Circle Metro (Red Line) — nearest Metro station, about 1.8 km east; walk, or transfer to Metrobus C91, D94 or D96, Foggy Bottom–GWU Metro (Blue/Orange/Silver lines) — about 1.9 km south; walk, or transfer to Metrobus D80, D94 or D96
Show on mapClosed until 31 October
Gardens (separate ticket, $15) — closed Mondays
Gardens Regular Season (separate $15 ticket); last entry 17:30 until 31 October, 14:00–18:00
Closed 8–10 October
Gardens closed for internal event (Museum open)
| Mon | Closed |
| Tue | Closed |
| Wed | Closed |
| ThuToday | Closed |
| Fri | Closed |
| Sat | Closed |
| Sun | Closed |
Free
Admission to the Museum and the Rare Book Library is free and unticketed. The Gardens are separately ticketed: $15 per ticket in the Regular Season (March 1–October 31), free but requiring advance reservation in the Winter Season (November 1–December 31). Free for children 2 and under. Season passes: $75 individual, $95 double, $110 family. Garden tickets are sold online via Eventbrite only — no on-site point of sale — and are limited to 10 per household per day.
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