us capitol tour visitor center

Things To Do

Book a tour, specialty tours, exhibition hall, group resources, shopping and dining, watching congress in session.

Welcome to Washington, DC, the nation’s capital. You will find an abundance of cultural, educational, and just plain fun attractions and events here. Start your trip planning with the useful resources below.

United States Congress

U.S. Capitol Visitor Center Book a tour, look at a Capitol map and find other useful information. The mission of the Visitor Center at the U.S. Capitol is to provide a welcoming and educational environment for visitors to learn about the unique characteristics of the House and the Senate and the legislative process as well as the history and development of the architecture and art of the U.S. Capitol.

Map of Capitol Grounds The Capitol, House and Senate office buildings.

Map of Accessible Transportation at the Capitol Accessible entrances and transportation servicing the Capitol and surrounding buildings.

Virtual Tour of Capitol Explore the nation's Capitol, including the old and current House chambers.

Library of Congress

Each of “America’s Library buildings”, named for a U.S. President (Adams, Jefferson, and Madison), contains millions of cataloged books and other print materials on 530 miles of shelving is a world-renowned research center for scholars easily accessible to both Congress and the public. Special exhibitions —including a permanent display of the Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed with movable type—make the Library a favorite tourist attraction. First Street and Independence Avenue, SE.

Supreme Court of the United States

“Equal Justice Under Law” is the promise on the portals of the Supreme Court building.Court sessions begin the first Monday in October and continue two weeks per month through April. Courtroom seats are available to visitors on a first-come, first-served basis when the Court is in session. Twenty-minute courtroom lectures are available every hour on the half-hour when the court is not in session. Group tours are available and must be made in advance. First and East Capitol Streets, NE.

United States Botanic Garden

Located at the base of Capitol Hill, the conservatory features more than 20,000 plants, including exotic flowers and fruit species. First Street and Maryland Avenue, SW.

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

U.S. Capitol Visitor Center

Take a tour of the historic Capitol, where you can see the Crypt of the Capitol, the Rotunda, and National Statuary Hall.

Phone number

1-202-226-8000

Main address

Have a question.

Ask a real person any government-related question for free. They will get you the answer or let you know where to find it.

How Do I Tour the U.S. Capitol and See Congress in Session?

Learn all you need to know about visiting and touring america’s center of democracy..

UPDATE: The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. All tours are free and are led by professional tour guides and do not include the Senate and House Galleries. The tour route is subject to change. Note that advance reservations are required for a tour. Visitors enter through the Capitol Visitor Center, located underground on the east side of the Capitol. Please leave time to go through security and review the U.S. Capitol’s prohibited items list before your visit.

The U.S. Capitol Building is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world and the center of American democracy. The world-famous domed building is home to the United States House of Representatives and Senate; where America’s congressmen and congresswomen conduct business, debate laws and pass bills on behalf of the American people. The U.S. Capitol and U.S. Capitol Visitor Center  is also one of DC’s most popular monuments and museums and welcomes millions of visitors each year.

Tour groups in United States Capitol Building Rotunda - Attractions and landmarks in Washington, DC

How do I arrange a tour of the United States Capitol Building?

Plan your visit in advance! A public tour of the U.S. Capitol is free and open to anyone who makes an advanced reservation, although there are some same-day tickets available by standing in line at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center (note that lines will be long during spring and summer).  We recommend reserving a  reserving a tour date and time .

All tours begin and end at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, open Monday-Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (except Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Inauguration Day).  Tours typically take about 90 minutes and are  fully accessible for people with disabilities.

What will I see on a Capitol tour?

Guided tours begin with a 13-minute intro film, followed stops in the Capitol Rotunda, where guides point out the center point of the District of Columbia, as well as demonstrate the unique acoustical effect where a speaker several yards away can be heard more clearly than a speaker close to the listener. The Capitol Dome is encircled by murals, and the fresco on the eye of the ceiling is called The Apotheosis of Washington showing President Washington rising to the heavens in glory with Liberty and Victory/Fame beside him. Below, on the walls of the Rotunda, are large paintings depicting significant events in American history: The Signing of the Declaration of Independence, The Baptism of Pocohontas, The Embarkation of the Pilgrims, The Landing of Columbus and General George Washington Resigning His Commission. Other stops on the 45-minute walking tour include the Crypt, National Statuary Hall and connecting corridors of the U.S. Capitol, where you’ll see statues representing every state.

Can I see Congress in session?

The guided tour doesn't include the Senate and House galleries. However, visitors can obtain free passes through their congressmen to view both chambers when Congress is in session. International visitors can ask about gallery passes at the House and Senate Appointment Desks on the upper level of the Capitol Visitor Center. When Congress is not in session, the galleries are open to the public Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. However, viewing hours are subject to change and are not always the same for the House and Senate galleries. You can check the schedules with your Congressional office when requesting gallery passes. Read more information about  watching Congress in session  and viewing the House and Senate galleries.

@paddyleahy

What’s in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center?

You’ll find a cafeteria and gift shop in the Capitol Visitor Center. The gift shop carries merchandise inspired by the art and architecture of the U.S. Capitol. The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. for continental breakfast and lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you haven’t printed your tour reservation, bring along the number you were assigned. There are free listening devices in multiple languages for international visitors.

