Arlington National Cemetery: The Work of the Dead

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Trip Highlights

  • American heroes – known and unknown

  • See what everyone else isn’t

  • The Kennedy family gravesite and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Description

Every working day more than twenty Americans who sacrificed for their country are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.  On this tour we learn that while Arlington's dead rest in peace, they are always working.  Here we will explore how people from every background remind us of our heritage and our responsibility to one another.

Tour info

Duration
3 hours
Group Size
1 to 8
Price starts at
250 USD
Languages
English
Meeting Point

Outside visitors center

Why take this tour?

As soon as we leave the visitors center the crowd will go one way, we're going another. We are going to visit the graves of some fascinating figures in American life. Some well known, some unknown. We are going to see the graves of those not often acknowledged - men and women of diverse backgrounds who made contributions in politics, the arts, sports, the military, and civil rights. We will also see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Highlights

  • The graves of two presidents, actors, athletes, a civil rights martyr, and much more
  • The cemetery’s only radioactive grave
  • The grave of the only person born on the cemetery’s grounds.

Included

  • Guiding walking tour with a local guide

  • Photography

Excluded

  • Tips

  • Water

  • Transportation to/from cemetery

  • Snacks

Frequently asked questions

Perhaps. If you tour on a weekday you may see a procession and hear hoofs of the horses pulling the cassion as well as the band playing. You will hear the volley of three shots fired at the end of the graveside service.
Yes. When you arrive at the Visitors Center and at Arlington House and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Certainly. One of the most enjoyable parts of ANC is wandering through and reading the headstone inscriptions. It gives a deeper meaning to the lives remembered here.

Things to know

Participation requirements

Participants need to be old enough to walk for two hours. Since some of the tours is on the grass, it may not be easy to negotiate with wheelchairs or strollers.

Participants need to be old enough to walk for two hours. Since some of the tours is on the grass, it may not be easy to negotiate with wheelchairs or strollers.

What to bring

Water, sunscreen, hats, comfortable walking shoes, and camera.

Water, sunscreen, hats, comfortable walking shoes, and camera.

Good to know

We will do a lot of walking. Most of the tour is on sidewalks, but to reach some graves we will walk on some grassy areas that can be uneven. Wear comfortable shoes, a hat, sunscreen, and bring water. We will stop along the way to sit in the shade and talk about what we’re seeing.

We will do a lot of walking. Most of the tour is on sidewalks, but to reach some graves we will walk on some grassy areas that can be uneven. Wear comfortable shoes, a hat, sunscreen, and bring water. We will stop along the way to sit in the shade and talk about what we’re seeing.

About your guide

David Shaw, a guide with lot of stories about how Arlington National Cemetery works and who's buried here.

I’m a certified master guide of the Guild of Professional Tour Guides of Washington, DC. I am also a certified guide at Washington National Cathedral and hold a District tour guide

David Shaw, a guide with lot of stories about how Arlington National Cemetery works and who's buried here.

I’m a certified master guide of the Guild of Professional Tour Guides of Washington, DC. I am also a certified guide at Washington National Cathedral and hold a District tour guide license.

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