Your experience begins on Capitol Hill! Walk between The Supreme Court, Library of Congress, and the Capitol of the United States.
Standing across from the Capitol, the Supreme Court's marble façade and iconic columns have guarded American justice since 1935. This is where landmark decisions — from Brown v. Board to Roe v. Wade — shaped the nation. Look up at the inscription above the entrance: 'Equal Justice Under Law.' Few phrases carry more weight in American history.
Few buildings on earth carry the weight of this one. The Capitol has housed Congress since 1800, and inside the Rotunda, guests find themselves standing beneath one of the most breathtaking interiors in the world. Nearly 180 feet above, Constantino Brumidi's Apotheosis of Washington — a nearly 5,000 square foot fresco painted in 1865 — watches over all who enter. Eight monumental paintings line the walls, each capturing a defining moment in America's founding story. Designed to inspire awe, the Capitol Rotunda has been doing exactly that for over two centuries.
Beneath the Capitol's east plaza lies one of Washington's best kept secrets — a 580,000 square foot underground visitor center that welcomes over 3 million guests a year. This is your gateway to the heart of American democracy, housing exhibition halls, historic artifacts, and the original plaster cast of the Freedom statue that crowns the Capitol dome. Before we head inside, take a moment to look up — that dome took over 10 years to complete and was finished during the Civil War, a deliberate symbol that the Union would endure.
Just steps from the Capitol sits the largest library in the world, and arguably its most beautiful building. The Library of Congress holds over 170 million items — from Thomas Jefferson's personal book collection to the first map to use the name 'America.' Guests who step inside the Great Hall are often stopped in their tracks by the breathtaking Beaux-Arts interior, a jaw-dropping mosaic of marble, murals, and gilded detail that rivals any museum in the world. More than a library, this is the nation's memory — and every American has a membership.
We had an excellent tour of the Supreme Court as well as a detailed information session outside the U. S. Capitol with our tour guide, Max. The tour inside the Capitol building was also very well-done. Thank you!
Max did a great job very informative. Only take the tour on a good day, because your out in the weather for a good portion of the tour.
Deklan was very good. A great guide
Declan was knowledgeable, attentive and very pleasant!
It was a fantastic experience, and our Tour guy was very knowledgeable and made the tour very enjoyable
Mark was very knowledgeable. Toured the Supreme Court, the Jefferson Library of Congress and the Capitol Building. Mark was great and we had a very nice time.
This type is the famous 3. You need to do this one. Declan was terrific. He is exceptionally knowledgeable!
Derek was a terrific guide. Clear meet up instructions. Interesting commentary throughout.
Longer than expected, but very knowledgeable. Make sure you bring your walking shoes, we were on our feet for about 4-5 hours.
Declan our tour guide was terrific. The group is kept small (we had 10), with no headsets. Declan was very well informed and engaging. We were able to spend a fair bit of time in each location. The pace was perfect. Highly highly recommend this tour.
Very informative and fun, our guide Ryan was excellent, great dollar value, highly recommend this tour!
It was honestly very fun and informative. The tour guide (Decklin) was very informative and eager to answer any questions we had. They also organized a tour of the Capitol Hill building so it was easy and seamless! Very re
Jesse was an extremely knowledgeable tour guide. The meeting point at Florida House had a restroom which was nice, with 2-3 other restrooms available along the tour route. Some walking and several stairs when no elevators were readily available. The Library of Congress was so beautiful...a hidden treasure.
Ryan was an amazing guide, very informative and had so much knowledge and fun facts it kept the tour fun and engaging! The tour was great, highly recommend.
Really excellent friendly tour, knowledgeable tour guide, and a comfortable relaxed pace.
Declan was awesome! It was a great tour.
Excellent,very interesribg and informative
Tour was exceptional and Declan was knowledgeable and great
This was an outstanding tour that gave great insight into the workings of the US government. Declan was a superb guide who kept things interesting and moving. The 4 hours flew by. I would highly recommend.
The Capitol portion is provided by Capitol employees. It is significantly shortened from what it was years ago - we found that portion disappointing. However, the Supreme Court/ Library of Congress portion was led by a separate tour company and was outstanding. Many Kudos to our guide Ryan! It is difficult to fairly rate this tour with two different tour operators.
Very good. Informative and interesting!
It was a great experience and definitely recommend anyone visiting DC for the first time. The experience covered all the essential details about the CAPITOL, Supreme Court etc.