How do I get to the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center?

Because there is very little parking, it is best to travel via the  Metro or the DC Circulator. There are three Metro stops within walking distance of the U.S. Capitol: Union Station (Red Line), Capitol South and Federal Center SW (Orange, Silver and Blue lines). The Capitol Visitor Center, which serves as the main public entrance, is located beneath the East Front plaza of the U.S. Capitol at First and East Capitol streets.

Looking for more in the neighborhood? Take advantage of  our guide to Capitol Hill .

More About DC

You may also like..

80+ Things to Do This May in Washington, DC

8 Things to See & Do in DC's Brookland Neighborhood

Things to Do This Week in Washington, DC

U.S. Capitol Visitor Center

• Capitol South • 7 min walk

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Also popular with travelers

U.S. Capitol Visitor Center - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

• Capitol Hill, Supreme Court & Library of Congress Guided Tour (From $73.14)
• Capitol Hill, Supreme Court and Library of Congress ExclusiveTour (From $73.14)
• Washington DC in One Day: Guided Sightseeing Tour (From $89.00)
• Small Group Tour of DC with Reserved National Archives Entry (From $119.00)
• Glass-Top or Open-Top Convertible Bus Tour of DC (From $119.00)
• (0.07 mi) Placemakr Dupont Circle, Washington DC
• (0.46 mi) Kimpton The George
• (0.37 mi) Capitol Hill Hotel
• (0.52 mi) Phoenix Park Hotel
• (0.41 mi) Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
• (0.02 mi) US Capitol Visitor Center Restaurant
• (0.07 mi) Mi Vida
• (0.07 mi) Kitchen & Kocktails
• (0.07 mi) Raven's Point
• (0.07 mi) Foxtrot - Georgetown

Inside the Capitol Visitors Center

After years of delays and millions of dollars spent, the brand-new Capitol Visitors Center opens in December

Anika Gupta

The new Capitol Visitor Center opens December 2, after an eight-year delay and a cost overrun of hundreds of millions. At 580,000 square feet, the Visitor Center is the largest addition to the Capitol in its 215-year history.

When builders broke ground for the project in June 2000, they planned to lay the final stone in late 2005. But after September 11, 2001, legislators demanded greater security measures in the Visitor Center. The estimated cost rose from $265 million to $621 million.

Now that the Visitor Center is finally open, what will visitors get?

For starters, they'll enter from the East side—the side opposite from the National Mall—and take a set of stairs into the building's underground main chamber, Emancipation Hall, which is nearly three times the size of the Capitol Rotunda. Emancipation Hall, named in honor of the enslaved laborers who helped build the original Capitol, stretches nearly 20,000 square feet underground. Statues from the National Statuary Hall collection decorate the perimeter—luminaries include Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the television, and King Kamehameha of Hawaii, whose gold-caped statue towers over the others.

Visitors may watch a new orientation video, "E Pluribus Unum," named for the motto found on the Seal of the United States meaning "out of many, one." The curious can get additional information about the Capitol along the room's far walls. The hungry can grab a bite at a new 550-seat restaurant, catered by the same company behind the House and Senate cafeterias in the Capitol. Sightseers can loiter in museum galleries dedicated to American and Congressional history. Each "historical alcove" spans 35-50 years, and features videos and text from major events and how Congress shaped them. As the only museum dedicated to the history of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the exhibitions highlight the impact of Congressional action on our history.

Two separate viewing galleries stream videos of the Senate and the House in action, and interactive "Jeopardy"-style quizzes let visitors test their legislative know-how against a friend's.

One of the main draws is the "touchable Dome," an 11-foot polyurethane model of the Capitol, built as a replica on a 20:1 scale. Visitors can run their hands over the balconies, windows and doors, and take a peek at miniature versions of the frescos on the inside of the dome.

"We wanted to create a more complete experience," says Terrie Rouse, CEO for Visitor Services at the Visitor Center. "We have masses of people coming in of multiple ages and they all want to be informed."

For those who took the Capitol tour in years past, the experience usually began with a hike up Capitol Hill and a long wait in line. Guides took visitors into the main Rotunda, into the galleries where the House and Senate convene, and then released them to their own devices in the building's crypt. The entire tour rarely lasted more than an hour, and there was no museum to provide greater context to the experience. When winter weather turned nasty, visitors waited outside. When the summer heat and humidity was unbearable, they waited outside. Once inside, there were no restaurants, and tourists had to jockey to use one of the Capitol's five public bathrooms. The Capitol could only accommodate 1500 people at a time, but during the spring cherry blossom season, interest often peaked at 4000.

Compared to that, the new Visitor Center is an expansive, if expensive, haven.

Get the latest History stories in your inbox?

Click to visit our Privacy Statement .

Anika Gupta | | READ MORE

Anika Gupta’s writing has appeared in India and the United States, including in Business Today magazine, where she served as its first digital content editor, the Hindustan Times newspaper and Smithsonian magazine. Currently, she is a Master's student at MIT, where she studies user-generated content and mainstream media culture. She's also a science writer, media blogger, and essayist.