Mount Vernon, George Washington’s Beautiful Virginia Estate

Last updated on February 5th, 2025 at 11:54 am

George Washington was the first president of the United States. He was also the general who led the American revolutionaries into battle, ultimately defeating England for independence. This is immortalized with the phallic Washington Monument, along with his face adorning the front of the US dollar bill (the back features eery masonic imagery and obscure latin phrases, which is also poignant).

George and his wife Martha were also wealthy plantation owners. His former estate at Mount Vernon offers a beautiful day out, along with interesting history lessons.

Visiting Mount Vernon from Washington, DC

Mount Vernon is located 18 miles (30km) across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. We conveniently caught the Washington metro to Alexandria Virginia’s Eisenhower metro stop. In the adjacent parking lot, international car share company zipcar conveniently owns several spaces where you can reserve a car. They can be rented hourly or even for the day.

We booked a car just a few hours ahead of time, to zip over to Mount Vernon. We also enjoyed a scenic little drive along the Potomac River afterwards. 

Zipcar has cars for rent all over the Washington, DC area. But we chose to rent it in Alexandria to avoid some traffic.

During the short drive along Highway 1 we drove past clusters of modern businesses like Country Buffet. We imagined Washington riding back to Mount Vernon, stopping with friends to chow down on unlimited fried chicken and biscuits. Washington produced wheat on his plantation, so we pictured him bartering with the local Dominos pizza. Perhaps saying something like “Hey, I’ll send you guys flour for your dough. In return you cater all my gatherings with important foreign dignitaries like the Marquis de Lafayette with deep dish pepperoni pizzas.”

Martha Washington

In reality, Martha Washington supervised the servants (slaves) daily baking of bread and ham as the Washington’s frequently did have guests, that they also quartered in their guest rooms at Mount Vernon. Given there were no hotels back then, there was a social obligation to have adequate guest rooms. The Marquis de Lafayette once crashed at Mount Vernon for 6 weeks!

A Historical Setting

On the day we visited Mount Vernon, we were fortunate to see a recreation of an old colonial market with many stalls operated by people in colonial attire. A fun buzz surrounded the spectacle and we felt the only thing missing was a revolutionary war reenactment.

Washington’s former mansion has a beautiful elevated view of the Potomac River and surrounding area. The back of the house is lined with chairs for people to sit and admire the peaceful view.

Mount Vernon Ladies Association

There’s horses, cattle, sheep and a nearby distillery and gristmill. Washington’s estate has been managed by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association since they purchased the estate in 1858, rescuing it from a state of disrepair from Washington’s heirs (interestingly, the US government turned down the opportunity to buy the estate). Mount Vernon has been open to the public since 1860 and is open 365 days a year. The Ladies Association claims that 80 million visitors have come to Mount Vernon over the past 154 years.

Visiting Mount Vernon on a Busy Weekend

It was a busy Saturday afternoon when we visited. After paying admission, ($18 regular price for adults) we cued up to walk through Washington’s beautifully restored mansion. In each room a guide explains some features and the history of the rooms.

One of the highlights was the dining room painted in historically accurate lime green. That was fashionable back then because it was an expensive paint color. Washington’s original presidential chair is also on display in the house. Photos are not permitted inside the mansion, but you can snap away everywhere else.

Tomb of George and Martha Washington

Other highlights of a visit to Mount Vernon are George and Martha’s side by side tomb, just a short walk from the mansion. The tomb is guarded by two men in colonial dress who stand firmly at attention. The museum was really interesting in detailing Washington’s life and how he became so powerful. Even the gift shop is unique, because you can even purchase whisky produced at the recreated distillery which became functional again in 2007.

Yards Brewing Company produces some special beers based off original recipes by other founding fathers like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, which are sold at Mount Vernon. These guys must have really liked home made booze!

Mount Vernon recommends at least 3 hours to tour the grounds and indeed there’s a lot to see. Afterwards, we jumped back into our zipcar for a lovely drive back to historic Alexandria along the George Washington Memorial Parkway. A lovely sunset before dinner was an added bonus.

Washington, DC Area Highlights

We’ll be writing more about DC. But in the mean time, if you’re looking for some happening tips while zipping around Washington, check out ziptopia’s local guide to DC neighbourhoods, written and photographed by two DC residents.

We enjoyed their recommendation of Ted’s Bulletin. It’s a family owned 1920’s themed restaurant that whips up alcohol spiked milk shakes and delicious home made pop tarts, to go along with a hearty all day breakfast menu. It’s a buzzing and unique place that we’d recommend during your visit to Washington, DC.

Washington has pretty good public transportation for an American city but the metro runs less frequently on weekends. That’s also when most construction takes place, often eliminating portions of metro lines or making trips more time consuming by replacing the trains with shuttle buses.

In two recent trips to the DC area, we’ve found that combining the use of the metro with zipcar rentals is an excellent and convenient way to explore everything you want to see in DC, Virginia and Maryland. And while in Washington, not only is gas included with a zipcar rental, but so is parking in metered spaces! Have your own recommendations? Let us know in the comments!

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