This was my first time visiting DC. The instructions to rendezvous with the guide was simple and easy. Mark was our tour guide and he was fantastic! He briefed us before we embarked on our journey and he engaged the group in discussions. He was well organized and lead the group well. Mark kept us on schedule without feeling rushed to take in the experience and take photos. He ensured our safety and gave plenty of reminders regarding prohibited items when entering buildings. He was very articulate when sharing in-depth knowledge in history as well as local know-hows in navigating to other different sites commuting around and outside the city. By the end of his segment of the tour, he made sure that everyone had tickets to the Capitol staff-led tour. We got to look at the supreme court, learn about the history of the Capitol, see the National Statuary Hall Collection, visit the Rotunda and more.
Mark was awesome. Gave lots of information and that helped us understand what we were looking at when we went back after the tour of the library.
This was my favorite tour I took in this visit to DC. Ryan, our tour guide, was very knowledgeable and entertaining. Loved the great communication from the tour company before our trip.
Ryan was great. Knowledgeable & witty. W prepared to be in awe. Every building was magnificent! So not skip this tour! Loved using the underground tunnels
We had an outstanding experience, Ryan from Cirnerstone was very knowledgeable and engaging. The tour was a great choice for us, we saw a lot and we learned a lot.
Ryan was an engaging and informative speaker. We initially booked through Trip Advisor, but after I realized that I had booked a tour for only two of the Big Three (Library of Congress, Supreme Court, Capitol Building) I contacted Cornerstone Tours and they made the switch easily. At the Capitol Bldg, you get passed off to one of their tour guides…and he was also an excellent guide.
Ryan our Tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, fun and witty! This is a MUST DO tour!! The history given is better than what was given to us in school!!
I forgot his name but it was the man with ponytail. He was extremely knowledgeable and kind. And was such an enjoyable tour!!! We loved it.
Declan was our guide and he was knowledgeable & a pleasure! Was a weekday and tons of people.. he led us to tunnels to bypass the long lines into the Library of Congress which was nice. The history and details of the art inside and the Thomas Jefferson personal library was amazing! I could’ve stayed for hours just looking at the art and architecture alone.
This gave a good overview of sites. Guide was friendly, knowledgeable and responsive. Group size is reasonable.
The tour is a great introduction to the Library of Congress, Supreme Court, and the Capital building. Very knowledgeable tour guide. There is a good amount of walking but there is time for breaks at each stop.
Ryan was an excellent tour guide. He was friendly well spoken and very knowledgeable about the Capital building, the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. I would highly recommend this tour.
it was a good experience, it covered Capitol and Supreme Court. Jessy was incredible.
It takes you through the two big institutions Supreme Court and Congress so you will see a lot but it isn't filled with a huge amount of wowI didn't know that.
Very informative & fun! Our tour guide, Jesse, was prompt, very knowledgeable & funny. Very happy that we chose this tour with Cornerstone tours
Great experience! Colin is very knowledgeable and shared many fun facts about big 3 with some interesting pictures for congress history. Declan is also very nice and helpful as team lead! Highly recommended!
Max was our guide and he was fantastic! Very knowledgeable and had an incredible number of facts that really made the tour so memorable. Highly recommended. It was a great value
More walking than I expected (my fault, tour description mentioned that; however, I expected a stroll and got a marathon). The guide was very knowledgeable but he sort of mumbled so it was difficult to understand him
Jesse, our tour guide was charismatic, knowledgeable, and very professional. We were pleasantly surprised with this tour, that went very smoothly and one-time. I would do it again, given the opportunity at a later chance.
We loved this tour that showed us so much American history. Ford was a fantastic guide....very knowledgeable about our nation's history and architecture. He was so kind to our son, whose birthday it was too. Highly recommend this tour!
Medium amount of walking but w/c accommodations were available and our guide was helpful to the persons in our group who needed this.
Our guide, Declan, was friendly and knowledgeable. The tour was a great way to learn about the historical sites.
Jesse was an excellent tour guide. We enjoy it. All tour was an very detail in US not only history indeed soul American believe
This experience is perfect and very informative especially if you are just visiting DC in a short period of time. Exactly what we are looking for.
Great tour! Our guide Ford was extremely knowledgeable and made the time very enjoyable. We’ve been to DC several times but learned some new info from the tour. Lots of walking, some stairs but elevators are available, TSA security for the Supreme Court, so don’t bring bottled water. Several restroom opportunities so don’t sweat bathroom breaks.
We had an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide; we enjoyed it very much! Would recommend this to others!
It covered lots of ground. All our entry tickets were prearranged. It was very informative. Be sure to eat before you go, no snacks or even water are allowed in these buildings. Water fountains and bathrooms were available. We thoroughly enjoyed our guides Jessie and Max.
Started out good. I was then left behind at the Library of Congress sitting on a bench. I didn’t even get to the Capital 🤨
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