Washington DC Donut Tour FAQ

Ever wonder why there's a National Donut Day? Our Washington DC Historic Delicious Donut & Walking Tour answers that and more, pairing international donuts and pastries with stories of presidents, first ladies and wartime history around the White House. In late November and December, the holiday tour adds festive photo stops.

Yes! Our Washington DC donut tour has been awarded Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Best of the Best. The Underground Donut Tour has been named a Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Best of the Best winner for eight years in a row, an honor reserved for the top 1% of experiences on Tripadvisor.

Our Washington DC Historic Delicious Donut & Walking Tour visits some of the city's most-loved bakeries: beignets from Founding Farmers, Latin American-inspired donuts at Donisima, Italian bomboloni at Rosetta Bakery, French mini-éclairs at Fresh Baguette, and the famous rotating flavors at Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken. On weekends you might also visit Tatte for their classic donuts, and on warm days we sometimes finish with gelato at Dolcezza. Lineup may vary depending on the day of the week or the season. Along the way you'll see the White House, Lafayette Square, the Treasury Building, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and historic homes like Blair House and the Dolley Madison House.

Every stop has its fans, and every tour brings out new favorites. Guests love the arequipe and mango passion fruit donuts at Donisima, the cream-filled and Nutella bomboloni at Rosetta Bakery, the chocolate and pistachio mini-éclairs at Fresh Baguette, the crème brûlée, PB&J and maple bacon donuts at Astro, and the strawberry jelly and vanilla sugar donuts at Tatte. And of course, the tour kicks off with warm beignets from Founding Farmers.

Our bakery partners love to get creative, so the lineup changes throughout the year. Flavors vary by day and season, but here are a few guest favorites. Fall favorites include pumpkin spice, candy apple, ube cinnamon, apple honey bun, carrot cake and cinnamon caramel. Winter favorites include holiday cookie, red velvet, strawberry shortcake, classic cruller, birthday cake and a festive Mardi Gras donut. Spring favorites include cherry blossom, strawberries and cream, cookies and cream, key lime pie, raspberry lemonade and coconut pineapple upside-down cake. Summer favorites include peach cobbler, cherry pie, s'mores, cake batter, berry cheesecake and gelato push pops on the warmest days. All year long, guests enjoy beignets, arequipe, mango passion fruit, bomboloni, mini-éclairs, crème brûlée and PB&J.

See our guide, Best Donut Shops in Washington DC, for local shops worth a visit beyond the tour. Some of DC's most-loved bakeries are on our tour, including Founding Farmers for beignets, Donisima, Rosetta Bakery, Fresh Baguette and Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken. On weekends you might visit Tatte, and warm days can end with gelato at Dolcezza. Lineup may vary by day and season.

Plenty! You'll enjoy tastings at four stops, with donuts cut into shareable pieces so you can sample a wide variety of flavors without getting too full. You won't go home hungry, and many guests take extras home to enjoy later.

The tour starts inside Western Market at the 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue entrance, at the tables across from Maman bakery. Your guide will text you shortly before the tour so you can find each other easily. The tour ends downtown at Astro Doughnuts, just steps from Metro Center station and a short walk from Gallery Place-Chinatown and CityCenterDC. If you're driving, Western Market has a parking garage.

Starting inside Western Market on Pennsylvania Avenue, we cross Farragut Square and pass the White House, Lafayette Square, Blair House and the Treasury Building, then continue past Old Ebbitt Grill into downtown, ending near Metro Center.

Yes! The tour walks past the White House and around Lafayette Square, with stories about the presidents, neighbors and characters who shaped the neighborhood. Our route focuses on the historic streets around the White House and downtown rather than the monuments on the National Mall.

About an hour and a half to two hours of walking, tasting and DC history.

During the hottest weeks of summer, we shift to late-morning start times so the tour can take advantage of air-conditioned stops. There are water refill stations along the route, and on warm days you might finish with a gelato push pop. We recommend bringing a water bottle, sunscreen and comfortable shoes.

Yes, we run all year, rain or shine. Our stops include cozy indoor spaces like Western Market and our partner bakeries, so you can warm up between history stops. If heavy snow or ice makes the sidewalks unsafe, we'll reach out to help you find a new time.

Yes! From late November until just before Christmas, our Holiday Tour adds festive photo stops among downtown's decorations. When time allows, your guide can point you toward the Downtown Holiday Market near the National Portrait Gallery so you can keep the holiday spirit going after the tour.

We're happy to help with many needs. If you're vegetarian or don't eat pork, just let us know and we'll swap out any bacon-topped donuts. Our partner bakeries focus on classic donuts and pastries, so we aren't able to offer gluten-free or vegan options at this time. Please reach out before you book and we'll gladly talk through what's possible.

Please tell us about any allergies when you book. Our guides can swap out flavors that contain nuts or other common allergens and work with our bakery partners to find the best options for you. Our partners' kitchens handle nuts, dairy, eggs and wheat, so we can't guarantee an allergen-free experience.

Absolutely. Kids love this tour, and families join us all the time, from grandparents with grandkids to big family reunions. Our guides love adapting stories for younger guests, and strollers are welcome.

The route follows paved city sidewalks and is mostly flat. Guests using wheelchairs, scooters and walkers have joined us, and our guides are happy to adjust the pace and route for your group. Contact us with any questions before you book.

Definitely! Local guests tell us they learn history they never heard in school, like the bank where many presidents kept their money, the NASA story behind the Dolley Madison House, and the Treasury statues of two famous rivals standing back to back. It's also a great way to show visiting friends and family around the city.

Donut lovers from all over the world join us in DC, from across the US to the UK, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Kenya and Indonesia, along with plenty of locals and visitors in town for conferences. Many guests have taken our tours in other cities and add Washington DC to their list.

Yes! Birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, milestone birthdays and family visits are some of our favorite tours to lead, and birthday guests get a little extra donut VIP treatment. Let us know you're celebrating when you book. We also host private tours for office teams, school groups and other large groups.

Yes. Private group tours are available in Washington DC for birthdays, corporate outings, student groups, and celebrations.