How to Tour the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC

[@davidrogers0717]

Just went on the tour today. Did not have advance tickets as all time slots were taken. We just went to the visitor center to look around and the staff there got us in. They were very helpful so don’t stay away just because their website doesn’t have any openings.

[@VictorGCancun]

My family and I did the tour last July, we booked three months in advance and it was a amazing experience, the attention of the staff was the best and the group was not very large and the great knowledge of our guide was exceptional, we are from Cancun Mexico!!

[@TripHacksDC]

Awesome!

[@pdxaviation]

Been able to do a walk up tour and a private tour with my grandfather's Honor Flight. The one thing that sticks out the most (besides all the beautiful architecture) was the "quiet spot" or whatever they call it with the crazy acoustics.

[@tclark1122]

I took a capital tour about 33 years ago. I notice they changed the front of it. You used to be able to have cars drive in and out of front of the building. Like once we saw the Mexican president coming out of the capital. And one time the President came out and waved at me. But the way they have it now, there doesn't look like there is any kind of street or drive in front It looks like they built a closed in area there. Which I totally understand why. I just didn't know they did this. When was it done?

[@janiceromani470]

I booked a White House tour for September. Just waiting to hear a couple weeks before to find out which out of three days I picked. I booked a Capital Tour on website. I liked the ease of it and glad you covered the two differences. I’m sticking with the Red coat tour guides.

[@rawusnews]

I just had a tour through my congressman's office. They cancelled my "staff-led" tour a week prior, but when I did the regular tour, I walked up to the appointment desk, and they gave me passes to visit the galleries.

[@TripHacksDC]

Nice way to salvage it

[@johnbrooks8788]

Valuable information, thanks Trip Hacks DC!

[@TripHacksDC]

You bet!

[@keithclifton392]

I want to put in a plug for the Capitol Cafe. With few affordable options on Capitol Hill, the variety and quality of food makes this a good lunch option.

[@PaulaM-cq5ec]

We went the last week of March and had an appointment with our representative’s intern. Although he’d only been on the job for two months, he was fairly knowledgeable and even got us into the Senate chambers and out on the balcony overlooking the National Mall and the Washington Monument - what a view! Our tour lasted about two hours. We enjoyed eating in the cafeteria afterwards because of the variety of food choices and it allowed us to spend more time efficiently exploring that end of the Mall.

[@frednich9603]

we saw SO much on the Congressional office tour. We got to meet one of our senators, get our photo taken with him, saw a session of the senate, and so many more rooms. When I saw your description of the red coat tour, I was like "that's it???" This was in 2019, pre-covid and of course pre- Jan 6th

[@evelyngrammar]

Perfect timing! We signed up for the guided tour in April. This helps us to understand where to go to get into the Capitol. Thanks!

[@TripHacksDC]

Have fun

[@liortepper3619]

I did the regular tour twice, in 2019 and last December, and really loved it. Even more, I think that if time allows its a must to join the additional available tours that they offer. I have done another two, one after the other, and it was great. One of them was just me alone, with Andrew from the video, so it was even better. I think it was the place I liked most to visit in DC. Thanks for the video Rob.

[@TripHacksDC]

Whoa. Cool!

[@BeLoud13]

I'm glad I bought your DC Travel book!

[@TripHacksDC]

😃 thank you!

[@warrenrhinerson6373]

I’ve been there a few times. Absolutely love it

[@TripHacksDC]

It's pretty awesome

[@cmason1719]

I booked our tour through our representative's office but it was about two weeks before reelections so i think thats why they just booked us a capitol visitor tour. We loved it although it was super crowded and my headset died halfway through the tour. My group did manage to get passes to the senate chambers which are beuatiful. we werent able to get house passes due to them being in session.

[@bandsoundful]

Hi Rob, thank you for your videos. I'm planning to visit both US Capitol and the library of Congress on the same day. If I were to book the Capitoal visit say at 9am, how much time should I allow to book for a tour of the library of Congress? As they are both kind of close to each other it would be ideal to visit them in tandam, thanks for your time

[@jasperschouten9353]

Tried to book a reservation for next weekend.....all booked. Someone posted that they were able to just show up and staff were able to get them on a tour. Seems too good to count on. Not sure whether its worth going if we don't have a reservation for a tour. Any thoughts Rob?

