DC by Foot

What DC by Foot does

DC by Foot is Washington DC's premier walking tour company, founded in 2004 by Priyanka Zielinski and currently operating as a wholly-owned sub-brand within the Tours by Foot multi-city network that spans over 30 locations worldwide. The company delivers guided walking tours of DC's monuments, neighborhoods (Georgetown, Capitol Hill, Old Town Alexandria, Dupont Circle, U Street, Embassy Row, Annapolis), specialty themes (ghosts, Lincoln assassination, spies, Civil Rights, Pride history), seasonal experiences (cherry blossom, holiday lights), and the America 250 anniversary tour line. Its core technology stack is modest: GPS-enabled self-guided audio tours (MP3 plus PDF and Google Maps) sold as one-time purchases, a standard direct-to-consumer booking website using Stripe, and Fathom Analytics for privacy-first site measurement. Federal-building ticketing (US Capitol, Library of Congress, National Archives, Lincoln Memorial Undercroft, Washington Monument) is bundled with select tours, providing skip-the-line access through pre-arranged reservations.

Guides are licensed historians and educators, many with advanced degrees and classroom experience; the company's COO, Canden Arciniega, is an author of four DC history books. Average guide tenure exceeds 10 years, signaling a stable talent pool. Distribution is layered across a direct website, the GetYourGuide marketplace, official listing on Washington.org, and a 120,000+ member Facebook community. EducaTours by Foot operates as a wholly-owned educational sub-brand for K-12, homeschool, and university groups.

The business model mixes four revenue streams: per-person public walking tour tickets starting at $39, fully customized private tours (corporate, family, school) quoted per group, one-time self-guided audio tour purchases, and name-your-own-price experiences for select tours such as Memorials and Moonlight. Customers are primarily individual leisure travelers, with secondary segments in corporate team building, student/school groups, families, and speaking/event audiences. Public tours operate on free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead; private tours require full payment two weeks in advance with tiered cancellation penalties. The company is privately held, woman-majority owned, and operates with a lean core staff of 6 alongside contractor guides, handling up to 90,000 annual visitors in Washington DC and more than 6 million cumulative guests since 2004.

Name

DC by Foot

Legal name

DC by Foot

Website

https://dcbyfoot.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DC by Foot is a Washington DC walking tour company founded in 2004, offering expert-led public, private, and self-guided GPS audio tours across DC, Alexandria, and Annapolis for individual leisure travelers, corporate groups, students, and families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Walking Tour Services

NAICS

Historical Sites (71212)

akta.pro primary industry

Guided Tours & Interpretive Services (Ranger-Led, Naturalist, Cultural Interpretation) (THAAAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Interpretation & Ranger-Led Education Programs (Visitor Education) (THAAAOAJ), Education & Community Programs (Junior Ranger, Citizen Science, School Programs) (THAAAGAK)

Keywords

• Walking tour services
• Guided city tours
• Historical sightseeing tours
• Private group tours
• Educational student tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public group tour tickets: DC by Foot sells per-person tickets for scheduled public group walking and bus tours. Pricing starts from $39 per person for tours such as Old Town Alexandria. Tour durations range from 1.5 to 6 hours.
2. Private tour bookings: DC by Foot offers fully customized private tours for families, corporate groups, student organizations, and any group wanting a dedicated guide. Private tour rates are dependent on group size and are quoted upon inquiry.
3. Audio tour sales: The company sells GPS-enabled self-guided audio tours recorded by its expert guides. After booking, customers receive an MP3 file, a PDF guide, and an embeddable Google Map. Available for Georgetown, National Mall, Arlington Cemetery, Embassy Row, Old Town Alexandria, Georgetown University Campus, and East Georgetown.
4. Name-your-own-price tours: Some tours such as Memorials and Moonlight and museum tours operate on a 'name your own price' model, where guests pay what they believe the tour was worth at the end.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

DC by Foot is a walking tour company that sells guided small-group tours of Washington DC led by licensed historians, covering landmarks, neighborhoods, food, ghost stories, and specialty themes. It additionally offers fully customized private tours, corporate team-building experiences, educational student tours (EducaTours by Foot), and self-guided GPS-enabled audio tours, with per-person pricing starting at $39.

