As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports, Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on American Airlines, which operates a non-stop flight Mondays, and Wednesdays, Thursdays from Madrid, Spain (MAD) to Washington (IAD), regularly scheduled to depart at 4:40pm and arrive at 7:25pm. Usually an Airbus A340 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Madrid, Spain to Washington, DC is 8 hours and 45 minutes.

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Regularly Scheduled Flights to Washington (IAD) from Madrid, Spain (MAD)
				Daily Non-Stops		Select Non-Stop		Earliest Flight		Last Flight
	American Airlines			-		1		4:40pm		4:40pm
	Iberia			-		1		4:40pm		4:40pm

During your Washington vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:

The Pentagon
Damaged in the shocking September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which a hijacked commercial jet crashed into the building, killing 125 people working at the Pentagon, and 64 more people aboard the plane, the Pentagon building has been restored, but at this writing, it remains closed for general public tours, although school and military groups may be able to arrange for tours (call the information number listed below).The Pentagon is the headquarters of the American military establishment. This immense five-sided structure was built during the early years of World War II. It's one of the world's largest office buildings, housing approximately 23,000 employees. For their convenience, it contains a complete indoor shopping mall, including two banks, a post office, an Amtrak ticket office, a beauty salon, a dry cleaner, and more. It's a self-contained world. There are many mind-boggling statistics to underscore the vastness of the Pentagon -- for example, the building contains enough phone cable to circle the globe three times.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
This museum remains a top draw, as it has been since it opened in 1993. If you arrive without a reserved ticket specifying an admission time, you'll have to join the line of folks seeking to get one of the 1,575 day-of-sale tickets the museum makes available each day (see "Holocaust Museum Touring Tips," below). The museum opens its doors at 10am and the tickets are usually gone by 10:30am. Get in line early in the morning (around 8am).The noise and bustle of so many visitors can be disconcerting, and it's certainly at odds with the experience that follows. But things settle down as you begin your tour. When you enter, you will be issued an identity card of an actual victim of the Holocaust; at several points in the tour, you can find out the location and status of person on your card -- by 1945, 66% of those whose lives are documented on these cards were dead.The tour begins on the fourth floor, where exhibits portray the events of 1933 to 1939, the years of the Nazi rise to power. On the third floor (documenting 1940-44), exhibits illustrate the narrowing choices of people caught up in the Nazi machine. You board a Polish freight car of the type used to transport Jews from the Warsaw ghetto to Treblinka and hear recordings of survivors telling what life in the camps was like. This part of the museum documents the details of the Nazis' "Final Solution" for the Jews.The second floor recounts a more heartening story: It depicts how non-Jews throughout Europe, by exercising individual action and responsibility, saved Jews at great personal risk. Denmark -- led by a king who swore that if any of his subjects wore a yellow star, so would he -- managed to hide and save 90% of its Jews. Exhibits follow on the liberation of the camps, life in Displaced Persons camps, emigration to Israel and America, and the Nuremberg trials. A highlight at the end of the permanent exhibition is a 30-minute film called Testimony, in which Holocaust survivors tell their stories. The tour concludes in the hexagonal Hall of Remembrance, where you can meditate and light a candle for the victims. The museum notes that most people take 2 to 3 hours on their first visit; many people take longer.In addition to its permanent and temporary exhibitions, the museum has a Resource Center for educators, which provides materials and services to Holocaust educators and students; an interactive computer learning center; and a registry of Holocaust survivors, a library, and archives, which researchers may use to retrieve historic documents, photographs, oral histories, films, and videos.The museum recommends not bringing children under 11; for older children, it's advisable to prepare them for what they'll see. You can see some parts of the museum without tickets, includingtwo special areas on the first floor and concourse: Daniel's Story: Remember the Children and the Wall of Remembrance (Children's Tile Wall), which commemorates the 1.5 million children killed in the Holocaust, and the Wexner Learning Center. There's a cafeteria and museum shop on the premises.Holocaust Museum Touring Tips--Because so many people want to visit the museum (it has hosted as many as 10,000 visitors in a single day), tickets specifying a visit time (in 15-min. intervals) are required. Reserve as many as 10 tickets in advance via Tickets.com (tel. 800/400-9373; www.tickets.com) for a small fee. If you order well in advance, you can have tickets mailed to you at home. You can also get same-day tickets at the museum beginning at 10am daily (lines form earlier, usually around 8am). Note that same-day tickets are limited, and one person may obtain a maximum of four.

Korean War Veterans Memorial
This privately funded memorial, founded in 1995, honors those who served in Korea, a 3-year conflict (1950-53) that produced almost as many casualties as Vietnam. It consists of a circular "Pool of Remembrance" in a grove of trees and a triangular "Field of Service," highlighted by lifelike statues of 19 infantrymen, who appear to be trudging across fields. In addition, a 164-foot-long black-granite wall depicts the array of combat and support troops that served in Korea (nurses, chaplains, airmen, gunners, mechanics, cooks, and others); a raised granite curb lists the 22 nations that contributed to the U.N.'s effort there; and a commemorative area honors KIAs, MIAs, and POWs. Plan to spend 15 minutes for viewing. Limited parking is available along Ohio Drive.Tip: If you don't mind a walk, try to snag a parking spot along West Basin Drive near the FDR Memorial; the Korean War and the Vietnam War Veterans memorials, as well as the Lincoln Memorial, are then all within reach.

Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the Washington area, including:

Mandarin Oriental Washington, DC
I took the Metro to the Mandarin Oriental, which is easy to do, since the 12th Street exit of the Smithsonian Metro station is only a 5-minute walk from the hotel. The Mandarin does not really cater to Metro-riding guests, however. If you stay at this sumptuous hotel, you're more likely to arrive by car, limo, taxi, or perhaps yacht (the Washington waterfront is behind the hotel, across a roadway or two, but a pedestrian footbridge connects the complex with the marina and Tidal Basin). My point is that the Mandarin Oriental is fabulously posh, but its location is odd. The hotel is situated at the end of a concrete peninsula, known as the multipurpose Portals complex, which is set to include offices, retail shops, and restaurants. The government building neighborhood is not attractive and at night you will not be where the action is: These streets are not meant for strolling.Having said all that, the opening of the Mandarin Oriental in March 2004 upped the ante on luxury in the capital. The service is positively sublime, everyone sweetly gracious. Hotel decor richly combines Asian and American traditions. The two-story lobby is a light-filled, glassed-in rotunda, the circular design used here and throughout the hotel to invite good luck. Each guest room is laid out in accordance with the principles of feng shui (for example, the mirror does not face the entry door, to prevent the reflection of good fortune out of the room), and furnishings include nightstand lamps of contemporary Japanese lantern design, replica pieces from the Smithsonian's Asian art galleries, the Sackler and Freer, and tapestries of hand-woven Thai silk panels. On the thick-mattressed beds are sensuously beautiful linens that make you reach out your hand to touch.Finally, the setting that separates the hotel from the rest of the city also helps create a feeling that you are away, but not away. You may not want to roam the neighborhood but you can walk around the hotel's property, which includes terraces of landscaped gardens and views of the Tidal Basin and marina, the Jefferson Memorial, the Virginia skyline, and District buildings. Guest rooms offer these same views. And when you are on the inside, looking out from the soundproofed, very quiet, and elegant refuge of your room, even nearby Interstate 95 appears rather magnificent.Note: Not open at the time of research, both the restaurant (with a chef coming from the West Coast's acclaimed French Laundry) and the spa are expected to be world-class.Facilities: 2 restaurants (French American, Asian-influenced cafe cuisine); 2 bars; lap pool in spa; fully equipped fitness center; 10,400-sq.-ft. full-service spa; 24-hr. concierge; business center with full Internet access; 24-hour room service; same-day laundry/dry cleaning; club levels; several rooms for those w/limited mobility. In room: A/C, TV w/pay movies and HDTV, 3-line phone w/dataports, minibar, coffeemaker, hair dryer, iron, safe, robes, DVD/CD player, high-speed Internet access ($12 per day).

The Jefferson, a Loews Hotel
Opened in 1923 just 4 blocks from the White House, the Jefferson is one of the city's three most exclusive hotels (along with the Hay-Adams and the St. Regis). Those looking for an intimate hotel, with excellent service, a good restaurant, sophisticated but comfortable accommodations, inviting public rooms (should you want to hang out), and proximity to attractions and restaurants (should you not want to hang out) will find that the Jefferson satisfies on all scores. About one-third of the lodgings are suites: junior, one-, and two-bedroom size. The hotel's largest standard rooms are located in the "carriage house," an attached town house with its own elevator, which you reach by passing through the pub/lounge in the main building. Guest rooms are individually decorated with antiques and lovely fabrics, evoking a European feel. A fine art collection, including original documents signed by Thomas Jefferson, graces the public areas as well as the guest rooms. A renovation in 2004 restored antiques, added sleeper sofas to all of the suites, and installed wireless Internet access in the public areas.Many local foodies like to dine at the hotel's acclaimed Restaurant at the Jefferson. And the paneled pub/lounge is another popular stopping place for Washingtonians; here you can sink into a red-leather chair and enjoy a marvelous high tea or cocktails.Facilities: Restaurant (American); bar/lounge (serving high tea 3-5pm); 24-hour fitness room; access to health club (with pool) at the University Club across the street ($20 per visit); children's program (care package at check-in); 24-hr. concierge; 24-hr. room service; 24-hr. butler service; in-room massage; babysitting; same-day laundry/dry cleaning; 1 room for those w/limited mobility, has roll-in shower; video and CD rentals.

Residence Inn Capitol
This brand-new hotel was still under construction at press time; it's due to open in January 2005, in time for the presidential inauguration on January 20. I was anxious to include the hotel, which promises to be remarkable, in this newest edition of the guidebook, despite the fact that some information was not available at the time of my research. Here are some reasons why I think you should check out the hotel: The Residence Inn Capitol is located 3 blocks south of the Smithsonian's fabulous new National Museum of the American Indian. Not only that, but four Native American tribes are 58% owners of the hotel, which makes this the first multi-tribal partnership with non-tribal partners on land off a reservation. Hotel features mimic the look of the National Museum of the American Indian; for instance, the Kasota limestone, which covers the museum's exterior, is used throughout the first floor of the hotel. The hotel's covetous location, close to the National Mall and to Capitol Hill, endows it with a spectacular view: From the top three floors of the 13-story building, one has breathtaking sights of the Capitol building. Finally, this Residence Inn, like all Residence Inns, offers some attractive amenities for families and business people who are in Washington for more than just a couple of days: The roomy suites all have fully equipped kitchens, which allows for flexible dining options; the hotel hosts a generous hot lunch daily, social hours with food on weeknights, and a barbeque once a week; and the property provides a pool, exercise room, and free high-speed Internet service.