Pulsating music sets the mood around the custom-made, $250,000 circular steel and glass Infusion Bar on the rooftop level. The illuminated bar top and a ring of lighted flavor disks identifying spigots of chilled spirits lure sleek-looking hipsters to the most scenic corner of Pose Ultra Lounge. With shot choices like Bloody Smokin' Hot, Dreamsicle and The Spicy Redhead, takers elevate their killer floor-to-ceiling window views of national monument icons even more.

Where is this? Vegas, Berlin, Macao? Not even close. As one feature of the spanking-new, 300-acre National Harbor community on the Potomac River, Pose is a comer among hip and trendy attractions, restaurants and clubs that are lifting the Washington, D.C., region out of gray government pallor. And even more exciting is arriving Venetian style, via water taxi.

River riders hail floating taxis to access other stops too: D.C.'s upscale Georgetown district and Old Town Alexandria. George's Mount Vernon estate is on the rounds too. National Harbor has the newest taxi docks downriver from D.C. The community is also accessible via roadways and Metro subway, but Potomac Riverboat water taxi passengers get bonus views of historic Maryland and Virginia shorelines and jaw-dropping underside glimpses of the massive new $2.5 billion Woodrow Wilson Bridge river span.

But there's plenty more than Pose pulling visitors into National Harbor on the Maryland waterfront.

New dining spots, hotels, clubs and attractions are unfolding inside the region's riverside destinations. The site's centerpiece is the recently opened $865 million Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center, home to Pose, and the largest combined hotel and convention center on the East Coast. The club shares billing with the Gaylord's climate-controlled glass atrium that's planted with indoor gardens, winding pathways and a meandering indoor river in view of most guest rooms. Rounding out the Gaylord amenities are a 20,000-foot spa, four restaurants, retail stops, a marina and river views of D.C. and Old Town Alexandria on the Virginia side.

Coming elsewhere at National Harbor along leafy waterside promenades are more five more hotels, shops, condominiums, its Fleet Street lineup of nightclubs and entertainment venues. About three dozen restaurants, including Dolce Enoteca e Ristorante and Ketchup — two hip concepts developed by Los Angeles restaurateurs — are arriving in the coming months. This October, Cirque du Soleil will pitch its colorful big top at National Harbor to present Kooza, a show of acrobatic performance and the art of clowning.

National Harbor is also base for the Potomac's latest recreational component, Seadog Cruises, a 35-mph, 45-minute speed and sightseeing rip onboard a 70-foot open-air boat. Up to 100 passengers feel the charge of two 1,800-horsepower engines as they run by Old Town Alexandria, Jones Point Lighthouse, historic Fort Washington and Mount Vernon. Seadog is one brand of Entertainment Cruises that also operates tour, dining and entertainment cruises on the Potomac, Lake Michigan and Baltimore Harbor for up to 850 guests on various vessels.

Twenty-minute water taxi rides connect all that's new at National Harbor with the history and hip along Old Town Alexandria's waterfront and districts. This is affection ally known as George Washington's hometown, and Colonial- and Civil War-era history oozes from the town's walls and streets. But in between, contemporary culinary stops, boutiques and galleries give visitors plenty of reasons to stay awhile.

Alexandria has become a chef-friendly town, and several new tables like Jackson 20 in the new Hotel Monaco Alexandria, Bookbinders and Le Pan Quotidien have earned recent acclaim, while one of the first on the scene, Cathal Armstrong's Restaurant Eve, remains a headliner. Carlyle Club evokes the romantic style of '40s with art deco decor and big-band entertainment from a stage surrounded by candle-lit, bistro-style tables. And it features props from "The Aviator" movie to carry out the theme.

For those with eyes for art, there's Torpedo Factory Art Center, home to working studios of more than 165 artists along the Virginia Potomac waterfront. Getting to the Alexandria waterfront from all over D.C. has never been easier, with the free, new King Street Trolley. Operating daily from 10 to 10, it connects King Street Metro station and Metro points all over the region with the waterfront and water taxi access.

North and south of the National Harbor-Alexandria Potomac crossing are other reasons to hail water taxis.

Sunset, evening and moonlight narrated water floats to Georgetown from National Harbor take riders past D.C.'s iconic bridges, landmarks and monuments, such as the Capitol, Lincoln and Washington Memorials, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts into historic Georgetown, where upscale shops, clubs and pubs are plentiful. Stopovers are allowed with round-trip tickets, so there's time to enjoy the district before returning to one's origination point.

Water taxi travelers to Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens get a particularly pleasing sense of arrival at the first president's beloved home, from either Alexandria or National Harbor. After passing Jones Point Lighthouse and historic Fort Washington, they arrive at the estate's dock and walk from the wharf to the mansion, gardens and museum. Cruisers may elect either round-trip or one-way fares to the estate, where the various attractions can easily consume five or six hours of touring — more if one chooses to dine at the 18th century-style Mount Vernon Inn. Shorter photo cruises are also available from Potomac Riverboat, but passengers don't disembark at the estate on these sails.

If George Washington were still around to greet his many guests, he would be pleased to see that his riverfront is inviting once again after years of polluted demise. Instead of being the "national disgrace" President Lyndon Johnson labeled it 40 years ago, the Potomac River has returned as D.C.'s front door and a fun way to get around the region, sans traffic congestion on land.

IF YOU GO

Potomac River water taxi schedules and tours are at www.potomacriverboatco.com. Learn about Seadog Cruises and dinner cruises (private and public) at www.entertainmentcruises.com and www.dandydinnerboat.com.

Information about dining, lodging and touring D.C.'s riverfront environs is at www.nationalharbor.com, www.gaylordhotels.com and www.visitalexandriava.com.

Ruth A. Hill is a freelance travel writer. To find out more about Ruth Hill and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.