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Lufthansa Flights from Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) to Washington (IAD)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Lufthansa, which operates a daily non-stop flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) to Washington (IAD) regularly scheduled to depart at 12:20pm and arrive at 2:53pm. Usually a Boeing 777 is flown for this route. Generally, a movie is offered on this route. The average travel time from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Washington, DC is 8 hours and 33 minutes.*
* Some flights must connect with additional service on this airline.
During your Washington vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
United States Botanic Garden
The Botanic Garden re-opened in late 2001 after a major, 5-year renovation. The grand conservatory devotes half of its space to exhibits that focus on the importance of plants to people, and half to exhibits that focus on ecology and the evolutionary biology of plants. The conservatory holds 4,000 living species; 26,000 plants; a high-walled enclosure, called "The Jungle," of palms, ferns, and vines; an Orchid Room; and, outside the conservatory, a First Ladies Water Garden, formal rose garden, and a lawn terrace. You'll also find a Meditation Garden and gardens created especially with children in mind. Call in advance to arrange for a free, 4-minute tour. The USBG sometimes offers entertainment, like the live music and tours it hosted last summer, staying open until 8pm on the first Tuesday of each month.Also visit the garden annex across the street, Bartholdi Park. The park is about the size of a city block, with a stunning cast-iron classical fountain created by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, designer of the Statue of Liberty. Charming flower gardens bloom amid tall ornamental grasses, benches are sheltered by vine-covered bowers, and a touch and fragrance garden contains such herbs as pineapple-scented sage.
The Capitol
The Capitol is as majestic up close at it is from afar. For 135 years it sheltered not only both houses of Congress, but also the Supreme Court and, for 97 years, the Library of Congress as well. When you tour the Capitol, you'll learn about America's history as you admire the place in which it unfolded. Classical architecture, interior embellishments, and hundreds of paintings, sculptures, and other artworks are integral elements of the Capitol.On the massive bronze doors leading to the Rotunda are portrayals of events in the life of Columbus. The Rotunda -- a huge 96-foot-wide circular hall capped by a 180-foot-high dome -- is the hub of the Capitol. The dome was completed, at Lincoln's direction, while the Civil War was being fought. Ten presidents have lain in state here, with former President Ronald Reagan being the most recent; when Kennedy's casket was displayed, the line of mourners stretched 40 blocks. On the walls are eight immense oil paintings of events in American history, such as the presentation of the Declaration of Independence and the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. In the dome is an allegorical fresco masterpiece by Constantino Brumidi, Apotheosis of Washington, a symbolic portrayal of George Washington surrounded by Roman gods and goddesses watching over the progress of the nation. Brumidi was known as the "Michelangelo of the Capitol" for the many works he created throughout the building. (Take another look at the dome and find the woman directly below Washington; the triumphant Armed Freedom figure is said to be modeled after Lola Germon, a beautiful young actress with whom the 60-year-old Brumidi had a child.) Beneath the dome is a trompe l'oeil frieze depicting important events in American history. Also in the Rotunda is the sculpture of suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott. For a long time, the monument had been relegated to the Crypt, one level directly below the Rotunda. Women's groups successfully lobbied for its more prominent position in the Rotunda.The National Statuary Hall was originally the chamber of the House of Representatives. In 1864, it became Statuary Hall, and the states were invited to send two statues each of native sons and daughters to the hall. There are 97 statues in all, since three states, Nevada, New Mexico, and North Dakota, have sent only one. Many of the statues honor individuals who played important roles in American history, such as Henry Clay, Ethan Allen, Daniel Webster, and seven women, including Jeannette Rankin, the first woman to serve in Congress.You will not see them on your tour, but the south and north wings of the Capitol hold the House and Senate chambers, respectively. The House of Representatives chamber is the largest legislative chamber in the world, and the setting for the president's annual State of the Union addresses. (See information further along about watching Senate and House activity.) The Capitol also houses the Old Supreme Court Chamber, which has been restored to its mid-19th-century appearance. The Old Supreme Court Chamber is where Chief Justice John Marshall established the foundations of American constitutional law. Allow at least an hour for touring, longer if you plan to attend a session of Congress. Remember to allow time for waiting in line.At this time, self-guided tours and "VIP" tours (tours reserved in advance by individuals through their congressional offices) have been suspended, for the foreseeable future. The only way now to tour the Capitol Building is in groups of 40. A Capitol Guide Service guide conducts each tour, which is free and lasts about 30 minutes.You have two options: If you are part of an organized bunch, say a school class on a field trip, you may arrange a tour in advance, putting together groups of no more than 40 each, by contacting your congressional office at least 1 month ahead, and following the procedures that office outlines for you. If you are on your own, or with family or friends, you will want to get to the Capitol early, by 7:30am, to stand in line for one of a limited number of timed tickets the Capitol distributes daily, starting at 9am. Head to the ticket kiosk at the southwest corner of the Capitol grounds, near the intersection of 1st Street and Independence Avenue SW, across 1st Street from the U.S. Botanic Gardens. It's a first-come, first-served system, with only one ticket given to each person, and each person, including children of any age, must have a ticket. The good news is that once you receive your ticket, you are free to go somewhere nearby to get a bite to eat, or to sightsee, while you wait for your turn to tour the Capitol. The bad news is that all of you, even 1-year-old baby Louie, have to rise early and get to the Capitol by about 7:30am and then stand in line for another hour or more to be sure of touring the Capitol