California State Capitol Museum
California State Capitol Museum
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
This 19th-century granite building, modeled after the U.S. Capitol, is home to the California Legislature and houses a public museum and a surrounding garden. We are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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- bluebeansNew England, North Dakota59 contributionsSacramento is the capital, after all!I enjoyed my indoors tour of the Capitol. Our guide was well informed and funny, if a bit rote. Be sure to see the portrait gallery of governors, especially Jerry Brown's startling choice. Most of us non-Californians probably don't know the governors of other states, and yet most of us probably know the names of most of California's recent governors (Reagan, Brown, Schwarzenegger, and more). Very interesting to see the different styles of portraiture and how they (at least in recent times) reflect the leaders' personalities. Staff are friendly and helpful, and bathrooms available.Visited November 2023Travelled soloWritten November 15, 2023
- DisneybusPittsgrove, New Jersey909 contributionsVery nice capitol - tour comes up shortMy wife and I, touring from New Jersey, took a docent tour of the capitol. First, the grounds are very impressive with palms swaying around the perimeter and the dome very prominent. While we gained some insight from the tour, we were disappointed. Our guide, while knowledgeable, was a fast talker and not albeit clear. It was hard to pick up on his rehearsed delivery: we were led to several rooms no longer used rather than seeing and learning about today's working government. Most disappointing was that we weren't brought into either the Senate or Assembly chambers; a must with our other capitol visits. We did visit the Assembly on our own later, but didn't get into the Senate. It was fun seeing the portraits of Arnold and Ron, but why is Reagans statue in the basement adjacent to the gift shop?Visited May 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten June 7, 2024
- BrakiWorldTravelerBelgrade, Serbia19,452 contributionsPrivate tour of amazing CapitolCalifornia's Capitol is the most similar to DC's Nation Capitol. It's modeled upon DC's, but finished earlier. That's because of CA wealth due to gold rush and mining which mostly started and ended here, in Sacramento. That gave Sac great advantage over SF and LA to become the state capital. That, and many other interesting stories we learned from our tour guide, whose name I unfortunately don't remember. Tours of CA Capitol run on the hour from 10AM to 4PM. Luckily for us, some people cancelled so we were the only on the 3PM tour. Throughout 45 min he gave detailed explanations about CA history, took us to the assembly room and by the painted Governors portraits. The rest of time we could roam freely, seeing the small museum and other interesting things.Visited May 2024Travelled with familyWritten June 8, 2024
- Sarah CAshtead, United Kingdom1,294 contributionsAwesome building, great tourThis was excellent, we saw the museum and did the tour, which was a bit limited due to renovations. Our guide was brilliant, lots of insider titbits, and made the place - which is delightfully grand - come to life. The Governor portrait gallery was fascinating. Highly recommendedVisited October 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten June 19, 2024
- Katia74LALos Angeles, California69 contributionsA Must seeGreat place for Californians and visitors to see and learn more about our history ! People who worked in the building were very friendly , beginning with the security, state highway trooper, attendants inside . A Must see when in town !Visited August 2024Travelled with familyWritten August 6, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
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Rob-CS
Gothenburg, Sweden180 contributions
Feb 2020 • Friends
As a museum I was not very impressed. They have recreated some old rooms and there is a lot of information about the building and it’s multiple renovations.
The cool part was that you can see where the California senate sits. If they were in session I would consider coming back to see that.
The building is very beautiful so if you want to go for that sake you can do that.
It is free to enter!
The cool part was that you can see where the California senate sits. If they were in session I would consider coming back to see that.
The building is very beautiful so if you want to go for that sake you can do that.
It is free to enter!
Written February 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brendan S
Arlington, VA2,152 contributions
Nov 2022
The California Capitol Building has a "Museum" section of rooms that look like they did a century ago, and information about the State (bird, song, animal, etc.). There's a free hour-long tour that takes the group to some of these rooms, to the legislative assembly room, into the rotunda, and examines the interesting portraits of governors, including the very famous ones like Reagan and Schwarzenegger. It's interesting and informative as the guide was very knowledgeable about design elements and trivia about the building and governors that I would not have known but for the tour.
Written November 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Susan L
Port Washington, NY5 contributions
May 2022
Most areas of building were closed to visitors due to Covid. Briefly viewed each chamber in session but other interesting rooms had been closed for a while.
Also, entry is difficult to locate. You must walk a distance from the front to access entry.
Also, entry is difficult to locate. You must walk a distance from the front to access entry.
Written June 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
scott r
Silver Spring, MD779 contributions
Sept 2024 • Solo
Friendly staff, decent hour long docent tour. We did not see the Assembly and both chambers are viewed from a heavy plexiglass shielded gallery - tribute I guess to some overenthusiastic CA citizen audiences. Several historic rooms downstairs interpret the building as it once was - but in reality it was gutted in order to earthquake proof the place and you are viewing a recreation rather than a restoration. The court was here once too, but you do not see that - nor the (present) governor's offices. It is a pleasant visit and average-good as state Capitols go in terms of being ornate / oohs and aahs. They don't incorporate a little history museum as some Capitols do. Reagan looks a little lonely in his basement rotunda.
Written October 6, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lottelli
Wirral, UK2,934 contributions
Oct 2022 • Couples
There are free walking tours on the hour - meet in the rotunda.
