# Washington DC True Crime Tours Bring the Capital's Darkest History to Life
Every evening at 7:30 PM, a human guide leads a small group from the US Navy Memorial Plaza into the political heart of America — a city whose streets hold the physical evidence of assassination, cover-up, and scandal stretching back more than 150 years.
What the Tour Covers
The Washington DC Political Scandals and True Crime Night-Time Tour runs for approximately three hours on foot, visiting eight confirmed locations across central Washington DC. The sites include Ford's Theatre, where President Abraham Lincoln was shot on the evening of April 14, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth — an event that remains one of the most documented assassinations in American history. The tour also passes FBI Headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue, the agency founded in 1908 that has been at the centre of federal investigations ranging from organised crime to political espionage.
The Watergate Complex on Virginia Avenue is another stop — the site of the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters that ultimately led to the only resignation of a sitting US president, Richard Nixon, in August 1974. These are not reconstructed sets or museum displays. They are the actual buildings, standing in their original locations, visited after dark when the political machinery of the day has gone quiet.
Other confirmed stops on the route include:
- **The White House** (exterior only — interior admission is not included)
- **The US Capitol**
- **The Supreme Court**
- **The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts**
- **The National Mall**
Meeting Point and Logistics
The tour departs from US Navy Memorial Plaza, 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004. Check in beneath the Navy Flags. The start time is 7:30 PM, and the tour is conducted entirely in English by an in-person guide. The night-time setting is deliberate — the federal monuments and government buildings take on a different character after dark, and the low light sharpens the focus on the histories being discussed rather than the tourist activity that surrounds these sites during the day.
The tour is operated through Viator and is listed as currently active. Pricing starts at $59.00 per adult. Gratuities are not included in the listed price. For the most current availability and to confirm departure dates, book directly through the Viator Washington DC Crime Tours page. For direct enquiries, the operator can be reached at (888) 651-9785.
Why Washington DC Works as a True Crime Destination
Most true crime tourism is organised around a single event or a single perpetrator. Washington DC is different. The city's crimes are institutional — they involve presidents, senators, intelligence agencies, and the mechanisms of government itself. The locations are preserved not as crime scenes but as functioning landmarks, which means the weight of what happened in them is easy to overlook without someone drawing the direct line between the building in front of you and the event that took place inside it.
Ford's Theatre still operates as a working theatre and museum. The Watergate Complex is still a residential and commercial address. The White House is still the home of the sitting president. The tour's value is precisely that: it reframes places most visitors already know by name into something more specific and more troubling.
Practical Information
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Duration | Approximately 3 hours |
| Meeting point | US Navy Memorial Plaza, 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW |
| Start time | 7:30 PM |
| Language | English |
| Price from | $59.00 per adult |
| Gratuities | Not included |
| White House access | Exterior only |
| Phone | (888) 651-9785 |
Washington DC is accessible year-round, though the spring and autumn shoulder seasons offer more comfortable walking conditions. The tour covers significant ground on foot, so appropriate footwear is advisable. Given the evening start time, checking the weather forecast before departure is recommended — the National Mall offers little shelter in rain.
For true crime travellers who have covered the serial killer trails of the Midwest or the gangland sites of Chicago, the capital offers something distinct: a record of crime committed not in the shadows, but at the centre of power.
