As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports, Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Delta Airlines, which operates 2 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Paris, France (CDG) to Washington (IAD), departing between 10:15am and 4:40pm. Usually a Boeing 777-200 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Paris, France to Washington, DC is 8 hours and 37 minutes.

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Regularly Scheduled Flights to Washington (IAD) from Paris, France (CDG)
				Daily Non-Stops		Select Non-Stop		Earliest Flight		Last Flight
	Delta Airlines			2		-		10:15am		4:40pm
	Air France			2		-		10:15am		4:40pm
	Alitalia			2		-		10:15am		4:40pm
	United Airlines			1		-		12:00pm		12:00pm
	US Airways			1		-		12:00pm		12:00pm

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

City Museum
Long overdue, this museum, which opened in May 2003, presents the story of "the people, events, and communities" of Washington, D.C. A main feature is the 25-minute multimedia show, in which historical figures and contemporary characters come to life, going backwards and forwards in time, as they reveal the main events and personalities that formed this city. "Washington Stories," as the show is called, runs every 30 minutes and focuses on the early days of D.C. It's a little goofy -- the character of Pierre L'Enfant wants to be called "Peter" -- and seems designed for viewers with short attention spans, since the presentation of information jumps from bit to bit. But it's successful in conveying certain ideas, for instance, that Washington has always been a city of diversity. An exhibit on the first floor entitled "Washington Perspectives" covers the history of the city through displays of old ticket stubs, photographs, advertisements, and other artifacts, with printed explanations and sometimes recorded voices. The room is divided into four chronological sections, and as you move through each time period, you pick up details, whether it's about the bustle of market life in the 18th century, or segregation in the 1950s. At some point, you'll notice people bent over in the middle of the room, peering at the floor: They're looking at the lit-up map beneath their feet, pieced together from aerial photographs taken in 1999. Your fellow museum-goers are trying to locate specific places on the map. Also on this floor are two galleries that introduce you to two longtime Washington communities: "Chinatown, Place or People?" and "Mount Vernon Square Communities: Generations of Change."Upstairs are two more exhibits. "Sandlots to Stadiums" basically traces the history of sports and recreation in the city. To me, the much more interesting exhibit is "Taking a Closer Look," which displays old maps, receipts, and drawings; headphones on stands in front of many of the artifacts provide audio recordings of historians giving context to and information about what you are seeing. On the second floor, too, is a reading room and an extensive library of photographs, manuscripts, maps, and books chronicling the city's history. Two flights down, on ground level, is an archaeology lab.The City Museum resides in the restored and gorgeous Carnegie Library building and its interior is all grand white marble, Palladian windows, and graceful double staircases. The early-20th-century beaux-arts designed structure serves as a fine counterpoint to the brand new, ultramodern and huge D.C. Convention Center, directly across the street.

