US Capitol Tour

The public tour of the Capitol is free and runs Monday to Saturday, and the rooms it shows are grander than the queue outside suggests. It is also shorter and more tightly managed than the building's size suggests. You go in through the Capitol Visitor Center, a large underground hall on the east side, watch an orientation film, and then follow a guide through three rooms of the historic building: the Crypt, the Rotunda and National Statuary Hall. You will not walk the corridors on your own, and you will not see the House or Senate chambers on this tour.

What you do see is strong. The Rotunda sits directly under the dome, with Constantino Brumidi's fresco The Apotheosis of Washington painted on the canopy far overhead and large history paintings around the walls. Statuary Hall, the old House chamber, is full of statues sent by the states, and guides like to show off its whispering acoustics. The Crypt below the Rotunda has the sandstone columns that hold the whole thing up.

Three ways in, three different visits

The Visitor Center tour is the standard version, booked by you online or picked up as a same-day pass. It suits most first-time visitors and anyone who simply wants to stand under the dome.

A staff-led tour through a member of Congress covers similar ground with a young staffer from a representative's or senator's office, in a smaller group. It is only open to constituents, so for American citizens it is the version to ask for first, often with gallery passes thrown in.

Gallery passes let you sit in the visitor galleries above the House or the Senate floor. The galleries are only open when a chamber is in session or, for the House, at set times when it is not. Watching a live vote from above is the part of the building the tour cannot give you, and for anyone interested in politics it is the highlight. On a quiet day you may see one member speaking to an almost empty room, which is its own lesson in how Congress works.

Is it for you?

It suits history readers, school-age children with a little patience, and anyone on a first visit who has already seen the dome from the Mall. It suits you less if you dislike queues and security screening, because both are part of the deal, or if you are hoping to explore at your own pace. For grand interiors with more freedom, the Library of Congress next door is the stronger visit, and a tunnel links the two, a pairing we build into our 3-day itinerary.

Tour passes are free, and anyone selling you one is selling something you can get yourself. The routes in:

1. Book online on the official Visitor Center site, which releases slots in advance. Spring break, the cherry blossom weeks and summer fill first.
2. Ask your representative or senators if you are a US citizen. Contact their office well ahead of the trip; they arrange staff-led tours and gallery passes for constituents.
3. Get a same-day pass at the Visitor Center if the online slots are gone. A limited number are handed out each day, so arrive early and have a backup plan.

Gallery passes for international visitors are issued at the House and Senate Appointment Desks on the upper level of the Visitor Center, on showing a passport. Americans get them through their own member's office. House and Senate passes are separate, and gallery visits involve a second security screening.

The Visitor Center is closed on Sundays and on some federal holidays, and Congress can close areas at short notice for events or security. Check the official site the day before rather than relying on any schedule you saw weeks ago.

• Leave the water bottle behind, or bring it empty. Liquids and food, even sealed snacks, are not allowed through security; there are fountains inside.
• Travel light. Large bags, aerosols and anything pointed are refused, and there is no cloakroom for them. Our what to wear guide covers dressing for a day of screening and walking.
• Look at the Emancipation Hall exhibits in the Visitor Center while you wait. The plaster model of the Statue of Freedom from the top of the dome stands there at eye level.
• Leave slack before your tour time. Screening lines vary a lot with school groups, and a missed slot is not always rebooked on the spot.
• Ask about the gallery even if you only booked a tour. On session days it adds the living part of the building.
• Skip the paid "Capitol tours" sold around the Mall that only walk you past the outside.