USA » Washington DC | 🏛 Library Of Congress Tours

Washington DC: U.S. Capitol & Library of Congress Tour

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.15 (276 reviews) 68% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/17

Duration2h

GroupUp to 40

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Two Hours Inside the Capitol's Rotunda & the Gutenberg Bible

You enter the U.S. Capitol with an official guide and headsets, walk the Rotunda and Crypt, then move through a tunnel to the Library of Congress Jefferson Building to see the Gutenberg Bible and the iconic Main Reading Room from above. The walking tour includes photo stops at the Supreme Court, Grant Memorial, and Senate and House offices. Everything is timed and organized—no separate tickets to hunt down, no wondering where to go next—and you're done in two hours.

Step-by-step itinerary

Meet across from Botanic Garden
Pass by Senate and House offices
Pass by Supreme Court building
Pass by Ulysses S. Grant Memorial
Pass by Peace Monument
Enter U.S. Capitol security and orientation
Join official guided Capitol tour
Visit Crypt, Rotunda, and Statuary Hall
Walk through tunnel to Library of Congress
Self-guided tour of Jefferson Building
See Gutenberg Bible and Great Hall
View Main Reading Room from observation deck

The Experience

You're standing across from the U.S. Botanic Garden at 100 Maryland Avenue SW, and the Capitol is right there—the dome filling the skyline. The 2-hour tour starts with security, a short orientation film, and then you're moving through the building with an official guide and headset. The Crypt comes first, the underground chamber originally meant to hold George Washington's remains but never used for that. Then the Rotunda, where the fresco "The Apotheosis of Washington" floats 180 feet above your head, and National Statuary Hall, where the acoustics are strange enough that a whisper at one end carries to the other. Depending on the day, you might also step into the Old Supreme Court or Old Senate Chamber—rooms that still feel like they're holding decisions.

After the Capitol, you walk through a tunnel to the Library of Congress Jefferson Building, which is the part people don't always expect to be the most striking. The Great Hall hits you first—Italian Renaissance-style, all marble columns and gold leaf and murals by artists whose names are carved into the walls. You're there to see the Gutenberg Bible, one of only three perfect vellum copies in existence, and then the Main Reading Room from the upper observation deck—that circular room you've seen in films, the one with the green lamps and the sense that something important is always being researched there. The building itself was the first public structure in DC designed for electric lighting, which sounds like a small detail until you realize you're standing in the architecture of that transition.

The walking portion threads through Capitol Hill itself—past the Supreme Court building, the Senate and House office buildings, the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial (one of the largest equestrian statues in the world, and it took the sculptor twenty years), and Peace Circle with its Civil War monument. Your guide talks through how Congress actually works, the history layered into the streets, the way the buildings are arranged. It's a lot of ground, and you're on your feet the whole time, so comfortable shoes matter. The tour runs either morning or afternoon depending on when you book, and if you go on a Monday or at 8am, you'll visit the Capitol Museum instead of the Library when it's closed.

What’s included

Your tour includes admission to the U.S.
Capitol building with an official guided tour, entry to the Rotunda, the Crypt, and National Statuary Hall (with potential access to the Old Supreme Court or Old Senate Chamber depending on the day), a 2-hour morning or afternoon guided walking tour through Capitol Hill, admission to the Library of Congress Jefferson Building with timed-entry passes, and photo stops at the Supreme Court, Ulysses S.
Grant Memorial, Senate offices, House offices, and Peace Circle.
You'll see the Gutenberg Bible and the Main Reading Room from the observation deck.
An official headset is provided inside the Capitol, and you'll pass by Thomas Jefferson's original library collection.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Signature Tours of DC

Is this one for you?Pick this if you want the main Capitol Hill landmarks and the two buildings most people travel to DC to see, all in one guided morning or afternoon without arranging separate tickets or timing yourself—the timed passes and official tour structure handle the logistics so you just show up and walk.