Visiting Washington, D.C.
What to See and Do in Washington, DC
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The Washington Post Visitor's Guide
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If you are planning a trip to our nation's capital, my office can help you arrange tours and find information about visiting Washington, DC's most popular attractions. Because my office accommodates thousands of Louisianians each year:
- All tours are on a first-come first-serve basis
- Tours are subject to availability
- Please note that due to heightened security in Washington after September 11 and with the start of military action in Iraq, tours of many public buildings have been curtailed or suspended.
Also, please submit your request EARLY. Because of the great demand and limited number of tickets that are available for some tours, especially the White House and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, please try to contact the office three months in advance of your scheduled trip. These tours book up rather quickly, especially around holidays and in the spring/summer (third week in March through Labor Day).
White House Tours are available from 7 a.m.-10a.m. Tuesday-Saturday on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The White House Visitor Center also remains open. The Center features many aspects of the White House, including its architecture, furnishings, first families, social events, and relations with the press and world leaders, as well as a thirty-minute video. It is located at the southeast corner of 15th and E Streets and is open 7 days a week from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Visitors can also call a 24-hour tour information line (202-456-7041) or reference their website http://www.whitehouse.gov for the most up-to-date information.
Capitol Tours are available through our office in Washington.
In order to obtain tours through our office, please submit your request in writing, by phone (202-224-5824) or by email: tours@landrieu.senate.gov. If possible, submit tour requests at least two to three months in advance. Your request should include your:
- full name
- home address
- telephone number (home and work)
- dates available for touring ONLY (not arrival or departure dates)
- number of tickets requested
All requests can be submitted to:
Tour Coordinator
Senator Mary L. Landrieu
328 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-5824 (main)
United States Capitol
Between Constitution & Independence Avenues
Metro: Union Station and Capitol South
(202) 225-6827 (Capitol Guide Service's latest recorded information on visiting the Capitol)
(202) 224-4048 (Special Services -- accessible tours for visitors with disabilities)
(202) 224-4049 (TDD-TTY)
The Capitol Guide Service conducts free guided tours of the Capitol on Monday through Saturday throughout the year. During the non-peak visitor season (September through February) tours are offered every 15 minutes, from 9:30 AM until 3:30 PM. During the peak visitor season (March through August), tours are offered every 30 minutes, from 9:30 AM until 5:00 PM. The Capitol is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.
Senate/House Gallery Passes
Gallery passes are available at any time. Louisianians can also obtain Senate passes from our office or Sen. Vitter's office and House passes from their representative's office. Foreign visitors may obtain passes from the Office of the House Doorkeeper or the Senate Sergeant at Arms.
For more information, visit the Senate web site.
White House Tours
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Metro: Federal Triangle
24-hour information line: (202) 456-7041
TDD information line: (202) 456-2121.
There two ways to obtain White House Tickets:
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Through Congressional Offices
White House tours, available Tuesdays through Saturdays, can be arranged through any of your congressional offices. These tickets are not guaranteed. White House tickets are distributed on a first-come first-serve basis so please submit your request early!
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Through the White House Visitors Center: This is only for the Visitor's Center, not for a White House tour
If Congressional offices cannot meet the requested dates of touring for the White House, there are tickets available at the White House Visitors Center at E and 15th Street NW. These tickets are available Tuesday through Saturday mornings starting at 7:30am (closed every Sunday and Monday). The Center opens at 7:30 am, but because of the great demand for tours during the summer months, it is advisable to be in line prior to that time. One person may obtain up to four tickets. You will be assigned a time for a tour later that same day between 10:00 am and 12:00 noon. Tours last approximately 20-35 minutes.
For more information, see the White House Visitors Center site. Because the White House occasionally must close for official events, it is always advisable to call (202) 456-7041 to listen to the 24-hour information line recording for any last-minute changes in the tour schedule. The TDD number is (202) 456-2121.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
14th and C Street SW
Metro: Smithsonian
(202) 874-2330
Congressional Tours
The tour is a 45-minute tour that is conducted by a personal guide. This tour is designed for constituents of Congressional Representatives and Senators. Tours are offered at 8:00 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. Monday through Friday and are not available on weekends and Federal holidays. During the months of June through August, a 4:00 p.m. Congressional tour is also offered. All Congressional tours must go through Congressional Representatives and Senatorial offices.
General Tours
The General Public tour is a 45-minute tour offered between 9:00a.m. to 2:00p.m., Monday through Friday. This tour is also closed on weekends and Federal holidays. The public tour is designed to accommodate individuals, families, and groups. During the summer, we will continue to offer extended evening (5:00p.m. to 6:40p.m.) public tours from June through August.
For groups larger than 10, group tours are available by request.
Library of Congress
1st St. and E. Capitol St. across from the U.S. Capitol Bldg.
Metro: Union Station or Capitol South is closest
Visitor Information (202) 227-9779
Guided tours are offered at 11:30 a.m. and 1:00, 2:30, and 4:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday in the Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building. Spanish-language tours are given on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. Tours are limited to 50 people. Call the Visitor Services Office at (202) 707-4684 to inquire about schedule tours for groups of 10 or more.
Library of Congress
1st St. and E. Capitol St. across from the U.S. Capitol Bldg.
