City Tour of Bethesda MD

Bethesda is an urbanized, but unincorporated, area in Montgomery County, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.. It takes its name from a church located there, the Bethesda Presbyterian Church (built 1820), which in turn was named from a passage in the New Testament.

As an unincorporated area, Bethesda has no official boundaries. Important institutions located in Bethesda include the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division. Bethesda is also home to the National Naval Medical Center, commonly referred to as Bethesda Naval Hospital, where many famous Americans such as Joseph McCarthy passed away and the infamous John F. Kennedy autopsy was performed. Adjoining the hosptial to the east is the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS).

The headquarters of defense conglomerate Lockheed Martin Corporation and hotel and resort chain Marriott International are located in Bethesda. Bethesda is renowned for its extensive collection of restaurants—180 were listed at the end of 2004—offering cuisine ranging from Afgan to Vietnamese. Bethesda is also home to two vibrant farmers markets, the Montgomery Farm Woman's Cooperative Market and the Bethesda Farmer's Market, as well as numerous cinemas and art galleries.

Bethesda Links
Bethesda
Informative Bethesda
Bethesda/ Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce