New York State Office of General Services (OGS) Commissioner RoAnn Destito announced the OGS Capitol tours program was awarded a “Certificate of Excellence” by TripAdvisor®. The award was earned by OGS for the consistently great reviews people submit to the TripAdvisor travel website after taking a free tour of New York’s statehouse.

“We love showing off the recently restored Capitol and all of the 19th century architectural details and interesting historic items displayed within it, and we are honored that so many people who have been on one of our free tours have taken the time to write positive reviews.,” said Destito.

Tours of the Capitol are designed with families and students in mind, and kids of all ages are welcome. The Capitol features museum-quality exhibits on New York State’s history that have been installed throughout the building. A tour of the Capitol is currently listed on the TripAdvisor website as the second most popular thing to do in Albany, with the New York State Museum at the opposite end of the Empire State Plaza listed as number one.

Capitol tours are offered Monday through Friday at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. Earlier this summer, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the Capitol tours program was being expanded to include tours on the second Saturday of each month, starting at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. There are no public tours on Sundays or holidays.

For weekday tours, reservations are required for groups of 10 or more and can be made online at http://www.empirestateplaza.org or by calling (518) 474-2418. Saturday tours are limited to 25 people, and visitors must make online reservations in advance at http://www.empirestateplaza.org, though walk-in visitors will be accepted on the tours if space allows. In addition, visitors may download a self-guided audio tour to use while visiting the state Capitol. All Capitol tours last from 45 minutes to an hour and start at the Empire State Plaza visitor center and gift shop, located at the north end of the Plaza’s concourse level closest to the Capitol.