White House

The White House’s cornerstone was laid on 13 October 1792 and no one has seen it since. During the major Truman-era reconstruction in 1949, Army Engineers dug through the walls looking for it and found nothing. On the 200th anniversary of construction in 1992, x-ray equipment was brought in to image the sandstone walls and again found nothing. The building is therefore more uncertain at its foundations than its public image suggests, which seems appropriate for the world’s most scrutinised house.

The design came from a competition judged by George Washington. The winner was James Hoban, an Irish-born architect who based the exterior loosely on Leinster House in Dublin (now the seat of the Irish parliament). The lime-based whitewash that gives the building its name was first applied in 1798 to protect the soft Aquia Creek sandstone exterior from winter cracking. The south portico wasn’t added until 1824 and the north portico until 1829, both under Hoban’s supervision. The building that most visitors photograph today took about 40 years to reach its current form.

Visiting

The White House offers free self-guided tours of the State Floor. Requests must go through your Member of Congress, submitted between 7 and 90 days in advance of your intended visit date. You can reach the Congressional office responsible for your district through the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, or online via congress.gov/members. International visitors should contact their country’s embassy in Washington to arrange access.

Tours run Tuesday through Saturday. Tuesday to Thursday hours are 07:30 to 11:30. Friday and Saturday hours extend to 13:30. Tours last around 45 minutes. They can be cancelled without much notice due to official White House events, even after a tour has been confirmed. This is not unusual.

From May 2025, all visitors require a REAL ID-compliant form of government identification or a passport. Standard non-REAL IDs are no longer accepted. If you’re unsure whether your ID qualifies, check the Department of Homeland Security’s REAL ID compliance list before travelling.

The tour covers the public rooms of the State Floor: the Blue Room, Red Room, Green Room, State Dining Room, Cross Hall, and Entrance Hall. These are not reconstructions; they are functional rooms used for diplomatic receptions and state dinners. The furnishings include original pieces and period-appropriate acquisitions stretching back to the Adams administration. Photography for personal use is permitted throughout; flash is not.

The Exterior and Surrounding Area

If you can’t get a tour, or your dates don’t align with tour availability, the exterior and surrounding areas give you most of the visual payoff with no booking required. The North Lawn facing Pennsylvania Avenue provides the classic front facade view. Lafayette Square, directly north of the White House, is a public park where you can sit and look at the building without obstruction. The South Lawn is not publicly accessible, but the Ellipse, the large oval park to the south, provides views of the south portico facade, the portico that James Hoban added in 1824.

The National Mall stretches east from the Ellipse toward the Capitol. The walk from the White House to the Lincoln Memorial is about 1.5 miles and passes the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, and the Reflecting Pool. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a short detour north of the Mall route near the Lincoln Memorial. All of these sites are free, outdoors, and accessible at any hour.

Where to Eat

Old Ebbitt Grill on 15th Street NW, one block from the White House, has operated in various forms since 1856 and is the oldest saloon in Washington. The current location opened in 1983. It serves oysters, steaks, and American bistro food at prices that reflect the central location (mains around $30 to $50). The bar is long and tends to fill with a mix of local government workers and tourists who’ve figured out that this is a better option than the hotel restaurants. Reservations are advisable for dinner.

Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street NW is further from the White House (around a mile and a half north), but the half-smoke sausage served with chili, mustard, and onions has been the correct Washington food order since 1958. Bill Cosby and Barack Obama have both eaten here publicly, which is noted on the premises with photographs. The U Street corridor around Ben’s is the practical neighbourhood alternative to the tourist-facing blocks near the Mall if you want a proper sense of one of Washington’s most historically Black neighbourhoods.

The Hamilton on F Street NW, a few blocks from the White House, operates as a restaurant during the day and converts to a music venue in the evenings. The menu is American, the portions are generous, and the bar programme is competent. The space is large enough that it doesn’t feel overcrowded even on busy Friday nights.

Where to Stay

The Hay-Adams on Lafayette Square is the most desirable position for a White House visit: directly across H Street from the north side of the building, with rooms on the upper floors looking over the trees into the grounds. The hotel dates from 1928, built on the site of the former homes of John Hay and Henry Adams. Rates start around $400 per night in shoulder season and climb considerably in spring when Washington fills for cherry blossom season and government events.

The Willard InterContinental on Pennsylvania Avenue is half a block from the White House and has been operating since the 1850s. President Ulysses Grant is said to have sat in the lobby drinking brandy while lobbyists approached him, which is the proposed etymology of “lobbying” as a political term. Whether or not the story is accurate, the hotel’s connection to the mechanics of American political power is genuine and tangible in the portraits and historical records displayed throughout the building. Rates are comparable to the Hay-Adams.

For a more budget-conscious stay with reasonable access to the Mall, the Dupont Circle neighbourhood (about 1.5 miles north of the White House) has a range of mid-range hotels and good restaurant options. The Red Line Metro from Dupont Circle station puts you at McPherson Square, a 10-minute walk from the White House and 15 minutes from the Mall.

Getting Around

Washington’s Metro is clean, reliable, and the most practical way to move between sights. A SmarTrip card, loaded at any Metro station, costs $2 per journey for most central routes. The Blue, Orange, and Silver lines converge at the Federal Triangle and McPherson Square stations, both convenient for the White House and Mall. Buses and rideshares are available throughout but unnecessary for the main tourist circuit.

Cherry blossom season in late March and early April draws enormous crowds to the Mall and Jefferson Memorial Tidal Basin. If you’re visiting then, book accommodation at least three months in advance and expect the Metro to be extremely busy on weekends.