I have been to most of the Capitals in the States. Washington state capital is the most beautiful inside and out. The breath taking views from the reflection lake below are a photographers dream. Inside is beautiful and the short tour gives Washington State's history "in a nut shell".Going to the park below is a nice place for a picnic and a walk around the lake.
Whether you're interested in Washington State history or the architecture, bring your camera! The tour is only an hour and you can end in the museum. Look out for special events at the Capitol.
Sure, it's a tour of a capitol building but this tour is really interesting. The buildings and artwork are something to behold. You really get a great and fun lesson on our state capitol and if you have the time, get a tour of the Governors Mansion too. It's a beautiful home with great stories that go along with it. The grand tour is a great way to spend a morning, then your in a neighborhood with lots of great restaurants or a short walk downtown (You can't get lost) opens you up to more great restaurants, shops and our state famous Farmers Market. Which starting April 1st, is open Thurs-Sunday 10am-3pm. If you have a day, take the tour, have a great lunch and wander around town. You'll like it.
This is truly incredible for a state capitol. It feels as though it should be located in Washington DC instead!
If you want to be awed by the past, engaged by the present and hope-filled for the future then you cannot miss a tour of the WA State Capitol AND the new tour offered at the Temple of Justice! All this quality experience at no cost! And I strongly recommend planning your outing to include lunch at the deli on the ground floor of the Capitol, with govt officials.
OK so I work on campus so I probably take a lot for granted, parking is a nightmare during session, but you can't beat the view from the law enforcement memorial on a crisp, clear winter day, the spring flowers always look pretty. Too bad they can't keep up the sunken gardens anymore.
The kids had yet to visit their home state’s capitol building so we remedied that today as a detour from our stay in Seattle this weekend. Hourly guided tours are offered, but we “self-guided” ourselves through the bottom three floors. Impressive architecture and history/memorial displays. The gift shop had lots to offer from souvenirs to clothes to northwest food items to books. Afterward, the beautiful Saturday afternoon weather (upper 50s) beckoned us down the path to Capitol Lake and Capitol Lake Park and a bit further north for some lunch at a café. The gal at the visitor center highly recommended the farmers market, but we didn’t make it there.
We took several pictures as we drove around and visited this historical area. The buildings are a great sight, especially the old capital building. If you love old buildings and their art, don't miss this area. It's a great stop.
We liked looking around the Capitol building. There are not a lot of plaques to inform, so either get a guide or pick up some of the material that is near the entrance on the lower level. BTW, the gift shop on the lower level is quite impressive. I'm not usually a gift shop fan, but this one had a large variety of high quality books on local history, nature, science, etc. as well as high quality souvenirs, educational gifts, etc. Worth a stop.
I was at the capitol to visit my reps. While there I was given a mini tour of the building. It is beautiful. I loved the architecture. I'm a big fan of old buildings and this one didn't disappoint. I will go back and do the guided tour and get more of the history but for the brief visit I had it was great.