Metro: Union Station or Capitol South is closest
Visitor Information (202) 227-9779
Contact our office for Congressional Tours
Monday-Friday
8:30 a.m., 1:45 p.m., 3:45 p.m.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F Street, NW (next to the Watergate Hotel)
Metro: Foggy Bottom, free shuttle bus runs to and from the Foggy Bottom Station every 15 minutes
(202) 416-8340
TTY (202) 416-8524
Free tours of the Kennedy Center are given by the Friends of the Kennedy Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. They depart from the parking plaza on Level A, and feature the Hall of States and Hall of Nations, the Center's main theaters, and dozens of paintings, sculptures, and other artworks given to the Center by foreign countries.
The National Archives
Constitution Avenue, between 7th and 9th Streets
Metro: Archives-Navy Memorial
(202) 501-5000
Open everyday except December 25
Winter Hours: 10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Summer Hours: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm (April 1 to Labor Day)
Supreme Court
1st Street NE across from the Capitol
Metro: Union Station or Capitol South
Open Mon-Fri 9am-4:30pm. CLOSED Sat, Sun, holidays
(202) 479-3499
The Supreme Court is open to the public on Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m; lines form on the outside plaza as early as 8 a.m.. Tickets are not necessary. The Court admits visitors every half-hour on the hour, on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 9 a.m. Sessions begin at 10 a.m., with seating limited to 250. On days the Court is not sitting, public lectures are offered every half hour from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
State Department
Square block between 21st and 23rd Streets and C and D Streets NW
Metro: Foggy Bottom is closest
(202) 647-3241 (voice)
(202) 736-4232 (FAX)
(202) 736-4474 (TDD)
Guided tours are conducted Monday through Friday at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 2:45 p.m. Tours are 45 minutes in duration. Please make reservations four weeks in advance. This tour is not recommended for children under 12.
Washington Monument
National Mall
Metro: Smithsonian is closest
(202) 426-6841
The monument is open from April to September, 8 a.m. to 11:45 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. the rest of the year. Free tickets are available from the ticket kiosk at 15th St. at the base of the monument. Lines can be heavy, and may form as early as 7 a.m. Tickets can be resesrved for $1.50 at www.recreation.gov
National Gallery of Art of Sculpture Garden
3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue, NW
Metro: Archives or Smithsonian
(202) 842-6690
(202) 842-6176 (TDD)
Open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1.
Smithsonian Institutions
No VIP tours
All buildings free of charge
(202) 357-1300
Smithsonian Information Center (The Castle)
1000 Jefferson Drive, SW
Open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily
202-357-2700 voice
202-357-1729 TTY
Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture
1901 Fort Place, SE (in the Arts and Industries Building)
Hours: Open 10 AM to 5 PM Daily
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Asian art from ancient times to the present
1050 Independence Avenue, SW
Hours: 10 AM to 5:30 PM Daily
Arts and Industries Building
Changing exhibitions, Discovery Theater (for children)
900 Jefferson Drive, SW
Hours: 10 AM to 5:30 PM
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Changing exhibitions of design, decorative arts, industrial design, and architecture
Tues. 10 AM to 9 PM (free admission 5 to 9 PM)
Wed.-Sat. 10 AM to 5 PM
Sun. 12 noon to 5 PM
Closed Mondays and federal holidays.
Freer Gallery of Art
Asian and 19th- and early 20th-century American art
Jefferson Drive at 12th Street, SW
Hours: 10 AM to 5:30 PM Daily
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Modern and contemporary art
Independence Avenue and Seventh Street, SW
Hours: 10 AM to 5:30 PM Daily
Closed December 25
National Air and Space Museum
Independence Ave. and 7th St. SW
Hours: 9:45 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
National Museum of African Art
Collection, study, and exhibition of African art
950 Independence Avenue, SW
Hours: 10 AM to 5:30 PM Daily
National Museum of American Art
Painting, sculpture, graphics, folk art, and photography
18th century to the present, special exhibitions of American art
Closed temporarily for renovation.
Eighth and G Streets, NW
National Museum of American History
History of science, technology, society, and culture in America
Hours: 10 AM to 5:30 PM Daily
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
National Museum of the American Indian
Collection, preservation, study, and exhibition of the culturesand history of the native peoples of the Americas
Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian
Hours: 10 AM to 5 PM; Thursday open until 8 PM
National Museum of Natural History
The natural world and our place in it
10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Hours: 10 AM to 5:30 PM Daily
National Portrait Gallery
Portraits of distinguished Americans
Closed for renovation.
A three-year renovation of the Patent Office Building, which houses the National Portrait Gallery, began on January 10, 2000. The museum will be closed to the public until thismajor renovation is complete in approximately summer 2003.
Eighth and F Streets, NW
National Postal Museum
History of postal communications and philately
2 Massachusetts Avenue N.E.
Hours: 10 AM to 5:30 PM Daily
National Zoological Park
Several thousand animals in a beautiful 163-acre park
3000 Block of Connecticut Avenue, NW
Metro: Woodley Park-National Zoo/Adams-Morgan
May 1 to September 15: Grounds open 6 AM to 8 PM. Buildings open 10 AM to 6 PM
September 16 to April 30: Grounds open 6 AM to 6 PM.
Buildings open 10 AM to 4:30 PM
Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art
Permanent collection and exhibitions of American crafts
17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Hours: 10 AM to 5:30 PM Daily