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Offered languages
- English
Step into the dramatic side of Capitol Hill on a walking tour filled with political intrigue, scandal, and shocking moments from American history. From secret affairs and courtroom dramas to duels of honor and deadly rivalries, discover the stories Congress would rather forget. Along the way you’ll hear about spies in the Civil War, lawmakers attacked on the Senate floor, a journalist’s murder on the Capitol steps, and even a scandalous love story that shook Washington society. This tour reveals that behind the marble monuments and grand institutions of Capitol Hill lies a history packed with ambition, betrayal, and controversy. Join us to explore the scandals, secrets, and sensational stories that unfolded just steps from the U.S. Capitol.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Tour begins outside the Capitol South Metro Station (there is only one exit) at 1st and C Streets SE. Look for your guide in orange.
The tour ends at 3rd Street and Jefferson Drive SW by the Museum of the American Indian; a straight and easy walk to Federal Center SW Metro Station.
Itinerary
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1Capitol Hill
After dark, Capitol Hill tells a very different story. On this adults-only evening walking tour, your guide takes you through the dramatic, outrageous, and often shocking history that unfolded in the shadow of Congress, from deadly duels and scandalous affairs to smuggling schemes and backdoor political deals. With the iconic dome glowing overhead and stops past the Supreme Court and Library of Congress, this is Washington at its most gloriously unfiltered.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2Library of Congress
The Library of Congress has burned more than once, and Congress managed to make it worse each time. After the British destroyed the original collection in 1814, a chimney fire in 1851 took out another 35,000 of the 55,000 volumes before legislators finally agreed to build a separate, fireproof building in 1864. The stunning Jefferson Building you see tonight is the result of Congress finally, reluctantly, deciding that the nation's books were worth protecting. We do not enter any buildings on this tour.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3Senate and House Office Buildings
In 1884, Kentucky Congressman William Campbell Preston Breckinridge met seventeen-year-old Madeline Pollard on a train to Lexington and began a relationship that would last nearly a decade. When he married someone else instead of her after his wife died, Pollard sued him for breach of promise in a trial that became a national sensation, arguing not just for damages but for the principle that men and women should be held to the same standard when it came to matters of the heart. The jury agreed, she was awarded $15,000, and Breckinridge lost his seat in Congress shortly after.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4Supreme Court
Before this block held two of America's most iconic institutions, it was the site of a Civil War prison that held some of the Confederacy's most notorious figures. Rose Greenhow, a widowed Washington socialite turned Confederate spymaster, was imprisoned here after running a spy network out of her 16th Street home and passing intelligence that helped the South win the first Battle of Bull Run. Also held here was Henry Wirz, the commander of the Andersonville prison camp, who was executed on these grounds in 1865 after being convicted of war crimes for the deaths of thousands of Union prisoners.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5U.S. Capitol
The building at the center of it all has witnessed more than two centuries of drama within its own walls, and this tour barely scratches the surface. Tonight you will hear about senators beaten on the floor, vice presidents who died in the building's basement bathtubs, congressmen who collapsed mid-speech and mid-vote, a nationalist attack that sent thirty rounds raining down from the gallery onto the House floor, and the ghost of a black cat that generations of night watchmen swear still prowls the corridors before moments of national crisis. We do not enter any buildings on this tour.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
6James A. Garfield Monument
The man immortalized in bronze above you was shot not far from where you are standing, and the story of how he actually died is not quite what most people expect. Tonight you will hear about the assassin, the motive, and the medical decisions that may have done more damage than the bullet itself.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7Ulysses S. Grant Memorial
The manicured grounds stretching out before you have been the setting for two of the tour's most unexpected stories, separated by nearly two centuries but equally difficult to believe actually happened. One involves a public execution that went spectacularly wrong before it even began, and the other involves a congressman's wife, a late-night session, and these very steps.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Rating
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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