Touring Our Nation’s Capital
Below you will find information on tours in Washington, DC that my office can help reserve for you and your group. In addition to information about the tour requesting process and availability at these sites, you can find a large list of links at the bottom of the page to help you plan your trip. These will direct you to information about other popular attractions and museums in the area as well as public transportation and maps of the city.
Should you have any questions while planning your trip, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington office at 202-225-6605. If you would like to submit a tour request, please complete my online tour request form here.
White House tours
Congressional tours of the White House are available Tuesday-Saturday from 7:30 am until late morning. In submitting a request for your group, my office can request a range of dates but we are not allowed to request specific times on those dates. If your tour request is approved by the White House, they will then assign the date and time of your tour. Please know that once a tour is approved, we are not allowed to change the date or time that you were assigned. For this reason, it is best to request only those days when you know you will be totally available to tour.
Before my office can submit a White House request, we will first need you to provide some specific personal information for every person in your group who wishes to tour. For security purposes, the White House requires that we submit this information with every request and we cannot put in a request without it.
White House tours are approved on a first-requested, first-served basis. We must submit each request at least 21 days prior to the dates of your visit so the White House has adequate time to process security information. In order to give yourself the best chance of approval, please contact my office with your request as far in advance as possible. The White House recommends four to six months prior notice and, during the busiest tourist seasons (weeks surrounding major holidays and the months of March – August) it can be very difficult to get requests approved if they are not submitted at least two to three months in advance.
Finally, please know that approval of White House tours are completely at the discretion of the White House Visitor’s Office. My office will work hard to secure a reservation for you and your party but, again, the White House makes the final decision on tours of the building.
U.S. Capitol tours
Tours of the U.S. Capitol are conducted by the Capitol Guide Service Monday through Saturday from 8:50 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. (except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Inauguration Day). Tickets for Capitol tours can be obtained in the Capitol Visitor Center, reserved online, or reserved through my office by contacting my staff in advance of your trip. If you are looking for a more personal tour of the Capitol, please contact the Tour Coordinator in my Washington office and ask about a staff-led Capitol tour.
While visiting the Capitol Building, visitors can view the House and Senate Chambers by obtaining Gallery passes. The House and Senate Galleries are open to the public during the week (the Senate Gallery is only open when they are in session), and the public is always welcome to observe official proceedings. If you would like to view the action on the House or Senate floor, please stop by my Washington office to pick up Gallery passes for your group. These passes are free of charge but must be presented before you can enter either chamber. For a directions to my Washington office, please click here.
LIbrary of Congress tours
The Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress is open to the public Monday through Saturday from 8:30 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. The Library sets aside a few specific times and a limited number of spots during the week for congressional reservations, and there are no congressional reservations on Saturdays.
In addition to tours reserved by a Member of Congress, the Library offers guided tours to walk-ups Monday through Saturday at 10:30 A.M., 11:30 A.M., 12:30 P.M., 1:30 P.M., 2:30 P.M., and 3:30 P.M. (no 3:30 P.M. tour on Saturdays). These tours of the Jefferson Building are identical to what my office can reserve for you and can be a good option if you are looking for scheduling flexibility during your trip.
Even if you do not wish to take a guided tour of the Jefferson Building, which is located right next to the U.S. Capitol, I would highly recommend taking some time to walk around inside and view the numerous public exhibits. The building is beautiful and will not disappoint.
For more information about the Library of Congress and the exhibits it is currently featuring, please visit the Library’s website here.
U.S. Supreme Court tours
Supreme Court tours are offered Monday-Friday (when the court is not in session) and they set aside a limited number of spots for Congressional reservations each day. Please know that the Supreme Court only allows us to make reservations for their 2:00pm tour and we are limited to six total spots per day.
If your group is larger than six people or my office is unable to get you a reservation, please know that the Supreme Court is open to the public during the week and they offer tours to walk-ups throughout the day. These are offered every hour, on the half-our, from 9:30 A.M. until 3:30 P.M. and visitors are admitted on a first-come, first-served basis. If you would like to take advantage of one of these public tours, it is recommended that you arrive at least 15-20 minutes in advance.
More information about touring the Supreme Court can be found on their official website.
popular sites in washington
Below you will find information about the National Mall, memorials, museums, and other popular attractions in the DC area. To help you navigate during your trip, you can also find links to useful city maps and information about the various public transportation options in the city. Again, should you have any questions while planning your visit, please feel free to contact my Washington office at 202-225-6605.
NATIONAL MALL, MONUMENTS, AND MEMORIALS
| Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial 400 West Basin Drive, SW |
Vietnam Veterans Memorial 5 Henry Bacon Drive, NW |
| Jefferson Memorial Located at the southern end of the National Mall, adjacent to the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park |
Washington Monument 2 15th Street, NW |
| Korean War Veterans Memorial Located at Independence Avenue, SW and Daniel Chester French Drive, SW |
World War II Memorial 1750 Independence Avenue, SW |
| Lincoln Memorial Located at the western end of the National Mall |
Official Website of the National Park Service |
| Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial 1850 West Basin Drive, SW |
POPULAR SITES OF INTEREST
| Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, VA |
National Cathedral 3101 Wisconsin Avenue, NW |
| Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception 400 Michigan Avenue, NE |
Naval Observatory 3450 Massachusetts Avenue, NW |
| Bureau of Engraving and Printing 14th & C Streets, SW |
Navy Memorial 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW |
| Hall of the States Building State Services Organization, 444 N Capitol Street, NW |
Old Post Office Pavilion 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW |
| National Aquarium 501 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland |
The Pentagon Arlington, VA |
| National Arboretum 3501 New York Avenue, NE |
State Department’s Diplomatic Reception Rooms 2201 C Street, NW |
SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS
| African Art Museum 950 Independence Avenue, SW |
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Independence Avenue at Seventh Street SW |
| Air and Space Museum Independence Avenue at 6th Street, SW |
National Zoo 3001 Connecticut Avenue, NW |
| Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center 14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway, Chantilly, Virginia |
Natural History Museum 10th Street & Constitution Avenue, NW |
| American Art Museum 8th and F Streets, NW |
Portrait Gallery Eighth and F Streets, NW |
| American History Museum 1400 Constitution Avenue, NW |
Postal Museum 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE |
| American Indian Museum Fourth Street & Independence Avenue, SW |
Renwick Gallery 1661 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW |
| Anacostia Community Museum 1901 Fort Place, SE |
Sackler Gallery 1050 Independence Avenue, SW |
| Arts and Industries Building 900 Jefferson Drive, SW |
Smithsonian Institution Building, The Castle 1000 Jefferson Drive, SW |
| Freer Gallery of Art Jefferson Drive and 12th Street, SW |
Official Website of the Smithsonian Institution |
ADDITIONAL MUSEUMS
| Department of the Interior Museum 1849 C Street, NW |
National Gallery of Art 6th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW |
| Folger Shakespeare Library 201 East Capitol Street, SE |
National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall 1145 17th & M Streets, NW |
| Ford’s Theatre & Lincoln Museum 511 10th Street, NW |
National Museum of American Jewish Military History 1811 R Street NW |
| George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum 701 21st Street, NW |
Phillips Collection 1600 21st Street, NW |
| The National Archives 7th & Constitution Avenue, NW |
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW |
| National Building Museum 401 F Street, NW |
GETTING AROUND THE CITY
Public Transportation
|
City Maps |