White House Tours and Potomac ‘Buses’

The spring tourist season is beginning in Washington, D.C., where there’s something new on the Potomac River and something old at the White House.

A new “water bus” is scheduled to begin plying the Potomac River by next Sunday, the opening day of the annual two-week Cherry Blossom Festival.

Washington Water Bus will operate four electric-powered boats through October. The vessels, which seat 20 passengers on open decks, will make four stops: the 14th Street Bridge / Jefferson Memorial; Lincoln / FDR Memorials; Washington Harbor-Georgetown, and Theodore Roosevelt Island, which otherwise is accessible only by a pedestrian bridge.

All-day tickets ($9 for adults, $7 kids 14 and under) will be sold on board, and discount tickets will be available at various capital locations. Call (800) 288-7925.

Meanwhile, the White House has resumed its tourist-season tour ticket policy. Until Aug. 31, free timed-entry tickets for White House tours must be obtained at the White House Visitor Center, 1450 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, the morning of the visit. The limit is six tickets per person. Tours are given Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 to noon. Advance passes are not available. For information, call (202) 208-1631.