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House of Representatives Seal Congressional Hispanic Caucus

Visiting DC

Congresswoman Grace F. Napolitano

Welcomes You!

If you are planning to visit Washington, D.C. my office can help you arrange tours at certain attractions and points of interest. The links below provide useful information that will help you plan your visit.

Our office can help you schedule White House tours, but because of increased demand and security measures, it is recommended that you submit your request six months in advance.

Around Capitol Hill

United States Capitol
202-224-3121

Location: Located at the center of the city
Metro stops: Captiol South or Union Station


The Capitol Visitor Center, the new main entrance to the U.S. Capitol, is located below the East Plaza of the Capitol between Constitution and Independence Avenues.

The Visitors Center is open to the public from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Saturday. It is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, and Inauguration Day.


Visiting the Capitol - More information and details about visiting the Capitol

The U.S. Supreme Court
202-479-3030

Location: 1st and East Capitol Streets
Metro stop: Capitol South

This impressive building of white marble houses the highest court in the land. The building is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, except Federal holidays. Public lectures are available in the Courtroom every hour on the half-hour from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm on days that the Court is not sitting. Courtroom seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Visiting the Supreme Court - More information and details about Supreme Court tours.

Library of Congress
202-707-5458

Location: Jefferson Building,
1st Street and Independence Ave, SE
Metro stop: Capitol South


The world’s largest and most open research library, millions of scholars, readers and tourists visit the Library of Congress annually.  Our country’s national library contains over 75 million volumes. Tours are conducted Monday through Friday - 10:30 and 11:30am, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30pm - and Saturday - 10:30 and 11:30am, 1:30 and 2:30pm. The Library asks that groups over 10 people make a reservation for a specific tour.

Visiting the Library of Congress - More information and details about tours.

White House

The White House
202-456-7041

Location: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Metro stops: Metro Center or Federal Triangle


Tour the home of the President of the United States.  The White House has been home to every president except George Washington.  Public tours of the White House are available for groups of 10 or more people. Requests must be submitted through one's Member of Congress and are accepted up to six months in advance. Please contact my office to make a request: 202-225-5256.  These self-guided tours are available from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (excluding federal holidays), and are scheduled on a first come, first served basis approximately one month in advance of the requested date. We encourage you to submit your request as early as possible since a limited number of tours are available. All White House tours are free of charge.  Visitors are requested to go to the East Gate on East Executive Ave to wait in line.  

Visiting the White House - More information and details about White House tours.

Monuments and Memorials

Washington Monument
202-426-6840

Location: On the Mall at 15th Street NW
Metro stop: Smithsonian


The Washington Monument is the city’s tallest structure, standing at 555’ 5”, a tribute to our nation’s first president.

Free tickets are distributed for each day's visit from the kiosk on the Washington Monument grounds at 15th Street and Jefferson Drive on a first-come first-served basis. Hours for the ticket kiosk are 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, but tickets run out early. Hours for the Washington Monument are from 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; closed December 25. RESTRICTIONS The following items and activities are prohibited within the Washington Monument: Smoking, Eating (including the bringing in of food items to the monument), Drinking (except water in a CLEAR PLASTIC container), Guns and/or ammunition, Knives. Aerosol cans or mace, Baggage or packages larger than 18” X 16” X 8”, Strollers, and Animals. There is NO storage provided by the National Park Service. Please make your own arrangements to store your personal items prior to arriving at the monument.

Jefferson Memorial
202-426-6822

Location: South end of the Tidal Basin at 14th Street
Metro stop:
Smithsonian


This monument is in honor of Thomas Jefferson, third president, author of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. You may rent paddleboats at the Swan Boathouse and cruise the Basin.
Open 8:00 am to 11:45 pm everyday but Christmas.