[@lorrainefloyd9845]

Rob, your videos are great! I have watched many and feel like I know you personally. They are very informative especially when a trip to D.C. seems to be a trip like no other due to the many ticketed timed areas. I have per your suggestions scheduled reservations for touring different sites. My husband and I are traveling to D.C. towards the end of May from Pittsburgh, Pa. We are excited for an adventrure! If you hear someone give you a shout out it's probably from us! Thanks😁

[@johnbeerbower3623]

I's there a dress code for the tours or if you have a pass to the House and Senate galleries with your Senator's office ?

[@s80keys]

Hands down, I prefer the congressional tours. Number of people in my group? 2! The intern was actually very knowledgeable and friendly. June is peak tourism season and there were what seemed like thousands of visitors on the red-coat tours, so much so that they were very annoying trying to navigate through the various areas. Our congressional guide did a great job getting past those large groups and made it very enjoyable. We took several underground paths that I'm pretty sure we would not have been allowed in via the red-coat tours, but it saved us from getting soaked outside in the rain. The only downside is that we had to take the time slot given to us, but we knew this in advance and planned our trip accordingly. Our congressman's office also moved our time slot to avoid the tour being cancelled due to a last-minute tour stop at the capital.

[@susanmance9436]

We did the visitor center tour in 2019, I think, and we enjoyed it very much. I recommend it over the White House tour.

[@emmyloudrzal3170]

We visited the Capitol this past October. Went through our local representative and applied three months prior to our visit. We did not score the Congressional tour,but had an exceptional visit. We arrived early and was able to hear about how to sign up for the outside tour and the behind the scenes tour. Both were excellent and the tour guides were informative and made our visit exciting! Since the Senate was not in session that day we even able to sign up for a the Senate chamber visit. Spending time in the chamber was extremely cool! Here there were lockers for cell phones & etc as security was super tight! With all the extra’s we spent most of the day at the Capitol! We even ate in the cafeteria and found the food and the selections quite tasty and the price super reasonable! Believe this visit was the highlight of our D.C. visit! Even over the White House visit!

[@Potompkins]

Rob, I have been checking out your many videos and found them helpful. I have a question about the items that are not allowed in the Capitol tour. The last time that we were there in 2012, my husband and I were denied admission because we had a backpack and water bottles. I see a young man in your video who is walking around with a backpack. Also, someone said that they have lockers. I thought not. could you clarify? right now, we have our passes but I am thinking that I will see out so I can hold the knapsacks for my family. thank you.

[@TripHacksDC]

Bags under a certain dimension are allowed. Capitol Police may also make exceptions on a case by case basis for persons with disabilities or who need additional accommodations. It's impossible to say for sure based on the video alone. www.visitthecapitol.gov/visit/know-before-you-go/prohibited-items

[@rick9426]

I was at the visitor center, Aug 2022. I didn’t know you had to have a reservation for a tour so I got on their website and got a slot 15 minutes later. I got right in, no line.

[@TripHacksDC]

Nice 👍

[@wapaktv4429]

How do you get into the chambers?

[@nataliemariewinkels]

Is there a way to just see the rotunda? Kids won’t care or last the entire tour length

[@gissyepop7771]

We will be visiting from PR and got a reservation through our representative because we thought that maybe we get someone who speak in Spanish so our little kids can understand. It can be like that?

[@johoanna03]

Are we allowed to bring a diaper bag with water and milk formula for the baby?

[@Leoprieto74]

Can you book a Capitol Tour in a Holiday? I will be in DC on Labor Day weekend.

[@TripHacksDC]

Depends on the holiday but the footage in this video was recorded on a holiday (MLK Day)

[@Leoprieto74]

@@TripHacksDC oh okay. I was hoping the tour is available on Monday, September 4th (Holiday). They don’t do tours on Sundays. Thanks

[@Cenlalowell]

Do they lockers for the things that are prohibited?? Like cameras and the like?

[@TripHacksDC]

There are no lockers for things prohibited outright. For items prohibited in the galleries they will hold them.

[@Cenlalowell]

@@TripHacksDC thanks for replying I got worried because I know we will have cell phones and back packs

[@ladybugmom10]

You can’t take a water bottle inside?

[@rawusnews]

The only exceptions to what you can bring in through security, are what are deemed essential to infants.

[@pierresmirnoff7829]

First!