Tours including The West Wing
Explore Washington D.C.'s famous TV & movie locations!
Tours that feature The West Wing
D.C. TV & Movie Tour
What People are Saying
“This tour was very entertaining. Our guide was a hoot. You still get to see DC, but in a different light.”
- Female, Age 50-59, Domestic Tourist
“On Location Tours’ Washington DC TV and Movie Sites tour is not like your usual guided trip around the city…”
-Washington Post, Sept. 2009
The West Wing, a drama created by Aaron Sorkin, ran from 1999 to 2006. The series is set in the West Wing of the White House—where the Oval Office and offices of presidential senior staff are located—during the fictional Democratic administration of Josiah Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen).
The West Wing employed a broad ensemble cast to portray the many positions involved in the daily work of the federal government. The President (Martin Sheen), the First Lady (Stockard Channing), and the President's senior staff and advisors form the core cast. Staff members included Allison Janney, Moira Kelly, Rob Lowe, Bradley Whitford, Janel Moloney, Mary McCormack, Jimmy Smits, and Alan Alda, among others.
The series developed following the success of 1995 film The American President, for which Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay, and Martin Sheen played the White House Chief of Staff. Unused plot elements from the film and a suggestion from screenwriter and producer Akiva Goldsman inspired Sorkin to create The West Wing.
In its first season, The West Wing won nine Emmys, a record for most won by a series in a single season. The West Wing ranks 8th all-time in number of Emmy Awards won by a series.
Though the series takes place in our Nation’s Capitol, much of the series was filmed on set in Burbank, California. The set is supposedly so realistic that Warner Brothers’ studio tour groups are not permitted inside the sound stages where the show is filmed due to White House security concerns.
The Oval Office set (originally designed by Michael J. Taylor) was constructed for the movie Dave (1993) and then subsequently used for The American President. It was also used during the filming of Contact (1997), when the carpet, made by the original company, had to be replaced for $28,000.
On the Washington D.C. Tour of TV & Movie Sites, you will be able to see not only some of the locations represented on the hit show, but the actual locations where filming took place.
A major locale that you will visit on the tour is the home of President and Mrs. Bartlet and the setting for most of the series: The White House. While our tour doesn’t take you inside the President’s home, public tours of the White House are available. Requests must be submitted through one's Member of Congress and are accepted up to six months in advance.
The drive-up West Wing entrance most often filmed for the show is actually a set used to cover a large door to one of the two sound stages. It's located at the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California, and can be seen from the street by looking in off Forest Lawn Drive.
Some of the exterior shots of the West Wing office were filmed on location at the South Portico of the Headquarters of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution on 1776 D Street NW in Washington D.C.
A visit to D.C. wouldn’t be complete without seeing Capitol Hill, home to our government’s two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Also seen frequently on the show is The United States Department of State (“State Department”), headquartered in the Harry S. Truman Building located at 2201 C Street, NW, a few blocks from the White House in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Check out the long arm of the law at the United States Supreme Court Building, located at 1 First Street, NE, on the block immediately east of the United States Capitol. Shown throughout the series, this locale played a large role in the episode “Take This Sabbath Day” that focused on the death penalty in the United States.
Also in the National Mall area, you’ll see many of the monuments that factor heavily in the Washington D.C. landscape, as well as the setting of The West Wing: the Jefferson Memorial, the Washington Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. The Jefferson Memorial is recognizable from a 6th season episode, “An Khe,” in which Leo meets with his friend Ken O’Neal, who saved his life while they were serving in Vietnam.
You can also explore the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, featured in the 52nd episode of the series, “The Women of Qumar.” In this episode, the museum fell under criticism for its plans to display an exhibit on the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Visit Arlington National Cemetery, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House. The cemetery is situated directly across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. and near The Pentagon. It was in this military cemetery that Mrs. Landingham and Toby attend the funeral of the homeless man who was found wearing a donated coat of Toby’s in the 10th episode of the series. The scene at Arlington was made with the full co-operation of the Pentagon, who liked the message of the script and wanted to do what they could to help.
President Bartlett spent some time recovering at the George Washington University Hospital after the skinhead assassination attempt at the end of Season One. The hospital is located at 900 23rd Street, NW.
You’ll also pass by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the nation’s busiest performing arts facility. Overlooking the Potomac River, the Kennedy Center is where Sam and C.J. accompanied the President to a concert in the second season.
Just past the Kennedy Center is the beautiful neighborhood of Georgetown, home to Georgetown University, the school attended by President Bartlett’s daughter, Zoey (Elisabeth Moss from Mad Men). President Bartlett gives the commencement speech at the University in Season Four when Zoey graduates.
During one of the shootings in Georgetown, filming at about three o'clock in the morning, an irate lady reportedly came out in a bathrobe with a bunch of guys. She said: “What the hell's going on? I have an early morning at the State Department. And, by the way, you people don't even have a Secretary of State on your show. And I think you should have one and it should be a woman.” The woman was Madeleine Albright.
Though not visited on the tour, the intersection at 18th Street and Potomac Avenue might be of interests to fans. Located near the Congressional Cemetery, it is at this intersection in the second-season episode “18th and Potomac,” that Mrs. Landingham is killed by a drunk driver while driving to the White House to show the President the new car she just bought. Her funeral is held at the Washington National Cathedral, located at Wisconsin and Massachusetts Ave., NW.
Zoey and Charlie share some champagne and a kiss at the National Arboretum, 24th and R Sts., NE.
Outside of D.C.
If you’d like to take a drive out of Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, Maryland, you can visit Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where President Bartlet threw out the first pitch in the season finale of the 5th season. The scene was shot prior to a game on April 23, 2004 against the Toronto Blue Jays. April 23 was a Friday, which is “student night” at Oriole Park; anyone with a valid student ID (or attending the game along with someone who has a student ID) was able to purchase an upper level reserve ticket for $5 (the price has since been increased). As a result, there were significantly more fans in the upper deck at the time the scene was being shot, between 30 and 60 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the game, and the crew invited fans to come down and fill in the sections of the park that would be seen by the cameras in the scene. The scoreboard, visible in the scene, named President Bartlet as that game’s first pitch participant.
Further northwest of Baltimore is Naval Support Facility Thurmont, popularly known as Camp David, a mountain-based military camp in Frederick County, Maryland used as a country retreat and for high alert protection of the President of the United States and his guests. Camp David features heavily in the beginning of the 6th season during the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
* In an effort to stay current, we are constantly updating our tours with new locations and cannot guarantee the presence of locations mentioned on our site. If you have a particular interest in locations from a specific TV show or movie, please let your tour guide know and we will do our best to accomodate your request.
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On Location TV & Movie Tours
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