Lincoln Memorial
202-426-6895


Location: West Potomac Park at the foot of 23rd Street
Metro stops:
Foggy Bottom


This monument is in honor of Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president, overlooking the Reflecting Pool toward the Washington Monument and the US Capitol.  Open 24 hours daily - closed Christmas.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial
202-634-1568


Location: Henry Bacon Drive and Constitution Ave NW, on the Mall
Metro stops:
Foggy Bottom

Constructed of black granite to honor all Americans who served in the Vietnam War.  In chronological order are over 58,000 names inscribed in the marble wall.  Open 24 hours daily - closed Christmas.

National World War II Memorial
1-800-639-4WW2


Location: Located on 17th Street, between Constitution and Independence Avenues, and is flanked by the Washington Monument to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west
Metro stops: Smithsonian


The World War II Memorial honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S., the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort from home.  Open to visitors 24 hours a day, seven days a weekFor more information about visiting the memorial, accessibility, parking, directions, special events and other details, please visit the National Park Service Web site at National Park Service or call the Park Service at (202) 619-7222.

Arlington National Cemetery
703-607-8052


Location: Memorial Drive and Hwy 110
Metro stops: Arlington Cemetery


Arlington National Cemetery is open to the public at 8 a.m. 365 days a year. From April 1 to Sept. 30 the cemetery closes at 7 p.m.; the other six months it closes at 5 p.m.  View the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every hour on the hour Oct. 1 to March 31 in an elaborate ritual. From April 1 through September 30, there are more than double the opportunities to view the change because another change is added on the half hour and the cemetery closing time moves from 5 to 7 p.m.  See the Amphitheater, the Custis-Lee Mansion, and the graves of Presidents John F. Kennedy and William Howard Taft.

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Location: Daniel French Drive, on the Mall, SE of the Lincoln Memorial Metro stop: Foggy Bottom

From 1950 to 1953, the United States joined with United Nations forces in Korea to take a stand against what was deemed a threat to democratic nations worldwide. At war's end, a million and a half American veterans returned to a peacetime world of families, homes, and jobs - and to a country long reluctant to view the Korean War as something to memorialize. But to the men and women who served, the Korean War could never be a forgotten war.

The passing of more than four decades has brought a new perspective to the war and its aftermath. The time has come, in the eyes of the Nation, to set aside a place of remembrance for the people who served in this hard-fought war half a world away. The Korean War Veterans Memorial honors those Americans who answered the call, those who worked and fought under the trying of circumstances, and those who gave their lives for the cause of freedom.

http://www.nps.gov/kowa/index.htm

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial


Location: Between the Potomac River and the Cherry Tree Walk of the Tidal Basin
Metro stop: Smithsonian


This memorial is a tribute to both President Roosevelt and the time in which he lived.  There is a sequence of four outdoor rooms, each representing on of FDR’s four terms in office. Park ranger talks and tours daily; available upon request. Open 8:00 am - Midnight everyday but Christmas.

Theodore Roosevelt Island

Location: Island in the Potomac, located between . Access from George Washington Memorial Parkway
Metro stop:
Rosslyn or Arlington

Theodore Roosevelt was a man with vision. He considered the future before making decisions and his legacies still influence us. Perhaps his greatest legacy was in conservation. This wooded island is a fitting memorial to the outdoorsman, naturalist, and visionary who was our 26th President.
After Roosevelt's death on January 6, 1919, citizens wanted to establish a memorial in his honor. The 91 acre wooded island in the Potomac seemed the perfect place. The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association purchased the island in 1932. Congress approved funds in 1960 and the memorial was dedicated on October 27, 1967. Eric Gugler designed the memorial. Paul Manship designed the statue. http://www.nps.gov/this/

Iwo Jima Memorial / U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial 703-289-2500

Location: Located on Marshall Drive, between Route 50 and Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, VA Metro: Rosslyn

The National Iwo Jima Memorial Monument was unveiled and
dedicated on February 23, 1995, the 50th Anniversary of the historic flag raising on Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, during World War II. It was conceived and designed by Dr. George Gentile, founder and President of the Iwo Jima Survivors Association, Inc. Funds for the monument were raised by Iwo Jima battle survivors, all members of the Association. It is dedicated to the memory of the 6,821 Americans who gave their lives at Iwo Jima.

