Hillwood Museum and Gardens

It’s off the beaten track, in the Cleveland Park/Forest Hills neighborhood, but a visit to Hillwood, the former home of Post Toasties heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, is worthwhile. Situated in Rock Creek Park, the estate was built in the 1920s and has lovely formal gardens with elegant French parterres. You can tour Post’s very grand house, which is full of Louis XVI furnishings and Russian imperial art, and admire such treasures as Fabergé eggs, Beauvais tapestries and a diamond crown once worn by Empress Alexandra. It’s best to make a reservation. Reservations are required on Sundays.