The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center — Attraction in Washington

The SHORT version: awesome, very knowledgeable tour guides. Everyone we encountered was very friendly and answered our questions. So impressed we stuck around for all of the different tours.

Good things to know:

-The entrance is UNDERGROUND. The first time I went I was wandering around completely lost until I found an officer to ask.

-The security lines can be long, so show up at least 45 minutes before your tour. Your reservation isn’t a timed entry pass into the visitor center, like the Smithsonians have. It’s basically holding your spot for the tours which are every 10 minutes in the summer time. Since this is how everyone gets in the building people might be here for meetings or just going to the galleries.

-Even if tours are booked, people miss tours or just don’t show up. If you can’t reserve in advance, show up early in the day for the best chance to get tickets. Even if you miss your tour time you can get tickets for a tour until about an hour before they close. The best part is the price tag: FREE.

-Remember, you’re going into a very important building and there’s TIGHT SECURITY and a lot of things are not allowed inside, such as NO FOOD and DRINK and NO SPRAYS like sunscreen spray. Someone in my group is diabetic and was allowed to have small candies for medical reasons, but not like a whole meal. Oh, and you can fill water bottles once you’re inside at their restaurant or fountains.

-Tours are not the same as visiting Congress sitting in sessions, so get your Gallery Passes from your Senators and/or Reps in advance (people from other countries can get them as well inside the Visitor Center)

-The main/general tour includes a short film before going into the Capitol building’s biggest rooms, including the Rotunda under the Dome.

-There’s also SMALLER group specialty tours where you can learn a lot more, and even see other parts of the building that aren’t on the main tour. Plus the tour guides really show off their extensive knowledge! They’re like walking encyclopedias of the Capitol.

-You can spend practically the whole day here and at the Library of Congress (available through a tunnel from the visitor center), and the Botanic Garden is so neat as well with all the different plants.

-Not to be gross but between the restrooms here and the ones near the White House and National Mall, there’s no contest. These were the cleanest...

I guess they are doing the best they can with the crowds, but it's rush them in and put and the tour is just bad. Gone are the days of being able to enjoy your capitol. The grounds tour was nice once we convinced the government worker to do it. She thought it was going to rain so she wanted to cancel. I said we drove 1000 miles to get here, give it a shot. She did and the tour was nice. Meets out front of the opening of the center at 1 pm, to the right when facing the entrance. Could have been so much better. The other guy in the small free no ticket needed tour was hoping to hear about the plants and trees on the grounds and this was really not covered and it should be a separate tour. Inside the capitol tour is a huge disappointment especially if you had been there years ago. It's nothing but huge numbers of people being shoveled through. It's a beautiful building and worth walking through quickly because that is all you will be able to do.

The worst thing is the park service guards and the food and drink policy.

Here is the big negative you must be aware of. No food or drink and they scan your bags and make you throw out packed sealed food like candy and bads of potatoes chips, food, drinks and force you to empty your water bottles. There is limited food and drinks availability around the mall. Many people like me pack snacks or lunch and drinks or have water bottles with fresh cold water. Especially important if you have kids and are experienced in visiting DC as it is so hot in DC in the summer that you need hydration. It is criminal for the park service to force people to empty your water and not provide a filling station right there on exit. Plan accordingly. Ask for assistance from your state senators and congressmen long in advance if possible.

DC has become a dirty overcrowded mess over the years and it shows with how they manage the capitol.

I understand their reasons fot not allowing food, but this doesn'tstop those intent on causing damage and it only hurts those of us who will do no harm, This policy can really ruin an experience in DC. The only option is to split up your group or toss everything.

There is not much left in DC that has not been destroyed by the Smithsonian, the mayor's of DC and a few nasty people who ruin it for us all.

You have to see the Capitol, it's magnificent but the experience...

The US Capitol is amazing - this negative review is for several of the staff working in the visitor center when we visited on Tuesday, January 21st. The lady working the front door was super friendly and so were the coat check ladies. When we stood in line to get our tour tickets, the gentleman who gave directions there was also very good. We were told the tour would be abbreviated due to still getting "straightened up" after inauguration. Great - no problem. Then we were shown into a room for the first part of the "tour" - a 13-minute film - but before it started, the older gentleman in charge of the theater repeatedly, and rudely, shouted for everyone to fill into the top, don't sit on the aisle, fill into the center. Our group filled about 25% of the theater, so there was never a threat of it filling up and the entire bottom half of the theater was completely empty!!

After the film, we finally lined up for the real tour! My wife and I were excited. The tour guide assured us we could take pictures of everything along the way. Then she rushed us into the crypt and as a person or two paused to snap pictures, she told us we had to keep moving. Keep Moving. Keep Moving. We were out of the Crypt in literally 25-30 seconds and moved into the rotunda. The stage was still set up from the inauguration. My wife and I snapped a couple of pictures around the room as the guide told us to keep moving. Then our headsets cut out as the tour guide went too far away from us, and a short 30-40 seconds after entering the rotunda, we were separated from the group. A red-coated staff member near the escalator approached us and asked where our tour guide was. We said we weren't sure, and he told us, "Well, you have to go, then. You can't be up here unaccompanied." We asked if we could take one more picture, and he said no, and pointed at the down escalator.

So ended our "tour" which was a 13-minute film, and about 120 seconds in the crypt and rotunda before we were back where we started. We tried to gleen some small pleasure out of the Emancipation Hall - the main area where we lined up. But it was no use. We were too bummed out.

No idea why the staff were so rude and bitter. Maybe they were tired. I don't know. Maybe we will try again in the future, during our next vacation across...