Iconic Capitol Hill Architectural Walking Tour

Absolute wonderful tour: informative and interesting. We'll definitely be doing this and other tours again with future visitors in town.

I would highly recommend this tour, even if you are not interested in design or architecture, you are going to love it! Sam was our guide and he was awesome, he told us about the history of every pllace we went to, he was able to answer every one of our questions, he had fun facts and he even had diagrams, plans, sections of the buildings in his iPad. I will highly encourage you to book this tour (nnot sponsored) or any other of DC Design tours.

Thanks for a great tour. Sam was personable, informative, and fun! Especially enjoyed the historical nuggets along with the architectural info.

DC Design Tours and Carolyn are fantastic . You will not be disappointed. Carolyn had a wealth of interesting information and presented it in a way that we all enjoyed….even my teenagers! She is very personable and fun to spend the day with. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a DC tour!

Took my parents on this tour and we were very impressed by the guide's deep knowledge and ability to engage our group with fun anecdotes and a sympathetic, well-informed view of the past. It's my second tour with DC Design (I took the first five years ago) and I can't recommend them enough. Plus they were very flexible--when we had to cancel because of Covid, they offered us credit, so we were able to rebook a couple of months later without any problems.

This was a brilliant way to spend a couple of hours in the city. Our guide Sam delivered an interesting but fun tour, starting at Union Station and including the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, and Capitol. Interesting features were pointed out and anecdotes told during a leisurely walk with time to take photos and ask questions. Recommended for everyone interested in finding out more about this beautiful city, how it was built and how it works today.

Great tour! Our guide was informative and funny. Even my teenager enjoyed it. Highly recommend this tour.

Terrific tours from our guide Carolyn at DC Design tours - we did a tour of the main monuments and it was so good we booked again and also did a tour of Arlington Cemetery. Carolyn tweaked the tours to suit our interests and stamina, held the kids (and adults) in rapt attention, answered all our questions and shared lots of details and history we would not otherwise have known with a lot of warmth and humour. Strongly recommended.

We enjoyed learning about the buildings and local history! Our guide was knowledgeable and helped to make the tour special!

Carolyn was a wonderful guide for our family group of seven. We would definitely use her on our next trip to DC. And I’ve already recommended her to several friends. Thanks for perfect experience.

Excellent guide, interesting facts, walking was at a good pace. Very animated in his delivery, liked his use of IPad for historical photos.

Carolyn led a fabulous tour. She is a trained architect with deep expertise, but her tour is absolutely accessible and interesting for everyone. My husband, parents, and I all greatly enjoyed it. If not for the fact that we were leaving town that night, we would have signed up for other outings with DC Design Tours. Another couple in our group said that they had done three during their time in DC and they were all terrific. Highly recommended!

This tour should have been canceled due to the March. It was hard to hear and we were jostled by police and marchers. Couldn’t get close to any of the buildings

My guide Sam was my favorite part of this walking tour. He is smart, witty and funny. As a son of an urban planner, he has been studying good and bad architecture since a kid. We started our tour at the iconic Union Station where I learned about a Boston train wreck in the month of Eisenhower’s inauguration, the scandal over the naked sculpture and the fake marble columns. Sam get our group of 3 in stitches with his jokes. We then progressed to walk to the Capitol and learned about the architects of the Supreme Court & Library of Congress. When it started to rain, Sam steered us under a tree at the Capitol. I love DC walking tours—even though I am a local resident—because I learn so much about the history of the nation’s capital. I can’t wait to write a post for my FemaleSoloTrek blog about Union Station. Fascinating history.

Sam was an excellent tour guide. Serious information delivered with humor. We loved his explanation of the Grant Memorial. We would do other tours with the company and Sam.

We did the Capitol Hill tour with Sam. He was the perfect tour guide - informative, funny and just a lovely person. His enthusiasm was infectious, and I learned a lot.

As a local, I've often take DC and its sights for granted. So glad that my husband and I signed up for a tour with DC Design! Carolyn was a wonderful guide--fun, friendly, and very knowledgeable. Her enthusiasm about the architecture and history of Capitol Hill really captivated the group. When we finished the tour, we were both saying to each other "Wow, I really learned something new today"--and we've lived in the DC area for 25 years. That says a lot about how great a tour is when you've impressed the locals! We will definitely be signing up for more walking tours with DC Design!

This was the best walking tour we did on my birthday trip to DC. Very fun and informative filled with lots history about the city. Carolyn was very accommodating allowing one of my friends to join last minute.

This was the *best* walking tour I've taken - and I've been on many! SAM did an absolutely amazing job - he was not only knowledgable about the history & architecture, but had "side stories" to offer at each point. He responded to questions, and while our group totally kept up with his pace (unlike some tours where the walkers lag far behind the guide) Sam was kind & considerate with keeping us either in the shade or finding elevators as needed. Initially I thought the tour would be "weak" (Union Station, Supreme Court, Capitol view, Library of Congress, ending at Capitol Visitor's Center) - but the entire 2 hour tour was chock-full of information, history, and architecture! I would TOTALLY recommend DC Design Tours even at full price! (Plus I found out they offer a military discount - *thank* you!) 

For us, taking the Metro proved best - giving us the flexibility to arrive right at Union Station (red line), and leave from Capitol South station (silver line).

 This tour does go into public, historic buildings - and you will be going through airport-type scanning sensors and bag inspections. "Pack lightly."

My husband and I arranged a private tour that started at Union Station and concluded at the Library of Congress . It was 2 hour in length ,perfect timing for our schedule. I have been on group tours in DC that have there place as an introduction . This was so much superior. Our guide was knowledgeable and passionate about her city it’s buildings and history . She was very accommodating about my husband whom had some issues with the distances and pace . I only wish I had had time to book an Arlington tour with her . Reasonably priced ,immediately responded,clear and accurate directions and set up .