Product overview

DC by Foot is Washington DC's premier walking tour company, founded in 2004, offering a diverse portfolio of guided tour experiences led by licensed historians and expert local guides. The core offering consists of public walking tours across multiple categories: Iconic Landmarks (National Mall, Capitol Hill, Arlington National Cemetery), Neighborhood Tours (Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Capitol Hill, U Street, Old Town Alexandria, Embassy Row), Food Experiences (Eastern Market Food Tour), Night Tours (Memorials and Moonlight, ghost tours, Capitol Hill Scandals), Specialty Tours (Lincoln Assassination, Spies of DC, Civil Rights, Pride history), and Seasonal Tours (Cherry Blossom, Holiday Lights). The company also offers private customizable tours, EducaTours by Foot for student groups with curriculum-aligned programming, self-guided GPS audio tours, team building experiences, and bus tours. All tours emphasize small group sizes, expert storytelling, skip-the-line access where applicable, and free cancellation up to 24 hours before. The company operates as part of Tours by Foot, a multi-city tour operation running in over 30 locations, and is woman-majority owned with CEO Priyanka Zielinski and COO Canden Arciniega leading the operation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EducaTours by Foot: Educational tour program for K-12, homeschool, and university groups with curriculum-aligned programs
• Tours by Foot

Products and services

• Public Walking Tours Guided walking tours of Washington DC led by licensed historians and expert local guides, covering iconic landmarks, neighborhoods, history, food experiences, and specialty themes.
• Private Tours Fully customized private tour experiences for families, corporate groups, and organizations with personalized pace, route, and thematic focus. Rates depend on group size.
• Team Building Tours Corporate team building experiences combining guided DC history tours with team activities for company retreats and group events.
• EducaTours by Foot Educational tour program for K-12, homeschool, and university groups with curriculum-aligned experiences led by licensed historians.
• Self-Guided Audio Tours GPS-enabled self-guided audio tours of DC landmarks including Georgetown, National Mall, Arlington Cemetery, and more, delivered as MP3 with PDF guide and embeddable Google Map and offline option.
• Bus & Car Tours Transportation-based tours for larger groups, covering DC landmarks not easily accessible by walking, with private vehicle or group bus options.
• Food Experiences Culinary walking tours including Eastern Market Food Tour, featuring local restaurants, traditional dishes, and historical food culture.
• Speakers Bureau and Presentations Historian guides booked for in-person and virtual presentations, conference keynotes, panel appearances, book club visits, corporate mixers, and trivia nights on DC history topics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 6 million guests guided since 2004
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DC Pride WalksminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDC by Foot has partnered with DC Pride Walks to offer a DC Pride History tour of Downtown DC focusing on queer history, covering topics including the Lavender Scare, AIDS Crisis, drag culture, and LGBTQ+ activism. The tour is offered as a 2.5-hour name-your-own-price walking tour and is also available as a private booking option. The partnership leverages DC Pride Walks' specialized expertise in queer history while DC by Foot provides operational and booking infrastructure.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Old Town Trolley Tours: Washington DC's established hop-on/hop-off sightseeing trolley operator under Historic Tours of America with broader tour portfolio (bus, walking, nighttime) and larger fleet-based infrastructure serving DC visitors.
• City Sightseeing Washington DC: Hop-on/hop-off tour bus brand licensed in DC providing both bus and walking components. Broader incumbent in DC sightseeing serving inbound tourists with comparable DC landmark coverage.
• Big Bus Tours Washington DC: Global hop-on/hop-off sightseeing bus tour brand operating in DC. Broader scale and bus-based delivery versus DC by Foot's walking focus, but competes for the same DC tourist audience.

Direct peers

• Urban Adventures: Small-group day tours in cities worldwide led by local guides covering culture, food, and history. Similar small-group, expert-led positioning with comparable per-person ticket prices and walk-based DC itinerary approach.
• Context Travel: Premium small-group walking tour operator led by scholars, historians, and doctoral-level experts across major cities including DC. Closely comparable premium positioning on expert-led tours and high per-ticket pricing for cultural travelers.
• Free Tours by Foot: Sister brand operating under the same Tours by Foot parent network as DC by Foot, offering similar pay-what-you-wish and standard walking tours in multiple cities. Shares content infrastructure and the multi-city platform model.
• Walks (Devour Tours): Small-group, expert-led walking tour operator in multiple cities. Closely comparable model: historian/food expert guides, premium small-group experiences, and self-guided audio tour offerings aimed at discerning cultural travelers.

Emerging players

• Bike and Roll DC: DC bike tour operator offering guided cycling tours of monuments, memorials, and neighborhoods. Overlaps on guided outdoor DC tours with different modality but similar guided-tour target audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Dcbyfoot
• Facebookfacebook.com/dcbyfoot
• Instagraminstagram.com/dcbyfoottours
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dc-by-foot

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DC by Foot