ny state capitol tour

New York State Capitol Tours

• Albany-Rensselaer
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Stroll atop Albany's State Street, the seat of government for New York since the late 19th century. Tour the architectural marvel that was hand-built of solid masonry over a 25-year period.

Photo Courtesy of Andrew Frey

Explore four floors of New York State history! The New York State Capitol sits at the top of Albany’s State Street hill, and serves as the house of New York’s government since the 1880’s. Guests can tour the 19 th century architectural building that took 32 years to be build for free.

Tour the Capitol

Tours are available on weekdays without a reservation or on Saturdays with a reservation.

Tours that run on Monday through Friday meet at the Capital State Street Lobby Information Desk. Tours on Saturday begin at the Plaza Visitor Center and Gift Shop. All tours are free and will last for approximately one hour. By taking a tour, visitors have access to a complete history of the building including ghost stories, unfinished carvings, famous inhabitants and all!

Self-guided tours are also available at the New York State Capitol during normal building hours. Guests can use audio files free of charge and can explore the building at their own leisure. Start the tour at any of the 20 stops, including the Senate Staircase, Senate Chamber, the Legislative Process, Governor’s Reception Room, Hall of Governors, the Flag Room and more. Make sure to visit this educational day trip that is perfect for any family, school or group!

Take Amtrak to New York State Capitol Tours

Experience the architectural marvel via Amtrak to Albany-Rensselaer Station  in Albany-Rensselaer -Don’t forget to use Amtrak’s  See New York and Save  15% discount !

Get picked up from Albany-Rensselaer Station and taken to your reserved NYTRAIN  Enterprise Rent-a-Car.  Click here to reserve your car  or call the Albany-Rensselaer office today at:  518-472-1111.

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Stroll atop Albany's State Street, the seat of government for New York since the late 19th…

Tour the New York State Capitol: What to see, when to go, where to park

• Updated: Sep. 15, 2023, 8:28 p.m. |
• Published: Apr. 24, 2015, 5:01 p.m.
• Tim Knauss | [email protected]

The New York State Capitol took more than 30 years to build, beginning in 1867 and ending in 1899 when Gov. Theodore Roosevelt declared the building complete. It cost more than $25 million, making it more expensive than the U.S. Capitol. You can tour it for free.

What to expect

The Capitol is a marvel of late 19th-century architectural grandeur, built by hand of solid masonry.  In places its walls are four or five feet thick. Five architects worked on its design. Highlights of the tour include the Senate and Assembly chambers, the governor's reception room, the grand staircases and the Hall of Governors. Museum-quality exhibits on New York State's history have been installed throughout the building.

Guided tours last 45 to 60 minutes. No reservation is required unless you are part of a group of 10 or more. A maxium of 45 people can participate in each tour. All tours begin at the information desk in the State Street Lobby of the Capitol.

You can also take a self-guided tour any time the building is open, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. The audio tour can be downloaded  or accessed with a smart phone at various stops in the building.

Visitors are required to pass through metal detectors and have any bags scanned through an x-ray machine. Personal belongings such as backpacks and large bags should be left behind. Sharp objects, such as pocket knives and nail clippers, will not be allowed into the building.

State St. and Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12224

The Capitol is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Guided tours are offered Monday through Friday at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. The building is closed on weekends and holidays.

Admission and tours are free.

The nearest parking location is the V-Lot beneath the Empire State Plaza. The lot is accessed from Interstate 787 at the Empire State Plaza exit. Parking costs $10 if you enter before 11 a.m., and $5 after 11, on weekends and holidays. Other nearby parking lots  are also available.

For more information, visit the website  or call the Plaza Visitor Center at 518-474-2418.

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Visiting and Directions to the Capitol

Visiting the Capitol The Senate Gallery is open to the public any time the Senate is in session or during guided Capitol tours. Guided tours of the Capitol are available daily and free of charge. For Capitol tours, groups of 10 or more should make reservations, by phone, two weeks in advance by contacting your Senator, or the New York State Office of General Services Plaza Information Office at (518) 474-2418. It is also recommended that all visitors call ahead to confirm the daily schedule.

Directions From the North: Take Interstate 87 (Northway) to Interstate 90 (East) exit, proceed east to Interstate 787 (South) and take Empire Plaza exit. From the South: Take New York State Thruway (Interstate 87) to Exit 23 - straight through toll booth to Interstate 787, and then take Empire Plaza exit. From the East: Take Interstate 90 and cross Hudson River. Take exit to Interstate 787 South, along river. Take Empire Plaza exit. From the West: Take the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90) to Exit 24, proceed east on Interstate 90 to Interstate 787 South, along river. Take Empire Plaza exit.

Women of Distinction

New York State Senate Veterans' Hall of Fame

N.Y. / Region

Published: march 8, 2013, capitol redux.

A renovation of the New York State Capitol in Albany was completed in 2012. Below, a visual tour of some of its highlights. Related Article »

Constructed between 1867 and 1899, the New York State Capitol was designed as a none-too-subtle symbol of New York’s prosperous place in the world after the Civil War.

