Pentagon Tour and Other DC Government Building Tours

Step 1: Plan a Pentagon tour and sort the other buildings

The Pentagon and the FBI run their own tour requests on their own official sites, and the other big buildings work differently. Sort them first, so you do not wait until the last week to learn that one needs a form.

For the Pentagon, the official site is pentagontours.osd.mil. We could not open it or the Department of Defense tour pages on 25 October 2026, so we leave out the request window, the ID rules and the tour length. The FBI's tour pages also did not open for us. Read both on their own sites, and do not trust a number you find elsewhere.

The Pentagon Memorial's visitor FAQ gives the practical facts we could read. The Pentagon is in Arlington, Virginia, not in DC, and the Blue and Yellow Metro lines both stop at the Pentagon station. Pentagon City is one stop away. The Memorial is at 1 Rotary Road, a short walk from the station, and the FAQ says the Memorial is open 24 hours a day. Its site showed a temporary-closure notice on 25 October 2026, so check its public notices page first.

The same FAQ says guided Pentagon tours are free and by reservation only, for schools, educational groups and other select groups, on weekdays. It points to the Pentagon Tour Office at 703-697-1776. That page does not say whether single visitors can book, so check pentagontours.osd.mil.

Here is what the building is, from the same FAQ. Construction began on 11 September 1941 and finished on 15 January 1943, about sixteen months. It is five-sided and five stories high, with two basements, five rings of offices and a central courtyard. The FAQ says it has 17 1/2 miles of corridors, yet it takes only seven minutes to walk between any two points. It does not say why the shape was chosen.

On 11 September 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon. The Memorial's pages record 184 lives lost. The Memorial has 184 units, one for each victim, set by age from 3 to 71.

The rest of this guide covers what we could read on the official pages today. For the full list of tours on Capitol Hill, see the tour of capitol page.

Here is the short version.

Key Takeaway Three Capitol Hill buildings need no long request, while the White House needs a request 7 to 90 days ahead.

Step 2: Tour the Capitol for free

You can tour the US Capitol for free, and you do not need a reservation. The Capitol Visitor Center says all tours, programs and activities are free of charge. Reservations are recommended but not required.

Walk-ups are welcome. Staff put you on the next available tour, and the page says to arrive by 2:30 p.m. Allow extra time for security.

Visitors go with a guide. The page says there are no self-guided tours. The route covers the Crypt, the Rotunda and National Statuary Hall, but not the Senate and House galleries.

Pro Tip Reserve a time on the Visitor Center's schedule page if your trip is short, and treat the 2:30 p.m. walk-up time as the latest you can arrive.

Step 3: Add the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress

The Supreme Court and the Library of Congress sit near the Capitol, and both are free. The Supreme Court's visiting page says the building is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The building is closed on weekends and federal holidays. Admission is free, and you can see the public areas on your own.

Here are the hours side by side.

Court sessions, including the handing down of opinions, are open to the public. Court business can change public access, so check the daily calendar on the Court's homepage before you go.

The Library of Congress asks for a free timed-entry ticket for the Thomas Jefferson Building. Tickets open 30 days ahead. Free same-day tickets are released online at 9 a.m. ET each day. The building is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and until 8 p.m. on Thursday. The Library is closed on Sunday and Monday.

A guide can tie the three buildings into one outing. The Capitol, Library of Congress and Supreme Court tour is from €58 per person, with a 4.8 rating from 127 reviews. Cornerstone Tours runs it, and it shows free cancellation. Plan on 2.5 to 3.5 hours, and meet at 1 2nd St NE. Standard groups are up to 15 people, and a private group can be up to 100.

The listing says the Library is closed on Mondays, so that option does not run then. The Supreme Court option does not run on weekends. Transport and hotel pickup are not included.

The Capitol Hill guided tour with entry tickets is a 3-hour option from €49 per person, with a 4.7 rating from 701 reviews. Empire Tours and Productions LLC (DC) runs it. The tour starts on the west side of the Supreme Court, not at the Capitol Visitor Center. Tips are not included, and the listing says it is not suitable for wheelchair users. No reliable group size is stated for it.

Things to Do in Washington DC's count of GetYourGuide listings in October 2026 found 29 listings with Capitol, Supreme Court, White House or National Archives in the title, from €26 to €580.

Step 4: Request the White House through Congress

A White House tour is free, but you cannot walk up. The White House visit page says you request a tour through your Member of Congress. You can reach them through the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 or at congress.gov/members.

Requests may be sent 7 to 90 days before the date you want. Tours are generally offered from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday to Thursday, and from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. They are typically not offered on federal holidays.

Schedules can change on short notice, even after a tour is confirmed. The page does not cover ID rules for visitors from other countries. Read the White House FAQ page or ask the Member of Congress's office.

If you miss a slot, you can still see the area from outside. The Hidden Halls of Power walking tour lasts 2 hours and is from €31 per person, with a 4.5 rating from 20 reviews. Junket runs it, and the walk meets at the General Andrew Jackson statue. The listing says it does not include entry to any building and is not suitable for people with mobility impairments.

A building you need a month to enter is easier to plan than one that surprises you at the door.

Step 5: Decide if a guided tour is worth it

A guide is worth it if you want one outing for the Capitol, the Library and the Court. A guide saves you the planning, and the entry is already timed. Otherwise, do it yourself. None of the three tours here enters the Pentagon, so for the Pentagon the official site is the only route we can point you to. You can walk to the Pentagon Memorial from the Pentagon station without a request. Every one of these buildings is free to enter on its own official route.

Do it yourself if you have a flexible day. Walk up to the Capitol before 2:30 p.m., and get a Library ticket at 9 a.m. ET on the day. A paid tour is the wrong choice if your day falls on a Monday and you want the Library, because the Library is closed then.

For more options, see Washington DC tours. If you want more to do nearby, the museums page lists free places close to the Mall.

One honest limit. This guide cannot tell you how to book the Pentagon or the FBI, because we could not read their official pages. Use the official sites for those two.