Here are a couple of tips:
* The parking lot at the Tidal Basin is off-limits during the Cherry Blossom Festival.
* Metro has more eight-car trains in service on the Orange and Red lines weekdays. The extra 10 cars Metro are running weekday mornings and afternoons, adding 640 additional seats for riders.
* If you don't have a SmarTrip card, buy a $9 Metrorail One-Day Pass. The pass can be used after 9:30 a.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends.
* If you are driving or taking Metro, head to see the blossoms during off-peak times. Metro recommends avoiding the area between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. For more tips for taking Metro, click here.
* Metro has curtailed its weekend track maintenance during the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which starts Saturday.
* If you want to drive, Hains Point is lined with cherry trees. You can park there and get a neat view of the airport as well.
* Tourmobile will offer free cherry blossom shuttles. Service starts Saturday, March 26 and continues through April 10. Shuttles will run between Hains Point and the Jefferson Memorial from 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily, with 11 stops in between, making pickups about every half hour.