Texas Capitol Visitors Center

Small visitors’ center that features a gift shop and information desk on the first floor staffed by friendly folks who can provide good travel and sightseeing tips. The second floor is full of exhibits and historic objects that you won’t see in the Capitol itself. The overall feel seems targeted towards school groups, although if you’re a history buff, you’ll certainly enjoy this venue.
Note: this Unilocal entry is for the visitors’ center a few steps away from the Capitol, and not for the Capitol itself or for Capitol tours.

Very interesting place right next to the Capitol. They had a lot of historical presentations and displays that were informative and really interesting.

The Texas Capitol visitors center is located in the castle like building that once served as the Texas General Land office Building. Admission is free, and the second floor is a mini Texas history museum. I was surprised by how nice the upstairs section is. They have interactive exhibits and films, very child friendly.
On the first floor, you will find a large Austin themed gift shop. Also, they have two information desks staffed with friendly people who can help answer questions and provide you with free travel information. One room is devoted to just information about parks and wildlife in Texas. I walked away with a free plastic «don’t mess with Texas» bag stuffed full of pamphlets. A great place to stock up on maps and tourist information for when out of town guests come to visit.
I also noticed a sign that mentioned free tours on weekdays.

Love being a Texan and coming here to see where all the action happens. They have free tours every 15 minutes and have some specialized tours as well throughout the day. You can walk around all four floors, there are elevators if you don’t feel like climbing the stairs. Make sure you check out all the governor pictures and library.

What a great place! My family and I walked in to get penny pressed coins and walked out with a bunch more than that. The guy who was working one of the information desks was so helpful and provided us with a bunch of maps and magazines. We were fully armed with anything and everything that any sight seeing tourist would want to see in Austin and even the whole state of Texas. Best thing about it? It was completely free!
Yes, it is a small little center with not much to see and it definitely seems that way from just being in the first floor. The second floor has a lot of little treasures though! There is an amazing view of the Capitol from one of the windows, telescopes that are focused on the Goddess of Liberty, a cute little area where you can try some Texan gear such as cowboy hats and last but not least a walk through the famed spiral staircase. I highly recommend stopping by especially if you’re already going to be visiting the Capitol.

Holy moly I was shocked about how massive this place was. But it was beautiful and very informative, we were there when there were singing groups in the main lobby and it was very nice. My only thing I didn’t like was the amount of children running around, and subsequently into me. I know it’s not the buildings doing, but it did take away from the experience

Visiting from California and really impressed by the upkeep of the buildings and the grounds. Worth seeing for certain. The 3 women in the gift shop were not very friendly at all, however, did not greet us and were not very warm as I checked out. Other than them, it was a good experience.

Best place to get a great history lesson. The people that run this place are truly wonderful. If you need help finding anything or if you are lost stop on by for a history lesson and a cool breath of fresh air.

If you’re going to visit the Capitol, you may either miss this place or think it’s too far away. I think you should take the extra 5 minutes and give it a try. Yes, a gift shop is there, but there are multiple exhibits in there too.

Stopped here after the Capitol Building tour to specifically check out the original star from the original Goddess of Liberty statue that used to adorn the top of the capitol.
Firstly, parking is a pain in the patootie! They have a 30min customer service lane right in front of the building, but it is strictly monitored, so I would recommend finding a parking meter or parking in the visitors parking garage (which is $$$), but if you plan on doing the capitol building tour and then properly exploring here, you will need to move your car if you street park as most meters are limited to 2hrs.
As far as the exhibits go here, they are pretty neat and historical and have a lot of artifacts from the 1890s, which is interesting. They also have a little movie about Texas history. I was even impressed that some of the exhibits has text and QR codes for coupons to the State Museum and a video of the 1986 replacement of the Goddess of Liberty statue.
The restrooms are in the basement are a little hard to find because you feel like you are entering a labyrinth if you take the stairs.
The staff I interacted with were nice enough, but not very engaging. The entire set-​up is definitely designed for school fieldtrips, of which there were two being conducted when I was there.
Wouldn’t recommend specifically coming here, but if you have some time after the Capitol Building Tour, it is worth a gander. I would definitely do the Cap Bldg Tour before coming here and not the other way around as there are definitely some informational gaps, but well done for what it is.
WARNING: it is on a hill, so I am not sure if you are disabled where the entrance would be from the Capitol Grounds because the only place I could see to enter was via a steep sidewalk entrance with stairs, so you might have to inquire via the website or by phone for the ADA entryway.

Free tour that meets in the rotunda and occurs every half hour.
I had a lovely tour with a 6/​/​7^th generation texan. She knew her stuff and pointed out some very interesting facts and places.
The capital building has some very beautiful spaces: The rotunda (stand under the star and speak… weird), The senate room, The spiral staircase, the representatives room.
There is a lot of history, art, and politics in dat dem der walls.
They even have a capital grille located within the building.
For a free event I say spend 45 minutes and check it out… you might even run into that perry guy… you know Katy’s father!

Beautiful, spacious lawns with statues telling the history of Texas. I recommend that you take a tour inside the Capital. It’s really beautiful in the inside too and it’s very interesting to learn about some Texas politics!

