The nation’s capital reaches peak beauty this time of year when the thousands of cherry trees flanking the Tidal Basin, Lower Potomac, and Washington Channel explode in white and pink petals. The floral fantasia that results marks the unmistakably flashy start of spring, and comes celebrated citywide via the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
People come from all over the world to see some of the most famous real estate in the USA so sumptuously abloom, and with AAA Four-Diamond accommodations at the Morrison House in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia—a short jaunt from Washington, D.C.—you’re fabulously positioned to experience it for yourself.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival
The National Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs from March 20th through April 15th, commemorates the gift of more than 3,000 cherry trees bestowed upon the United States by the mayor of Tokyo in March 1912. Cherry trees, of course, are beloved symbols of Japan, and in that country cherry-blossom viewing—hanami—is its own formally defined (and enthusiastically observed) activity.
Today nearly 4,000 cherry trees grow in the National Mall and Memorial Parks, with the most celebrated blossom-viewing going down around the Tidal Basin, along the waterfront of East Potomac Park, and more generally around the National Mall, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument.
A whole slew of different varieties of cherry trees—Takesimensis, Kwanszan, Usuzumi, and more—put forth their own distinct blossoms on their own distinct timetables, adding variety and longevity to the flower show. The blossoming of the most numerous kind, the Yoshino Cherry, defines the period of peak bloom, which varies from year to year. This season, the National Park Service declared peak bloom—when 70 percent of the Yoshinos open their flowers—on April 5th, which means outstanding blossom-appreciation opportunities will continue for a week or two.
Loads of associated events go down during the National Cherry Blossom Festival, from the Blossom Kite Festival to the culminating National Cherry Blossom Parade down Constitution Ave NW on Saturday, April 14th. That day will also see the biggest one-day Japanese cultural celebration in the country livening up Pennsylvania Avenue: the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival, marking its 58th year in 2018.
Enjoy the Springtime Show of the National Cherry Blossom Festival With Old Town Alexandria Accommodations at Morrison House
You’ll be a mere hop, skip, and a jump from the flower-fied spectacle around the Tidal Basin with your Autograph Collection guest room or suite at the Morrison House in Old Town Alexandria. Take in the singular beauty of the National Cherry Blossom Festival while enjoying our singular hospitality!