Located in downtown Albany, the building is a mix of styles, and was worked on by several architects before being completed by Issac G. Perry, a prolific builder known for his work on, among other buildings, the New York State Inebriate Asylum in Binghamton.

With a granite foundation and a planned dome (never completed), the total cost was $25 million — a figure that translates to more than half a billion dollars today — which made it one of the most expensive public works projects in the country.

The current renovation began in 2000, and was completed – ahead of schedule – in 2012.

The Great Western Staircase (a k a The Million Dollar Staircase)

An Arte Mundit resin mask that was applied to a Benjamin Franklin carving to clean it. The resin was used throughout the restoration of the State Capitol.

Considered one of the true treasures of the Capitol, the staircase near the building’s western entrance is famed for the delicate faces in carved sandstone. It took more than a dozen years, and hundreds of stonecutters, to complete. Legend has it that some stonecutters carved the likenesses of friends and family alongside more famous personages.

Part of the restoration included a cleaning of the stone, using peel-away resin coating to strip away decades of dirt and even residue from a 1911 fire.

Originally expected to cost $1 million at the time of its construction – hence the nickname – the staircase ran over budget.

The War Room

The War Room is centrally located on the Capitol’s second floor – home to the Governor’s Office, the Hall of Governors and the Hall of New York, which features paintings of cities and landscapes from around the state, like “Syracuse at Night,” “Low Tide at Glen Cove Landing."

With its colorful and sometimes surreal depictions of warriors both real and mythical, the War Room also includes murals of New York heroes, like Col. Theodore Roosevelt, who became the state’s 33rd governor (and 26th president of the United States).

Senate and Assembly Staircases

The two eastern staircases each lead to a different side of the legislative branch. The brighter and bolder Assembly staircase sits to the north, with the more subdued Senate stairway on the south side of the building. Each is topped with a newly restored skylight, allowing natural light to flow into the building. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said it was symbolic of a government that he wanted to be transparent.

“We were trying to do so much when we came in, and trying to show progress,” the governor said, adding that the physical nature of the renovation “became a proxy for what we were trying to say.”

The Assembly and Senate Chambers

The two chambers of the State Legislature are also distinctly their own. The entrance to the Assembly Chamber — the “People’s Chamber” and the largest room in the Capitol — is flanked with marble columns, with an ornate chandelier hung from a ceiling that rises more than 50 feet above. The Gothic chamber’s restoration included new carpet, matching the original red from its 19th century debut; fresh replicas of original mahogany doors; the discovery and resetting of original tiles; and repairs to the stained glass.

The Senate moved into its chambers in 1881, adjacent to the office of the lieutenant governor, who serves as its president. Gold leaf adorns its upper walls, while intricate tile and carpet cover the floors inside and out.

During a recent walking tour with a reporter, Mr. Cuomo seemed enthralled by the handiwork. “This was New York when New York was, in some ways, at its boastful best,” he said.

The Hall of Governors

Governor Cuomo in the Hall of Governors last week.

Governor Cuomo’s very first executive order in 2011 was to reopen the second floor of the Capitol — home to the executive branch — to the public. Openness, he said, was “essential to the maintenance of a democratic society.”

Not long after, he also ordered the entire renovation to be accelerated to both save money and, he said, to make a statement. “It was dusty, it was dirty, it was just like one of these government capital projects that was never going to end,” he said.

To that end, the second floor Hall of Governors was spruced up: repainted, relighted and reorganized to add historical placards and put the gubernatorial portraits in chronological progression.

“You’d have a teacher with a group of fourth graders walking up and down the hall looking at these pictures of old white men in no particular order,” the governor said, adding, “Now, when a school brings up a class, it’s a history lesson.”

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New York State Capitol Tours

• Presented By: Office of General Services Location: New York State Capitol Washington Ave and State St, Albany, NY 12242 Albany, NY 12242
• Recurrence: Recurring weekly on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
• Time: 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
• Price: FREE
• Phone: (518) 474-2418
• Visit Website

Tour the New York State Capitol NYS!

Sitting atop Albany’s State Street hill, the New York State Capitol has served as the seat of government for New York since the 1880s. The building is a marvel of late 19th-century architectural grandeur, built by hand of solid masonry over a period of 32 years. Highlights of the 45-minute tours can include the legislative chambers, Hall of Governors, Governor’s Reception Room, Hall of New York, historic staircases, and carvings.

Security:  Visitors to the Capitol are required to pass through metal detectors and have bags scanned through an x-ray machine. Personal belongings such as backpacks and large bags should be left behind. Sharp objects, such as pocket knives, nail clippers, weapons, and nuisance devices such as whistles and noisemakers are not allowed into the building.

