The White House is one of the world's most well-recognised buildings, and home every president of the United States but George Washington himself. An Irish builder called James Hoban won a contest for the right to build a home for the American presidents and modelled it after his favourite Irish country house.



The President's area of the White House is the West Wing. He works here with his staff from the famous Oval Office, located within this wing. The White House d'cor has been changed many a time over the years, and it's always interesting to see what each first Family does with the place while they're there. Most famously Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan made some of the biggest changes to the White House interiors.

A well thought out piece of design, the White House is not only impressive from the outside, but inside consists of a series of rooms, each with its own special purpose. A whole floor of the White House is dedicated to welcoming visiting guests, signatories and heads of state. Dinner is served in this State Floor's huge State Dining Room, while guests are received in the Blue Room or Red Room and parties are given in the East Room.

With the ushering in of a new American president, what better time to make a visit to the White House. We've compiled all the information you might need to plan your White House visit below. It's worth noting that these tours are very popular, so booking in advance is essential.

Getting there

The White House is close to several metro stations ? these are Metro Center, McPherson Square and Federal Triangle. Parking however is not so easy to come by in the White House area, so we'd recommend taking public transport for a less stressful trip.

Tours of the White House, Self-guided tours are available throughout the year, but only groups of up to ten people at a time are allowed at any one time. For this reason, booking in advance is a must. White House events can often lead to the cancellation or postponement of public tours which operate all week except Sunday and Monday. You'll roughly need to book up to one month ahead, but if you don't get a place in time for your trip to Washington, you can still enjoy the White House Visitor Center.

White House Visitor Center

Before or after your White House Tour, or if you haven't managed to secure a place on a White House tour, a trip to the White House Visitor Centre will give you all the background information you need to know about this famous building and its place in the world's history. The Center is located at the southeast corner of 15th and E Streets and is open seven days a week from 7.30am to 4pm where you can read and watch films about the Presidential home.