How to Tour the U.S. Capitol Building
The United States government allows tours of the Capitol Building every day but Sundays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, yet many visitors to the District area dismiss this destination option as too convoluted and complicated to attempt, especially since the restrictions put in place post-9/11. That is not the case as all. With simple planning prior to a Washington visit, the visitor can spend a weekday morning not only touring the grounds, rotunda, and Statue Hall, but also gain access to either the House of Congress or House of Representatives and watch lawmakers at work.
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Instructions
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1
Find either a local senator or congressman. Each congressional district in the United States has a representative, so any visitor has someone from the home district representative. Email or phone call the representative and request a ticket for the congressional or chamber tour, designated by a gold ticket. After required checking residence, the representative of choice will mail the tickets to the home address.
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Fly into Ronald Reagan National Airport, rather than Dulles or Baltimore/Washington. Reagan National is the closest airport to the Mall area and has its own Metro station; vital to seeing the District area.
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3
Utilize Washington D.C.’s Metro rail system. From Reagan National, Arlington Cemetery is four stops away and the Smithsonian is five. The Capitol Building is six stops.
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4
Stay at any of the national hotel chains in the Crystal City area. Most chains are represented and include a massive underground mall connecting the properties. By lodging in Crystal City, the visitor has one less Metro stop to make.
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Locate the office of the local senator or representative. If procrastination kept the visitor from doing Step 1, their local representative will have an office in a building just across the street from the Capitol Building. During the weekdays, the office is fully staffed. Walk in and request a gold ticket on one day and take the chamber tour the next. Note that the Congress keeps questionable hours and are generally off weekends.
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Visit the Capitol without a gold ticket. Arrive at the southwest area of the Capitol grounds around 8:00 in the morning, stand in line, and a kiosk will open at 9:00 dispensing a white ticket. This ticket enables the visitor to take a guided tour into the rotunda and the Hall of Statues, before descending down a floor and seeing the original Supreme Court chambers. Tours last a little over one hour and are at 15-minute intervals. Tickets are one per person, requiring the whole family to be present, and are given out the day of the tours until dispensed.
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Read any Washington newspaper or magazine to determine where to dine. The city has a world renowned dining reputation. Many restaurants are in the Adams Morgan and DuPont Circle area on Connecticut Avenue off the Metro’s Red Line. Chinatown is only two Metro stops north.
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