• When:  Monday through Friday
• Times:  10 a.m., noon, & 2 p.m.
• Location:  Information Desk in Capitol’s State Street lobby
• Reservations:  Space is limited, and reservations are recommended but not required for groups of fewer than 10 people. For groups of 10 or more, contact the Plaza Visitor Center at 518-474-2418. Online registration ends one hour before tour time. Walk-ups are permitted.

Discover Attractions

New York State Capitol Hauntings Tour

• Albany/Albany County
• Capital/Saratoga Region

The Haunting

Brave visitors will make their way through the Capitol to the exact spot where a night watchman died in a fire before exploring the legend of the "Secret Demon" near the Great Western Staircase. Discover which two Presidents visited the Capitol after they died and learn about the state Assembly Chamber's hidden murals and the tormented artist who created them. 

100 South Mall Arterial (Visitor Parking) Albany, NY 12242 P: (518) 474-2418 Guided Tours

Opportunities for visitors:

Capitol Hauntings tours, explore the legends, folklore, and tales of unexplained occurrences connected to the historic State Capitol, including mysteries behind the Capitol's most notorious carvings and the deadly fire of 1911. Guided tours; motorcoach friendly. Call for groups of 10 or more. 

For current COVID protocols and updates, visit: empirestateplaza.ny.gov.

Days/times of operation:

Building open Monday-Friday, 7am-7pm (closed government holidays).

Haunted tours take place on select dates/times, late September-October. 

FREE. Reservations required.

Handicap Accessible:

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Snapshot: tedisco welcomes saratoga central catholic school students to nys capitol.

State Sen. Jim Tedisco (R,C-Ballston Lake) recently welcomed middle school students from Saratoga Central Catholic School and provided them with a tour of the New York State Capitol. “I was delighted to welcome these very bright middle schoolers from Saratoga Central Catholic School and talk with them about our state government and offer them a tour of our beautiful state capitol,” Tedisco said. (Photo provided)

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Vice President Kamala   Harris Launches Nationwide Economic Opportunity   Tour

The Vice President will kick off her multi-state tour with a moderated conversation in Atlanta, GA on April 29 and an event in Detroit, MI during the following week

WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris announced today that she will embark on a nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour with a series of events focused on investing in communities, building wealth, and ensuring every American has the freedom to thrive. The Vice President’s tour will take her back to several states across the country as she highlights how the Biden-Harris Administration has built economic opportunity and delivered for the American people. The Economic Opportunity Tour will kick off with a moderated conversation in Atlanta, GA on April 29 and an event in Detroit, MI during the following week. Additional dates and locations will be announced soon.

“President Biden and I are committed to creating an economy in which every person has the freedom to thrive. That is why we have taken historic steps to advance economic opportunity by increasing access to capital, investing in small businesses, addressing housing costs, forgiving student loans and medical debt, investing in infrastructure, and championing additional policies that put money in people’s pockets and build wealth,” said Vice President Harris.   “Our economic approach has delivered great progress, and we will continue to invest in you, your family, and your future.”

During the Vice President’s Economic Opportunity Tour, she will highlight how the Biden-Harris Administration has delivered historic investments that have supported communities and helped people thrive. This includes making unprecedented investments in small businesses and achieving the fastest creation of Black-owned small businesses in more than 30 years, creating a record number of jobs, increasing access to capital for underserved communities, investing in infrastructure, cutting the price of insulin and expanding access to health care, erasing medical debt, forgiving more student loan debt than any administration in history and boosting investments in education, making housing more affordable, lowering child care costs, and increasing the wealth of American families. Vice President Harris will also outline additional steps that she and President Biden are taking to expand this work. She will be joined on the tour by Administration officials, members of Congress, local leaders, and other special guests.

The Vice President’s tour is a continuation of her nonstop travel to communities across the country. She has made more than 35 trips to 16 states since the beginning of 2024. This includes consistent travel to meet with small business owners and entrepreneurs in underserved communities to discuss challenges and opportunities they face. In March, she traveled to Black Wall Street in Durham, NC to announce $32 million in funds to support historically underserved entrepreneurs. She began the year in Las Vegas, NV where she announced an SBA rule that will ensure millions of Americans who have served time are eligible for SBA loan programs that help individuals start and run small businesses.

The Vice President has long been focused on ensuring that minority, rural, and low-income communities have the capital and resources they need to thrive and support small businesses. Last year, she announced that Treasury’s CDFI Fund has awarded over $1.73 billion in grants to 603 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) across the country. In 2022, the Vice President also announced a first-of-its-kind public-private sector initiative — the Economic Opportunity Coalition (EOC) — that is a historic public-private partnership of more than 20 private sector organizations that will invest tens of billions of dollars to create opportunity and grow wealth in historically underserved communities. The EOC has already surpassed over $1 billion in increased member company deposits into community finance institutions. As a Senator, the Vice President partnered with key Congressional stakeholders to secure a transformative $12 billion investment for CDFIs and MDIs in December 2020. Since that time, she has worked to ensure these programs are as successful as possible.

Additional dates, cities, and details for media to RSVP will be available soon.

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