Welcome to the U.S. Capitol
Plan a Visit
Book a Tour: The Capitol Visitor Center is open to visitors from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Inauguration Day. Tours of the U.S. Capitol are conducted from 8:50 a.m. to 3:20 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Tours of the U.S. Capitol are free, but tour passes are required. Click here for more information.
Click here for a full list of prohibited items.
Prohibited Items: Do not bring large daypacks, backpacks or luggage into the Capitol. Any bag larger than 18" wide x 14" high x 8.5" deep is prohibited.Special Activities
Aside from the general tour of the U.S. Capitol offered Monday through Saturday from 8:50 a.m. until 3:20 p.m., there are a number of special activities you may take advantage of.
Student Orientation Video
Watch this short student orientation video before you visit the U.S. Capitol.
Time Lapse Video
Watch this 3-minute time lapse video of a day in life of the Capitol Visitor Center.
Preparation for Capitol Dome Restoration
What's Happening
Want to Learn More About the War of 1812?
Watch this series of videos where a historian takes you into the Capitol to explain what happened at the U.S. Capitol during the War of 1812.
Join a Visitor Guide for a 50-minute special tour offered Monday through Friday at 11 a.m., exploring three unique stories about the War of 1812. (During the weeks of August 18 and August 25, this tour is also offered at 1 p.m.)
Visit the Capitol Visitor Center’s Exhibition Hall where you’ll see The Treaty of Ghent which ended the war of 1812 in 1814. No reservations or passes are needed to visit Exhibition Hall, which is located on the lower level of the Visitor Center, behind the plaster model for the Statue of Freedom.
The United States Capitol
The Capitol is among the most architecturally impressive and symbolically important buildings in the world. The Senate and the House of Representatives have met here for more than two centuries. Begun in 1793, the Capitol has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended, and restored; today, it stands as a monument not only to its builders but also to the American people and their government.
Whether you are here to get information about an upcoming visit, to involve yourself in the workings of the Senate and House of Representatives, or to be inspired by two centuries of art and architecture, this site will be a gateway to your Capitol experience.
The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center is the newest addition to this historic complex. At nearly 580,000 square feet, the Visitor Center is the largest project in the Capitol's more than two-century history and is approximately three quarters the size of the Capitol itself. The entire facility is located underground on the east side of the Capitol so as not to detract from the appearance of the Capitol and the grounds designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1874.