White House

3.5 star rating: Worth doing 26 Reviews | Add review

  • Address: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington D.C.
  • Hours: White House Visitor Center: 7:30am - 4pm every day
  • Admission: Free

White House
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Unlike many sites of similar caliber, the White House feels more uplifting than somber. Maybe that’s because this is, at the end of the day, a home as well as symbol. Every U.S president since John Adams has made this 132-room mansion his home. Its stature has grown through the years: no longer a mere residence, it's now the central icon of the American presidency.

Inside the house, highlights include the Gold-and-White East Room, where presidential receptions, weddings, and other galas are held; the Green Room, which was Thomas Jefferson's dining room but today is used as a sitting room; and the Oval Blue Room, the setting for the White House Christmas tree. Other rooms are the Red Room, which is used as a reception room, primarily for afternoon teas, and the State Dining Room, where state dinners and luncheons are held.

Getting inside the White House can be tough. The grounds, however, are occasionally opened for special events such as Tee-ball on the South Lawn and the Easter Egg Roll, held every Easter Monday for kids aged three to six.

Latest Reviews

5 star rating: Highly Recommended Review by Balti-most, USA, April 2013
Doing what: Washington DC Segway Night Tour

We loved this tour. Two of the four people had never been on Segways before and we're really nervous. However, they are SO easy to ride, it is amazing. Everyone was comfortable within about 5 minutes. Grace, our guide was super-friendly and knowledgeable. The tour was timed perfectly to be in front of the Capitol and looking back at the Washington Monument right at Sunset. We also made stops infront of the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial and others. Riding the Segways down the bike lane on Pennsylvania Ave was also fun! What a great way to see DC.

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5 star rating: Highly Recommended Review by Amitabha G, September 2012
Doing what: Washington DC Segway Tour

Touring DC on a Segway was one of the best things we did. Our tour guide Melissa was wonderful and very informative. The Segway took us to all the major spots in DC, including the Washington Monument, The White House, Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, etc. It takes hardly 5 minutes of training to get used to the Segway and then you never want to get off. We had taken the 10 am tour which lasted for about 3 hours. The tour also gives you enough time to take pictures, stroll around, and take short breaks if you are tired. One of the best parts of the tour was when we rode the Segway on the Pennsylvania Avenue towards the Capitol Building. It took us about 20 minutes, and on our way we saw the streets and most of the famous buildings on the Penn Avenue. In summary, if you have just a couple of days in DC, or even otherwise, if you just want to have a lot of fun in an unconventional way, Segway is your best choice!

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5 star rating: Highly Recommended Review by William G, November 2011
Doing what: Washington DC Segway Night Tour

The day of our tour it was snowing, for some remarkable reason 4 hours before we where scheduled to be there it stop and cleared up to be a beautiful night, Cold but wonderful. Showed up singed and gave our credit card. Was not a big deal, they explained the card would only be charged if we stole or ruined a segway, I mean they are $8000.00 brand new. Our guide was introduced, he was obviously very comfortable on the Segway and showed us the basics which were not too hard to learn. Let me say my father, who is 65 years old mastered the segway in minutes and was cruising the alley like a pro. The tour was very informative and our tour guide had phenomenal information on the sites we saw. Other than the cold weather this was great, would recommend hats and gloves if you’re going when possibly it’s cold. Washington was beautiful lit up. Unfortunately the White House was trick or treating so we were not able to go all the way up but our tour guide got as far as we could, Spot light and an officer asking us to turn around area was closed. 100% effort to make this tour awesome and it showed. Recommended this to everyone, will add one more thing my 65 year old dad was able to run the Marine Corps Marathon the next day, no effort involved to a segway just getting over the nerves, great way to get around and see DC!

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Practical Info

The White House is one of the core D.C. attractions, and it’s only a couple of blocks away from the National Mall. Visits to the White House are extremely limited - you must reserve a space months in advance - so spontaneous visits are not an option.

In lieu of visiting the White House itself, visitors can browse exhibits, watch historic reenactments and take a video tour at the Visitors Center in Malcolm Baldrige Hall of the Department of Commerce building. It's obviously not the same as seeing the real deal first-hand, but it does provide an overview of the building's history, as well as fun anecdotes about the presidential families (and pets!) who have graced its halls.

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