Museums

National Musuem of the American Indian
202-633-1000


Location: Fourth Street & Independence Ave., S.W.
Metro stop: L'Enfant Plaza


Opened 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily; closed on Christmas.  The National Museum of the American Indian is the sixteenth museum of the Smithsonian Institution.  It is the first national museum dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
202-488-0400


Location: just south of Independence Ave SW between 14th St and Raoul Wallenborg Place
Metro stops:
Smithsonian


The Holocaust Museum serves as a national repository for Holocaust related artifacts and materials.

Permanent exhibition is recommend for those over the age of 11.  Open 7 days a week except on Christmas and Yom Kippur. The permanent exhibition can be viewed from 10 am to 5:20 pm. - passes are required.

Air and Space Museum
202-633-2563

Location: Independence Ave at 4th Street, SW. Washington, DC 20560
Metro: L'Enfant Plaza

The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum maintains the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. It is also a vital center for research into the history, science, and technology of aviation and space flight, as well as planetary science and terrestrial geology and geophysics. Hours: 10:00 am - 5:30 pm. Open every day except December 25. Free Admission. No public parking nearby.

The Bureau of Engraving & Printing
Toll free: 1-866-874-2330

Location: 14th & C Sts, SW
Metro stops: Smithsonian


See how United States currency is printed. Tours leave every 15 minutes from 9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m.  Extended summer hours are also offered May through August every 15 minutes from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.  Tickets are required for all tours March through September, on a first-come, first-served basis. The ticket booth is located on Raoul Wallenberg Place (formerly 15th Street). No tickets are required October through February.  If the Department of Homeland Security level is elevated to CODE ORANGE, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is Closed to the public unless otherwise noted.  The Bureau is Closed on weekends, federal holidays and the week between Christmas and New Years.

Botanical Gardens
202-225-8333


Location: Independence and First St, SW
Metro stops: Federal Center SW or Capitol South


At the foot of the Capitol, under 29,000 square feet of glass, surrounded by ornamental pools this conservatory has more than 8,000 different types of exotic fruits, flowers and plants.

Admission to all public areas of the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) is free. The Conservatory is open 10 AM - 5 PM daily. The Conservatory main entrance is located at 100 Maryland Avenue, SW (use this address for internet mapping searches). Visitors are welcome in Bartholdi Park from dawn until dusk and can access it from any of the three bordering streets - Independence Avenue, Washington Avenue or First Street.

Free 45-minute highlight tours of the U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory may be available on the day of your visit.  Check at the Visitor Information Desk upon your arrival. Groups of 10 - 35 visitors may reserve a free 45-minute guided tour of the Conservatory. These tours are offered Monday through Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m and on weekends when space permits. Please make tour reservations at least three weeks in advance by calling (202) 226-4082.

Visiting the Botanical Garden - More information and details about visiting the Capitol

International Spy Museum
202.393.7798

Location: 800 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20004 - near the MCI Center.
Metro stops: Gallery Place


Gain access to the world's largest collection of international espionage artifacts ever placed on public display. Over 600 pieces are on exhibit.  The historic buildings that comprise the International Spy Museum were constructed between 1875 to 1892. For more than a hundred years they housed thousands of tenants, from the American Communist Party offices during World War II.  Hours varry throughout the year from 9:00 am - 8:00 pm.  For more details on hours of operation and current exhibits, please click on the above link or call the 24-hour information line: 1-866-SPY-MUSEUM or 202-393-7798.

Smithsonian Museums
202-357-2700


Location: National Mall
Metro stops: Smithsonian


As the world’s largest museum complex, it holds over 139 million artifacts of American history; including the Air and Space Museum, Arts and Industries, Museum of Natural History, and Museum of American History.  Most museums are open daily, 10am-5:30pm, except Christmas.

National Gallery of Art
202-737-4215


Location: National Mall between 3rd and 7th Sts, NW
Metro stops: Smithsonian or Archives


The National Gallery of Art is one of the world’s largest marble structures, measuring 780 feet in length and containing more than 500,000 square feet.  The National Gallery of Art, located on the National Mall between Third and Seventh Streets at Constitution Avenue, NW, is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on Christmas and New Year's Day.