The building is fantastic.
The free tour was really informative and I learnt thinks I wouldn’t have known about.
All of the Californian governors portraits are on the wall - look out for Arnies!
We got to look into the chambers which was cool.
The building is fantastic.
The free tour was really informative and I learnt thinks I wouldn’t have known about.
All of the Californian governors portraits are on the wall - look out for Arnies!
We got to look into the chambers which was cool.
Written November 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BigMerk
Glasgow, UK2,709 contributions
Sept 2022
We were only in Sacramento for a few hours on a long road trip. I had already identified that the Capitol building was closed on a Saturday (some are, some aren’t) so it was not a surprise. It was still good to see the outside and take some photos. It’s a very grand-looking building in a classic style and immediately the surrounding area is similarly grand. It’s very central and within easy walking distance of Old Sacramento (the main tourist destination).
Written September 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BrakiWorldTraveler
Belgrade, Serbia19,452 contributions
May 2024 • Family
California's Capitol is the most similar to DC's Nation Capitol. It's modeled upon DC's, but finished earlier. That's because of CA wealth due to gold rush and mining which mostly started and ended here, in Sacramento. That gave Sac great advantage over SF and LA to become the state capital.
That, and many other interesting stories we learned from our tour guide, whose name I unfortunately don't remember. Tours of CA Capitol run on the hour from 10AM to 4PM. Luckily for us, some people cancelled so we were the only on the 3PM tour.
Throughout 45 min he gave detailed explanations about CA history, took us to the assembly room and by the painted Governors portraits.
The rest of time we could roam freely, seeing the small museum and other interesting things.
That, and many other interesting stories we learned from our tour guide, whose name I unfortunately don't remember. Tours of CA Capitol run on the hour from 10AM to 4PM. Luckily for us, some people cancelled so we were the only on the 3PM tour.
Throughout 45 min he gave detailed explanations about CA history, took us to the assembly room and by the painted Governors portraits.
The rest of time we could roam freely, seeing the small museum and other interesting things.
Written June 8, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mel S
Santa Barbara, CA121 contributions
Jan 2024 • Solo
For those of us who have only a weekend to visit Sacramento, it is disappointing that the Capitol and Museum are closed weekends. I think our State could do better. As for the exterior, half of it is covered by scaffolding g for the construction of an annex/extension, and the park is torn up in parts for the construction, with many paths closed.
Written February 1, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Disneybus
Pittsgrove, NJ909 contributions
May 2024 • Couples
My wife and I, touring from New Jersey, took a docent tour of the capitol. First, the grounds are very impressive with palms swaying around the perimeter and the dome very prominent. While we gained some insight from the tour, we were disappointed. Our guide, while knowledgeable, was a fast talker and not albeit clear. It was hard to pick up on his rehearsed delivery: we were led to several rooms no longer used rather than seeing and learning about today's working government. Most disappointing was that we weren't brought into either the Senate or Assembly chambers; a must with our other capitol visits. We did visit the Assembly on our own later, but didn't get into the Senate. It was fun seeing the portraits of Arnold and Ron, but why is Reagans statue in the basement adjacent to the gift shop?
Written June 7, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Katia74LA
Los Angeles, CA69 contributions
Aug 2024 • Family
Great place for Californians and visitors to see and learn more about our history ! People who worked in the building were very friendly , beginning with the security, state highway trooper, attendants inside . A Must see when in town !
Written August 6, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What architectual style are the columns on the front of the capitol building?
Written August 7, 2023
Is the area safe near the Capitol. We will be visiting next Friday and my husband is concerned about my kids and me walking in the parking garage to the Capitol.
Written January 24, 2020
It's very safe. Not sure why you're concerned. I was just there 2 months ago.
There's also street parking which I believe is free on Sundays.
Written February 2, 2020
Do they allow camera tripods inside the Capitol?
Written October 22, 2018
Capitol_Eric
Sacramento, California
One definite limit on tripods is that you cannot use them in the Assembly or Senate galleries while the houses are in session. As they are not in session this time of year, that should not be a problem.
Written October 29, 2018
If I visit at night, is the Capitol lit up, visible with lights?
Written April 12, 2018
Mina_Von_Vixen
Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom
39 contributions
Yes! Well worth going at night and then again in the morning :)
Written April 15, 2018
Where should I go (specifically) to sign up for a tour of the capitol?
Written October 23, 2016
Capitol_Eric
Sacramento, California
To sign up for a public tour, please visit Room B-27 in the lower level (basement) of the Capitol. There are signs and docents to direct you. Tours leave on the hour, beginning at 9 am; the last tour leaves at 4 pm. You do need to sign up for the tour. I recommend signing up at least 15 minutes before the tour leaves. If your group consists of ten or more people, you will need to call ReserveCalifornia at 1-866-240-4655 in advance. If you desire, you can take a self-guided tour, although I recommend picking up a map of the building first. If you visit on a weekday, you can enter at the north (L St), south (N St), or east entrance. On weekends and holidays, only the south entrance is open. Once you're on the grounds, if you need directions to the tour office, please call our information desk at 1-916-324-0333. We hope you enjoy your visit!
Written January 29, 2018
Capitol_Eric
Sacramento, California
Public tours of the Capitol Museum usually last from 45 minutes to an hour. You may leave early if you need to.
Written September 7, 2015
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