DAY 1: CIVIL WAR ANNIVERSARY
9:00 AM
Get your group energized with breakfast at RareSweets, Pastry Chef Meredith Tomason's chic bakery in CityCenterDC. Walk to Ford's Theatre for a guided tour and cross the street to the Center for Education and Leadership for the exhibition "Silent Witnesses: Artifacts of the Lincoln Assassination," which features artifacts that were in the theatre, from the contents of the president's pocket to the bloodstained sleeve of the actor who cradled the dying man.
1:00 PM
For a quintessential D.C. dining experience, have lunch at Occidental Grill & Seafood. The walls of the restaurant are papered with signed photos of a century of famous diners, and it's around the corner from the Willard InterContinental -- where Lincoln stayed for 10 days. His bill for $773.75 is framed in the hotel's history gallery.
DAY 2: INTERNATIONAL D.C.
10:00 AM
Don't miss the astonishing collection of more than 40 Italian Renaissance masterpieces at the National Gallery of Art. The show, "Piero di Cosimo: The Poetry of Painting in Renaissance Florence" features an extensive collection from this imaginative painter. These prized and jewel-bright canvases will be on display until May 2, when they will be sent to the Uffizi in Florence.
1:00 PM
Walk under the cherry blossoms blooming around the Tidal Basin and find more inspiration for seasonal beauty at the Freer Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian's Asian gallery. The show, "Seasonal Landscapes in Japanese Screens," runs March 7 to Sept. 6.
6:00 PM
Enjoy preprandial drinks at barmini, Jose Andres' cocktail laboratory where his mixologists make outrageous concoctions that would surprise even Dr. Seuss. Then, head two blocks around the corner to China Chilcano, a modern Peruvian kitchen, for dinner.
DAY 3: BUSY CITY
9:00 AM
Grab a kayak, canoe, or stand-up paddleboard to get an active start to the day on the picturesque Potomac River. Catch views of the Kennedy Center, Roosevelt Island, and Georgetown University. Refuel with the city's best granola at Baked & Wired, Georgetown's beloved indie coffee shops.
12:00 PM
In Georgetown, tour a historic home and garden like Tudor Place, the Georgian house that was home to George Washington's granddaughter. It has a fine collection of American decorative arts and a formal garden. It's a D.C. gem, as is its neighbor, Dumbarton Oaks, arguably the best private garden in the city.
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This article appears in the March 2015 issue of Successful Meetings.