National Gallery of Art
Most people don't realize it, but the National Gallery of Art is not part of the Smithsonian complex. Housing one of the world's foremost collections of Western painting, sculpture, and graphic arts, spanning from the Middle Ages through the 20th century, the National Gallery has a dual personality. The original West Building, designed by John Russell Pope (architect of the Jefferson Memorial and the National Archives), is a neoclassic marble masterpiece with a domed rotunda over a colonnaded fountain and high-ceilinged corridors leading to delightful garden courts. It was a gift to the nation from Andrew W. Mellon, who also contributed the nucleus of the collection, including 21 masterpieces from the Hermitage, two Raphaels among them. The ultramodern East Building, designed by I. M. Pei and opened in 1978, is composed of two adjoining triangles with glass walls and lofty tetrahedron skylights. The pink Tennessee marble from which both buildings were constructed was taken from the same quarry; it forms an architectural link between the two structures.The West Building: On the main floor of the West Building, about 1,000 paintings are on display at any one time. To the left (as you enter off the Mall) is the Art Information Room, housing the Micro Gallery, where those so inclined can design their own tours of the permanent collection and enhance their knowledge of art via user-friendly computers.To the right and left of the rotunda are sculpture galleries. On view are more than 800 works from the museum's permanent collection, mostly European sculptures from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. Among the masterpieces here are Honoré Daumier's entire series of bronze sculptures, including all 36 of his caricatured portrait busts of French government officials.The National Gallery Sculpture Garden, just across 7th Street from the West Wing, opened to the public in May 1999. The park takes up 2 city blocks and features open lawns; a central pool with a spouting fountain (the pool turns into an ice rink in winter); an exquisite glassed-in pavilion housing a cafe; 17 sculptures by renowned artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Ellsworth Kelly (and Scott Burton, whose Six-Part Seating you're welcome to sit upon) and, the latest installment, a Paris Metro sign; and informally landscaped shrubs, trees, and plants. It continues to be a hit, especially in warm weather, when people sit on the wide rim of the pool and dangle their feet in the water while they eat their lunch. Friday evenings in summer, the gallery stages live jazz performances here.The East Building: Inside this wing is a showcase for the museum's collection of 20th-century art, including works by Picasso, Miró, Matisse, Pollock, and Rothko; this is also the home of the art history research center. Always on display is an exhibit called Small French Paintings, which I love.The National Gallery is in the midst of finishing up a renovation, so some galleries and favorite works of art may not be on view. For instance, the famous, massive aluminum Alexander Calder mobile that usually dangles in the seven-story skylit atrium of the East Building is off being cleaned and won't be re-hung until the summer of 2005. Call tel. 202/842-6179 for information.Altogether, you should allow a leisurely 2 hours to see everything here.Pick up a floor plan and calendar of events at an information desk to find out about National Gallery exhibits, films, tours, lectures, and concerts. Immensely popular is the gallery's Sunday concert series, now in its 63rd year, which take place Sunday evenings at 7pm in the garden court of the West Building. Admission is free and seating is on a first-come basis -- people start arriving at 6pm, entering through the 6th Street and Constitution Avenue door, the only entrance open. The concerts feature chamber music, string quartets, pianists and other forms of classical music performances. Call tel. 202/842-691. Highly recommended are the free highlight tours (call for exact times) and audio tours. The gift shop is a favorite. The gallery offers several good dining options, among them the concourse-level Cascade Café, which has multiple food stations; the Garden Café, on the ground floor of the West Building; the Terrace Café on the second level of the East Wing (which sometimes tailors its menu to complement a particular exhibit); and the sculpture garden's Pavilion Café.Avoiding the Crowds at the National Gallery of Art--The best time to visit the National Gallery is Monday morning; the worst is Sunday afternoon.

Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden
This museum of modern and contemporary art is named after Latvian-born Joseph H. Hirshhorn, who, in 1966, donated his vast collection -- more than 4,000 drawings and paintings and 2,000 pieces of sculpture -- to the United States "as a small repayment for what this nation has done for me and others like me who arrived here as immigrants." At his death in 1981, Hirshhorn bequeathed an additional 5,500 artworks to the museum, and numerous other donors have greatly expanded his legacy.Constructed 14 feet above ground on sculptured supports, the doughnut-shaped concrete-and-granite building shelters a verdant plaza courtyard where sculpture is displayed. The light and airy interior follows a circular route that makes it easy to see every exhibit without getting lost in a honeycomb of galleries. Natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows makes the inner galleries the perfect venue for viewing sculpture -- second only to the beautiful tree-shaded sunken Sculpture Garden across the street (don't miss it). Paintings and drawings are installed in the outer galleries, along with intermittent sculpture groupings.A rotating show of about 600 pieces is on view at all times. The collection features just about every well-known 20th-century artist and touches on most of the major trends in Western art since the late 19th century, with particular emphasis on our contemporary period. Among the best-known pieces are Rodin's Monument to the Burghers of Calais (in the Sculpture Garden), Hopper's First Row Orchestra, de Kooning's Two Women in the Country, and Warhol's Marilyn Monroe's Lips.Pick up a free calendar when you enter to find out about free films, lectures, concerts, and temporary exhibits. An outdoor cafe is open during the summer. Free tours of the collection and the Sculpture Garden are given daily; call for information about them.

