Here is all the information you need to plan a visit to the Historic Alexandria museums - address and phone numbers, hours, admission fees, special programs, directions and more. The Historic Alexandria museums are free for City of Alexandria residents.

This week in Historic Alexandria, enjoy the many exhibits, public programs and special events offered by our city’s great museums and historic sites!  This e-newsletter is updated each week on this webpage, or sign up for an eNews account to have it delivered to your in-box.

Read a brief history of Alexandria and find more about our history on the Historic Alexandria website and elsewhere on the internet.

Enjoy a variety of walking and bike tours, listen to podcasts, go on a scavenger hunt, or learn about Wayfinding Signs and the African American Heritage Trail.

The City of Alexandria’s wayfinding signage system helps people find their way around the city. Take a look at the new map and history panel “mini-kiosks” in Old Town, from the Masonic Temple on Shuter's Hill to the waterfront. Read the full text of the history panels here.

The Alexandria Community Remembrance Project (ACRP) is a city-wide initiative dedicated to helping Alexandria understand its history of racial terror hate crimes and to work toward creating a welcoming community bound by equity and inclusion. Learn more, read the newsletter, and become involved.

Learners of all ages can explore Alexandria’s history through online and on-site offerings. Historic Alexandria offers educators the opportunity to reinforce their teaching with hands-on experiences, field trips, kits, and online resources.

The Alexandria Oral History Center is a community-driven collaboration to document and preserve the memories and stories of Alexandria. The Center provides residents with oral history trainings and resources to conduct oral history interviews and community history projects.

City of Alexandria is committed to honoring its historic legacy through preservation, planning, interpretation, public outreach, and programming.

Purchase event tickets, make a donation, become a member, and buy gifts and Alexandria-related merchandise, online or in our museum shops. Your purchases support programming at Historic Alexandria's museums. 

Six Historic Alexandria properties are available for rentals and private events. The properties can accommodate from 15 to 160 people, for a range of events including parties, weddings and meetings.

Alexandria Archaeology Museum visitors learn how the City's archaeologists, volunteers and students work with residents and developers to study and manage archaeological resources important to the community's past.

Alexandria Black History Museum enriches the lives of Alexandria's residents and visitors, fosters tolerance and understanding among all cultures, and stimulates appreciation of the diversity of the African American experience.

The Lyceum, itself a witness to nearly two centuries of local history, today serves as a gateway for Alexandria's visitors.

Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site is the best preserved of the system of Union forts and batteries built to protect Washington, DC during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

The Freedom House Museum at 1315 Duke Street is open with three new exhibitions showcasing Alexandria’s Black history and the Black experience in America.

Friendship Firehouse Museum, the oldest standing firehouse open as a museum in Alexandria, was originally home to the first volunteer fire company in town. Today, the exhibits of historic equipment and vehicles inspire visitors.

Gadsby's Tavern Museum consists of the ca. 1785 tavern and the 1792 City Hotel. Named for John Gadsby who operated them from 1796 to 1808, explore these buildings where Washington, Jefferson and ordinary travelers came to eat, drink, sleep, and influence history.

Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, one of the oldest pharmacies in the nation, sold everything from medicines to household goods from 1793 to 1933. Visitors can tour the historic shop and manufacturing room and view original products left behind.