Ford's Theater and Lincoln Museum
202-426-6924


Location: 10th Street between E & F Sts
Metro stops: Metro Center or Gallery Place or Archives


The building is open every day between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm with the exception of Christmas.  The Peterson house, where President Lincoln died, is across the street and free tours are available.

National Portrait Gallery
202-633-8300

Location: The museum is housed in the Patent Office Building located at 8th and F Streets, NW
Metro:
Chinatown-Gallery Place Metro Station

The National Portrait Gallery's hours are 11:30 am to 7:00 pm daily with the exception of Christmas. The Gallery reopened following extensive renovation on July 4, 2006, featuring 30 percent more exhibition space, redesigned galleries with contemporary interactive displays, a visible conservation lab, an auditorium, and an enclosed courtyard.

National Archives
202-501-5000

Location
: 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Metro: Archives/Navy Memorial station.

See the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights up close and discover why records matter. Find out for yourself the important role that documents play in the history of our country and the lives of Americans. Democracy Starts at the National Archives - literally!

Other places of interest

Washington National Cathedral
202-537-6200


Location: Massachusetts & Wisconsin Ave NW
Metro stops: Tenleytown to “30” series Metro bus


The National Cathedral is the second-largest Gothic cathedral in the United States.  From the Cathedral, you may view the nation’s capitol or simply enjoy the peaceful gardens and the beauty of the Cathedral.  Open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 am to 6:30 pm, except during services and special events.  Tours are offered from 12:45 pm to 2:30 pm.

Smithsonian National Zoo
202-673-4717


Location: 3001 Connecticut Ave, NW
Metro stops: Woodley Park or Cleveland Park


Visit the panda exhibit, see the orangutans swing or tour the heritage gardens and wetlands. The National Zoo is open every day of the year except December 25.  November 1, 2004, to April 2005: Grounds are open: 6 a.m. - 6 p.m; Buildings are open: 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. April to October 2005: Grounds are open: 6 a.m. - 8 p.m.; Buildings are open: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

The Department of Treasury
202-622-0896


Location: Next to the White House on 15th Street, between F & G Sts, NW
Metro stops: Metro Center
Located next to the White House, guided tours of the Main Treasury Building are offered on most Saturday mornings at 9:00, 9:45, 10:30 and 11:15. The approximate duration of the tour is 60 minutes. Also, you can enjoy a "Virtual Tour" on-line to view some of the historic spaces and decorative arts:

 http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/management/curator/virtual/index.shtml

Mt. Vernon
703-780-2000

Location: Mount Vernon is located 16 miles south of Washington, D.C. and 8 miles south of Old Town Alexandria at the southern end of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Parking is free and convenient.
Street address: 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mount Vernon, Virginia 22121

Metro
: Mt. Vernon is located outside the metro system, but can be reached by a combination of metro and bus:
take Metro's Yellow Line Train to Huntington Station in Virginia. Exit at the lower level (Huntington Avenue) of the station to catch a Fairfax Connector bus to Mount Vernon. For information about trains, call Metro at (202) 637-7000 or visit http://www.wmata.com/default.cfm. Board the Fairfax Connector Bus #101 (Fort Hunt Line) at Huntington Station for a 20-minute trip to Mount Vernon's entrance gate. For fare information and schedules, call Fairfax Connector at (703) 339-7200.

Mount Vernon is much more than an historic house. The centerpiece of a visit is seeing George Washington's home; an original building filled with 18th-century treasures, many of them owned by Washington.

Forty-five acres of the estate are open to the public. A spectacular view of the Potomac River from the Mansion's piazza transports visitors back in time. Four gardens showcase heirloom plants known to have been at Mount Vernon in the late 1700s. Washington himself designed the landscape which includes 13 trees that stand today as the last living witnesses of Washington's lifetime.
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Phone: 202-225-5256
Fax: 202-225-0027
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Phone: 562-801-2134
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