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

Holiday Inn on the Hill
A major renovation completed in 2003 took the Bing Crosby out of this traditional Holiday Inn, and garnered a "Renovation of the Year Award" from the hotel's umbrella organization, the Inter-Continental Hotels Group. What you see now is a hotel that's very 21st century, or trying hard to be, anyway. Gone are double beds and family-friendly features, like the Discovery Zone kids program. Gone, too, are the prices that made this hotel a great value for families and business folks on a budget (this hotel used to be listed in the "Inexpensive" category). Instead, you'll find guest rooms done in shades of cobalt blue, with zebra wood armoires, glass-topped desks with ergonomic mesh chairs, and triple-sheeted king-size or two queen-size beds. Rooms are standard size, though bathrooms are larger than expected, with a small vanity ledge just outside the bathroom for overflow counter space.Every guest room offers free high-speed Internet access, and the restaurant and an area of the lobby allow for wireless Internet access. Some of the hotel's former clientele will be outpriced here, but for others the Capitol Hill location remains unbeatable. Several labor union headquarters are nearby, making the hotel a popular choice among the "labor" folks doing business with one of them. And for families, proximity to the Capitol and other sites, as well as certain amenities, may appeal: the free 24-hour fitness center, seasonal (outdoor) pool, and the "kids 12 and under eat free" restaurant policy.To get the best deals and perks, ask about summer promotions, the "Great Rates" package, and the hotel's "Priority Club" frequent guest membership.Facilities: Restaurant (American), where kids ages 12 and under eat free with an adult; bar; outdoor (unheated) rooftop pool; 24-hr. fitness room; concierge; business center; room service (6am-11pm); same-day laundry/dry cleaning service; 8 rooms for those w/limited mobility, including 4 with roll-in showers.

Jurys Washington Hotel
This hotel gets high marks for convenience (it's located right on Dupont Circle), service, and comfort. Open since 2000, the hotel is favored by business groups especially, who like its reasonable rates. Each of the large rooms is furnished with two double beds with firm mattresses, an armoire with TV, a desk, a wet-bar alcove, and a tiny but attractive bathroom. Decor is Art Deco-ish, with lots of light-wood furniture. All guest rooms offer free, high-speed Internet access. Despite its prime location in a sometimes raucous neighborhood, the hotel's rooms are insulated from the noise. Rooms on higher floors offer the best views of the city and of Dupont Circle. An Irish management company owns this hotel (along with two other properties in Washington, D.C.), and the comfortable and attractive hotel pub, Biddy Mulligan's, proudly features a bar imported from the Emerald Isle. Its American restaurant, Dupont Grille, opened in spring 2003, and a welcome addition it is to the hotel and the neighborhood (see review, chapter 6). Check the hotel's website for guaranteed lowest rates.

St. Gregory Luxury Hotel and Suites
The St. Gregory, open since June 2000, is an affordable luxury property, with marble floors and chandeliers. The hotel is well situated at the corner of 21st and M streets, not far from Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, and the White House, and with many good restaurants within a literal stone's throw.Most of the guest rooms are one-bedroom suites, with a separate living room and bedroom, and with a pullout sofa in the living room. For privacy and views, choose one of the 16 "sky" suites on the ninth floor, each with terrace and city overlooks. Of the 100 suites, 85 have fully appointed kitchens, including microwaves, ovens, and full-size refrigerators (the other 15 suites have no kitchens). In the remaining 54 units are either king or two double beds. Decor throughout the hotel is an attractive mélange of olive green and gold, with un-hotel-like lamps, mirror frames, and fabrics. Three whole floors of the hotel are reserved for club-level rooms. The St. Gregory offers special rates to long-term and government guests, and to those from the diplomatic community. If you don't fall into one of those categories, check the hotel's website for great deals like the often available "One Dollar Clearance Sale": You pay a set price -- this can fluctuate, sometimes $159, sometimes $209 -- the first night and only $1 for the second night, for Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday stays. To book this discount, you must call the hotel's 800 number.Facilities: Restaurant and coffee bar (American) with sidewalk seating seasonally; state-of-the-art fitness center, as well as access (for $20 fee) to the nearby and larger Sports Club/LA; concierge; tour desk; business center; room service (6:30am-10:30pm); massage; babysitting; coin-op laundry room; same-day laundry/dry cleaning; concierge-level rooms; 6 rooms for those w/limited mobility, 2 with roll-in showers.