WASHINGTON INTRODUCTION, Introduction

Hello, my name’s Rick, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the wonders of the world: Washington, the capital of the United States of America.

Washington is a truly exceptional city. Just think: not far from where you are today, the fate of the planet is being decided, and as you’re walking around, you might bump into senators, congressmen or agents of the FBI or the CIA.

Much of Washington’s appeal, however, also lies in its architecture and monuments. It’s one of the few cities in the world built based on the ideas of a single architect. It was built practically from scratch, starting from 1791, when George Washington decided to move the capital here from Philadelphia, entrusting the design of the new city to an architect of French origin, Pierre Charles L’Enfant.

The project was not carried out to every detail, and was completed in several phases, with many different variants, but the layout, with parallel streets, many parks and numerous public buildings, remains faithful to the original design, including the huge National Mall, the park right in the center of the city that runs from the Capitol Building to the Lincoln Memorial, and along which the main monuments of the United States are located. Washington is home to six of the ten masterworks of modern American architecture: the White House, the Capitol Building, the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the world-famous National Cathedral. What’s more, you can enter the world’s biggest library, the Library of Congress, or visit the Arlington Military Cemetery, the only one of its kind in the world.

Washington’s distinctive features do not end here. If you look upwards, you’ll notice the city has no skyscrapers. None of the buildings is higher than the 161-meter Washington Monument, because the law states that the height of buildings cannot exceed the width of the street they are built on by more than 6.1 meters. This is not the only peculiarity of the city, however. Although it is the capital of the nation, it is the only part of the US not to be represented on the nation’s flag. Washington D.C., District of Columbia, is not in fact a State, and is not featured among the stars on the flag, which represent all 50 federal states.

We’re now ready to guide you on your visit to the wonders of the city. Enjoy your stay.