International Spy Museum

The International Spy Museum at L'Enfant Plaza is the only major US museum devoted entirely to the business of espionage. Opened in 2002 and relocated to a striking glass building in 2019, it holds more than 7,000 artefacts, one of the largest publicly displayed intelligence collections in the world. Highlights include World War II Enigma machines, the KGB lipstick pistol, and tools once handled by Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen. On entry visitors take on a cover identity and complete missions through the galleries, a hit with families. The displays are rounded out by interviews with real officers and probes into cyber espionage and contemporary tradecraft.