Texas has an awe inspiring capitol. Go to the visitor’s center, take the tour, and learn a bit more.

I never went into The Capitol but had the joy of walking around the premises waiting for Daft Punk to possibly perform. The area is clean and the architecture is beautiful. This is great place to take a nice stroll with a loved one or family. Downtown is nearby if you want to grab a meal and drinks.

I’ve visited a lot of national/​state/​city landmarks in my time, and seen many visitors’ centers, but I have to admit that the Texas State Capitol has one of the best Capitol Visitors Centers that I’ve ever been to.
It sits on the SE corner of the TSC grounds, and is easy to get to. There’s a parking garage on the SE side of the Capitol, and the first 2 hours of parking are free. Take advantage of it, kids.
When you walk in, there’s a gift shop to the left, and several exhibits to the right and straight ahead. The gift shop was awesome… lots of stuff so that you can show off your Texas pride when you get home. There’s also an information desk with tons of free maps and brochures and people to direct you to where ever you want to go.
Upstairs, there’s many more exhibits. You can learn about how the Capitol was built, see blue prints, view the red granite up close, and watch all kinds of mini-​videos/​movies about the Capitol.
There’s stairs and elevators, so you can traverse the levels easily. The restrooms are in the basement.
It’s a great Visitors Center, and this Texan learned even more about her beloved state and capital. Thanks, Capitol Visitors Center!

**This is not the capitol. It’s a separate building, with exhibits.**
I can’t vouch for what’s upstairs because we ran out of time, but the first floor was pretty interesting. I really enjoyed the room dedicated to war veterans.
Also, there is a free parking garage just a few blocks NE of here.

The Capitol Visitor’s Center is not the State Capitol, folks. It is the 3-​story white limestone building situated on the southeast corner of the Capitol grounds that serves as an official visitor’s center. It houses a gift shop and numerous displays, some permanent and others are temporary. The DPS has a Travel Center here with free maps and other items that are useful if you are not from Austin.
The CVC is the oldest state building in Texas (c. 1856 – 57). At one time, the building served as the General Land Office and housed drafting tables, men in top hats and maps. William Sidney Porter, whose pen name became O. Henry, worked here drawing maps from surveys and field notes. This castle-​like building he worked in was woven into some of his tales such as «Bexar Scrip No. 2692» a fascinating story about a widow and her son who loose their land to an unscrupulous land shark and his eventual demise.
When you visit, check out the display of the wall section. This mid-​century mock medieval style building has walls thicker than any of the 1000 year old oaks on the grounds. Enjoy the fun and informative interactive exhibits and films about the Capitol and Texas history. Find out how the Goddess was placed on top of the Capitol or how soldiers were paid during the Texas Revolution. The gift shop features an annual Christmas ornament, numerous Texas collectibles, gifts and books.

I walked in I was greeted by 3 girls who were super friendly. They were super helpful and gave me all of the information I needed to have a fun tour of the location and the capital.
There was a lot of history here and some really nice movies too. I enjoyed the movie that showed the capital building. I really loved seeing the cameras go all the way into the dome. As a tourist, you are only allowed to go up to the 4^th floor, so it was nice to see what it looked like up there.
There was a gift shop here and the staff was really nice but I did not buy anything. Being from Chicago I kind of liked the cup coasters but thought that cow hide coasters with stars on them might not work with my bar in Chicago.
There was also a really nice model of the dome too… it was cut in half to show the construction. It was cool to see the building like that.
The girls at the front door suggested that I see the lady with a free map and she would point out some fun things for me in Austin. I have to really give her 1 star because she seemed not happy to help me. I had to ask for a map and then she gave it to me. I then asked her for a lunch recommendation and she pointed to the sponsors printed on the map. I said, «What about local flavor? Where do you go for local food?» She looks at me and says, «I bring my lunch from home!» Wow!!! Luckily I didn’t need her for a lunch recommendation because I knew my secret weapon would be Unilocal.And Unilocal did not let me down but that is another review!
This is a great starting point before touring the capital building!!!

If you are already on the grounds be sure to stop by the visitors center. It’s very informative and has many interactive activities for children. It also has a good display on what’s going on with the Governor’s Mansion (it was deliberately set on fire a few years back). My favorite display is the one that shows the Capitol’s dome construction. It shows the inner and outer domes, and gives you an idea just how cool it would be if you could ever make it to this part of the capitol.
Also in the visitors are place to pick up a plethora of information on Texas, so if you need brochures or maps, this alone warrants a stop.
PS. The building is very nicely air-​conditioned, so it was a welcome respite on this 100+ day.

Came here to visit the gift shop to get some post cards to send to my friends back home (like the old soul I am). This is a separate building across the lawn from the Capitol. I was greeted when I came in and was told where the gift shop was, and that there were more exhibits upstairs. The gift shop was small, but had a good assortment of different TX souvenir items. On the main floor, and up the old white winding staircase were more exhibits, which included information and pieces from the war for independence, the cowboy lifestyle, and costumes from that era. For a small free museum, you can’t really complain.
Park in the Capitol Visitor’s Center garage on 12^th street for 2 free hours! Each subsequent hour is only $ 1 each.