Capitol Hill Entry Tickets
Jan 1st, 2007, 01:13 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Capitol Hill Entry Tickets
hi there, does anyone here know how to get entry tickets to the capitol for us british folk!! we are planning to visit around the 12th of jan. any help or advice would be apreciated - thanks and happy new year!
Jan 1st, 2007, 04:30 AM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 23,138
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
www.house.gov/house/tour gives all info you will need - one does not need to be US citizen to enter.
Most important is that tickets are distributed at set time in AM and you must get in line to get them - one ticket per person - that means you can not just send one member of your party to get tickets for everyone.
US citizens can also get tours from their elected Congressmen/women's office - but obviously that is not an option for you.
Most important is that tickets are distributed at set time in AM and you must get in line to get them - one ticket per person - that means you can not just send one member of your party to get tickets for everyone.
US citizens can also get tours from their elected Congressmen/women's office - but obviously that is not an option for you.
Jan 1st, 2007, 11:03 AM
#5
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,360
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I wouldn't completely rule out trying to get tickets from a U.S. Congressman/woman or Senator. It may be worth a try and I'll tell you why.
In 1999, my wife and I were taking an overnight train from Inverness to London. Since we had some time and plenty of daylight before retiring for the evening, we went to the club car for a glass or two of wine. We started talking with three of the people near our table and, to make a long story short, one of them turned out to be Charles Kennedy, M.P. and future head of the Liberal Democrats in the U.K. After Mr. Kennedy left us and went to bed, one of the other people asked us about our sightseeing plans for London. When I said that we had no specific plans yet, he suggested that we visit the House of Commons. I asked how we would do that and he said that we should contact "Charles". It turned out that this man was Charles' former headmaster in Inverness (years ago) and he had the contact information for Kennedy's office in London.
We phoned his secretary the next day, described the chance meeting on the train the previous night and "dropped" the headmaster's name. We were given passes to visit the House of Commons two days later and zoomed past other U.S. tourists in line who had arranged tickets through their Congressional representatives.
Why don't you try something similar? Contact a U.S. Congressman/woman or Senator for these tickets. It may be a long shot, but you have nothing to loose. In fact, you may want to narrow your search to someone such as member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Explain your circumstances as British tourists and see what they say. Senator Biden <http://biden.senate.gov/> is the incoming Chairman of that committee. Here is his link for more information on Washington, D.C. tours and how to request them through his office <http://biden.senate.gov/services/visiting.cfm>.
Good luck! Let us know how you make out.
In 1999, my wife and I were taking an overnight train from Inverness to London. Since we had some time and plenty of daylight before retiring for the evening, we went to the club car for a glass or two of wine. We started talking with three of the people near our table and, to make a long story short, one of them turned out to be Charles Kennedy, M.P. and future head of the Liberal Democrats in the U.K. After Mr. Kennedy left us and went to bed, one of the other people asked us about our sightseeing plans for London. When I said that we had no specific plans yet, he suggested that we visit the House of Commons. I asked how we would do that and he said that we should contact "Charles". It turned out that this man was Charles' former headmaster in Inverness (years ago) and he had the contact information for Kennedy's office in London.
We phoned his secretary the next day, described the chance meeting on the train the previous night and "dropped" the headmaster's name. We were given passes to visit the House of Commons two days later and zoomed past other U.S. tourists in line who had arranged tickets through their Congressional representatives.
Why don't you try something similar? Contact a U.S. Congressman/woman or Senator for these tickets. It may be a long shot, but you have nothing to loose. In fact, you may want to narrow your search to someone such as member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Explain your circumstances as British tourists and see what they say. Senator Biden <http://biden.senate.gov/> is the incoming Chairman of that committee. Here is his link for more information on Washington, D.C. tours and how to request them through his office <http://biden.senate.gov/services/visiting.cfm>.
Good luck! Let us know how you make out.
