Kreeger Museum

Top choice in Upper Northwest DC


One of DC's top attractions for architecture buffs and those with an interest in 20th-century art, this museum is housed in a stunning 1963 International Style building designed by American architect Philip Johnson. Clad in travertine, it features a distinctive roofline, light-saturated interior salons and an expansive sculpture terrace that is home to works by artists including Jean Arp and Henry Moore. Inside, artworks from the top-drawer personal collection of David and Carem Kreeger are displayed.

Exhibits are constantly rotated, so you’re just as likely to see Monet’s dappled impressionism as Edvard Munch’s dark expressionism. There are plenty of masterpieces, including works by Picasso, van Gogh and Cézanne. Guided tours are offered at 10:30am and 1:30pm from Tuesday to Friday, and at 10:30am, noon and 2pm on Saturday. If heading here by bus, alight at Hoban Rd NW and walk north up Foxhall Rd.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Upper Northwest DC attractions

1. Glover Archbold Park

0.35 MILES

Glover is a sinuous, winding park, extending from Van Ness St NW in Tenleytown down to the western border of Georgetown University. Its 180 tree-covered…

2. Battery Kemble Park

0.66 MILES

Skinny Battery Kemble Park, about a mile long but less than a quarter-mile wide, separates the wealthy Foxhall and Palisades neighborhoods of far…

3. Washington National Cathedral

1.17 MILES

Constructed between 1907 and 1990, this huge neo-Gothic cathedral blends the spiritual with the profane in its architecture. Most of its richly colored…

4. Dalghren Chapel

1.28 MILES

A pretty little refuge with a quiet courtyard on Georgetown University's campus.

5. Healy Hall

1.3 MILES

Near the Georgetown University campus' east gate, medieval-looking Healy Hall impresses with its tall, Hogwarts-esque clock tower.

6. Georgetown University

1.33 MILES

Georgetown is one of the nation's top universities, with a student body that's equally hard-working and hard-partying. Founded in 1789, it was America’s…

7. Dumbarton Oaks

1.43 MILES

The mansion's 27 acres of enchanting formal gardens are straight out of a storybook. The springtime blooms – including heaps of cherry blossoms – are…

8. Kahlil Gibran Memorial Garden

1.45 MILES

Located within a wooded ravine known as Woodland-Normanstone Park, this garden memorializes the arch-deity of soupy spiritual poetry. Its centerpieces are…