The White House

[coccinelle]

Now that the White House is open again to the public my plans to visit Washington are back on. Has anybody here visited the White House? I think you have to get an appointment through your embassy so I'm looking into it.

[Zacs-Master]

If you wish to visit the White House and are a citizen of a foreign country, please contact your embassy in Washington, DC for assistance in submitting a tour request.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours-and-events

[coccinelle]

Thank you Zacs. Yes, that's what I've read. Just wondered if anybody on here had done it. Not sure if it might be such a small percentage of non-americans who are accepted.

[sddsddean]

We didn't do the White House ('cos apparently you don't see very much of it), but a friend of ours who lives in Florida wrote to her Congresswoman's office and got us a tour of the Capitol building. We got an e mail of introduction and arrived at the office. We were then taken through the tunnels to the main Capitol building by an 'intern' who was very knowledgable. Just her and me and my wife. Much better than joining the 'public' tours where you are herded round ina group of 30+. We were there for about 3hrs. Got any US friends?

[237SJ]

I`m in Washington next month. I might give it a go (if I`m not too knackered). If I do, I`ll report back.

[coccinelle]

No, I don't have any US friends YET!! You were very lucky to see that personally! I think you do get to see all the ground floor of the WH, not the president's living quarters upstairs. There's also a chance of meeting up with Michelle Obama as she sometimes greets visitors.
237, please do give it a go and tell me how complicated it is. Mind you application has to be at least 3 weeks before your intended visit and as it's just recently opened again there might be a waiting list... Good luck!

[237SJ]

Thanks coccinelle. Yes, it looks like you have to get the British Embassy in Washington to organise it. Looks like I`m not there before Christmas after all as I read the airport code wrong and I`m elsewhere. I`ll definitely look into it next year though.

[jno]

I went round back in the Carter years when you just turned up and queued for half an hour; and I saw a lot. Plus it was free, so better value than Buckingham Palace. A very interesting couple of hours, I thought. But I don't know whether you still see all the rooms I saw.