U.S. Capitol

We visited over the holiday break and booked a Capitol tour which was one of the highlights of our trip. I highly recommend securing tickets in advance for the tour to avoid the ticket purchase lines (which are long). We had advanced tickets and were able to pick up our tickets immediately and had a short wait for our tour to begin. I also recommend arriving 30 minutes early to get through security. Otherwise, you may miss your scheduled tour time.

I was a little nervous that our pre-teen son might be bored by the tour but he loved it and said he learned a lot. It helped that the tour starts with a video in a theater. There is also a lot of movement with multiple tours happening at the same time and lots to see to keep your interest. Our tour guide also did a great job of speaking to particular statues and topics that were most of interest to the people in our group. Overall, the tour is not long either so it does not get boring.

I definitely recommend a visit for anyone who has not visited before.

Tours are free and you can reserve a time on-line, which is a good idea since the Capitol building is a popular destination. The walking tour is about an hour long and includes mostly the central ceremonial spots such as the rotunda and statuary hall. More detailed tours can be arranged elsewhere, such as through your congressional representative. Listening devices are provided to everyone, since the halls echo and the place is crowded.

The underground visitors center is beautiful and has nice restrooms, historic displays, good gift shops, and a very good and reasonably priced cafe. Security is tight, at least as thorough as airport security, so don't pack in anything the least bit dangerous. Also, young children and strollers can be a pain due to the stairs, the crowds, and the noise. Kids 10 or older would probably enjoy it. The closest metro station is Capitol South.

We didn’t pay attention and had to return the day after to take the tour… The security is tighter than the one you would go through on a flight – no food of any kind (not even closed wrapped food) no liquid of any kind and you will have to enter 30 min before your scheduled tour to go through security. Print a hard copy of your tour pass. We booked in advance the tour (free) online – the tour starts from the visitor center and as mentioned – you have to get there earlier to go through security.
Once inside you will stand in line again to replace your voucher for timed stickers, then follow the signs to the tour entrance hall – where you will get headphones and explanations in foreign languages if needed. Our guide Lisa was the best!!! She filled us with informative knowledge and lots of humor which boosted our attention greatly. After seeing a short film (very well edited) you will continue to the Rotunda – which is the highlight of this tour – so detailed and pretty… try to stand under the dome and just imagine how it was like when all these historic epics were happening… The tour ends at the visitor center which has a souvenir shop - tour took approximately 1 hour – 2 hours with security and after tour visitor center. Highly recommended if you’re a tourist visiting DC for the first time!

We did the guided tour and loved it! Our guide was so informative and I know we got so much more information than if we just walked around ourselves. The tour is fairly quick, but you can go back and take a longer look at things after its over. We also ate there and thought the food was really good, the staff was super friendly and the prices were very reasonable. We waited in a line for about 30 mins to get in, which isn't terrible, but we learned later that the Library of Congress is attached to the Capitol by a tunnel. So, once you enter either one, you can access the other without going through security again. When we left through the LOC, I noticed that there was no line to get in. My tip would be to maybe see if you can get in quicker through the LOC, then walk over to the Capitol, especially if you have a tour booked in advance and are in a time crunch or if the weather is bad (it rained on us).

Just back from my second DC trip. In addition to the general tour of the capitol, I highly recommend the additional tours offered. I've done the Senate murals tour (last spring), which shows the opulent and colorful murals that grace the Senate chamber halls, and the new Votes for Women tour (last week), which focuses on the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment.

Both tours were excellent. And they can be smaller and more personal, too. You can see what's being offered by checking the Visitor's Center calendar on its website. Tour tickets (free) are available at the info desk each morning. You can come by first thing and get a pass and then go do something else (I went to the Supreme Court for oral arguments last week and returned for my tour at 1:00). Or you can get a bite at the cafeteria (try the Senate bean soup!)

I’ve always been here in the summer and super crowded but there are no crowds in the winter. I was here with teens and they loved seeing all the hoopla with the impeachment. All they could see were cameras set up but it got them excited. Tour is informative enough to keep the teens engaged. It took an hour. By the time we left there were even less people in the lobby waiting for a tour. We made reservations but didn’t need them. We were there on a Friday at 8:30 for the 9 am tour. I mentioned the crowd situation during summer but she explained that spring break is the busiest time of the year for DC.

Per the website we arrived for a family tour that occurs a few times a month. Sadly they decided to cancel these tours as it was more off season but didn’t update the website. We had a devastated daughter that had spent months building the Capitol out of legos & wanted to see it in person. Gallery passes usually require going through your representative. There are long lines with timed tours & passes as well but we spent so long trying to go eith staff to figure out what was going on with the family tour that we then did not have the bandwidth with kids to wait in a long line for a timed option. Sadly missed seeing much but it’s still a spectacular building.

I have traveled all over the world and currently reside in Germany, so I have seen some amazing architecture and taken some incredible tours. Seeing the US Capital today on a tour versus looking at it from the outside was so much more than I expected. The building speaks for itself but for me it was the docent who made the tour so very impressive. Mr. D. Wall is a credit to the staff and is a true ambassador of what this building represents to our nation. He is very well informed and knowledgable to an impressive level. His breath of experience with regard to US History was clearly evident throughout the tour. Mr. Wall's ability to tie in many aspects of history demonstrated a clear understanding of events and how then have helped to shaped this nation. Finally, his personal presentation style sets him above many other tour guides I have encountered during my travels. Thank you very much Mr. Wall for a great visit, I also sincerely enjoyed our chat when the tour concluded.

My guide was very knowledgeable and explained to symbolism and functionality of parts of the building. I was surprised to see that the interior is not as ornate as the LOC or White House. I do wish I could have seen Congress in action - so much going on in the country right now.

Our tour would be considered 'Walking tour of US Capitol Interior.'

We were very fortunate we got tickets the same day (Tuesday July 5) whereas normally, this tour sells out prior. Anyway, upon arrival, we were warmly greeted by a couple of members of the tour staff who led us downstairs to get our actual tickets (a sticker we wore during our time).

After the introduction movie in the theatre (about 15 minutes), we got into Laura's line for the actual tour. We certainly picked the correct tour guide as she was very friendly and very knowledgeable about the Capitol. We also knew Laura was an excellent tour guide because the other two groups (from the total number of other visitors in the theatre with us) were finished long before we were!