that day. Still, I think this is an improvement over the old touring procedure, which required all of you to stay in the queue until you entered the Capitol -- if you left the line, you lost your place. Definitely call the recorded information line (tel. 202/225-6827) on the morning of your visit to confirm exactly where and how to obtain your ticket.Now, if you wish to visit either or both the House and Senate galleries, you follow a different procedure. The Senate Gallery is open to visitors only when it is in session, while the House Gallery is open to visitors whether or not it is in session. Try to visit when both the Senate and House are in session [STSTST]. Either way, in session or not, you must have a pass to visit each gallery. (Children under 6 are not allowed in the Senate gallery.) Once obtained, the passes are good through the remainder of the Congress. To obtain visitor passes in advance, contact your representative for a House gallery pass, or your senator for a Senate gallery pass; District of Columbia and Puerto Rico residents should contact their delegate to Congress. If you don't receive visitor passes in the mail, they're obtainable at your senator's office on the Constitution Avenue, or north side, of the building or your representative's or delegate's office on the Independence Avenue, or south side, of the building. (Visitors who are not citizens can obtain a gallery pass by presenting a passport at the Senate or House appointments desk, located on the first floor of the Capitol.) Call the Capitol switchboard at tel. 202/224-3121 to contact the office of your senator or congressperson. Your congressional office will issue you a pass. You'll know the House and/or the Senate is in session if you see flags flying over their respective wings of the Capitol (House: south side, Senate: north side), or you can check the weekday "Today in Congress" column in the Washington Post for details on times of the House and Senate sessions and committee hearings. This column also tells you which sessions are open to the public. Or you can access the Capitol's webpage, www.aoc.gov. Vastly improved in the past year, the website provides lots of good information about the history, art, and construction of the Capitol building; an in-depth education on the legislative process; and schedules of bill debates in the House and Senate, committee markups and meetings, and lots of other good stuff. The aoc.gov (aoc stands for "architect of the capitol") page has links to the individual Senate, www.senate.gov, and House, www.house.gov, pages, or you can go directly to those sites, to connect to your senate or house representative's page.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
The FDR Memorial has proven to be one of the most popular of the presidential memorials since it opened in 1997. Its popularity has to do as much with its design as the man it honors. This 7 1/2-acre outdoor memorial stretches out, rather than rising up, across the stone-paved floor. Granite walls define the four "galleries," each representing a different term in FDR's presidency from 1933 to 1945. Architect Lawrence Halprin's design includes waterfalls, sculptures (by Leonard Baskin, John Benson, Neil Estern, Robert Graham, Thomas Hardy, and George Segal), and Roosevelt's own words carved into the stone.One drawback of the FDR Memorial is the noise. Planes on their way to or from nearby Reagan National Airport zoom overhead, and the many displays of cascading water can sound thunderous. When the memorial first opened, adults and children alike arrived in bathing suits and splashed around on warm days. Park rangers don't allow that anymore, but they do allow you to dip your feet in the various pools. A favorite time to visit is at night, when dramatic lighting reveals the waterfalls and statues against the dark parkland.Conceived in 1946, the FDR Memorial had been in the works for 50 years. Part of the delay in its construction can be attributed to the president himself. FDR had told his friend Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, "If they are to put up any memorial to me, I should like it to be placed in the center of that green plot in front of the Archives Building. I should like it to consist of a block about the size [of this desk]." In fact, such a plaque sits in front of the National Archives Building. Friends and relatives struggled to honor Roosevelt's request to leave it at that, but Congress and national sentiment overrode them.As with other presidential memorials, this one opened to some controversy. Advocates for people with disabilities were incensed that the memorial sculptures did not show the president in a wheelchair, which he used after he contracted polio. President Clinton asked Congress to allocate funding for an additional statue portraying a wheelchair-bound FDR. You will now see a small statue of FDR in a wheelchair, placed at the very front of the memorial, to the right. Step inside the gift shop to view a replica of Roosevelt's wheelchair, as well as one of the rare photographs of the president sitting in a wheelchair. The memorial is probably the most accessible tourist attraction in the city; as at most of the National Park Service locations, wheelchairs are available for free use on-site.If you don't see a posting of tour times, look for a ranger and request a tour; the rangers are happy to oblige. Thirty minutes is sufficient time to allot here.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Washington area, including:
Henley Park
This intimate English-style hotel with 119 gargoyles on its facade was originally an apartment house. Built in 1918, the stunning building retains many of its Tudor-style features, including the lobby's exquisite ceiling, archways, and leaded windows. Its design offers a charming counterpoint to that of the newly opened and modern convention center, whose location is "727 steps" away (according to the Henley Park's director of sales). The hotel's popular restaurant, bar, and parlor received face-lifts in late 2000, while an ongoing renovation recently replaced wallpaper, linens, and other items in all the guest rooms. Guest rooms overlook busy Massachusetts Avenue on one side, or an interior enclosed courtyard on the other side. The decor is old-fashioned, in rooms full of dark wood Hepplewhite-, Chippendale-, and Queen Anne-style furnishings. Televisions are small and lighting fixtures project dim light. Rooms and bathrooms are of standard size. A handful of suites are either one-bedroom or junior (combined living room and bedroom). The hotel puts on a smashing afternoon tea, but even better is the live jazz that plays in the bar Thursday through Saturday (and often Sundays in summer) evenings. If you dine in the restaurant, you'll enjoy the pleasant cosseting of maitre d' Ralph Fredericks, and the music wafting in from the bar. But the food is not great. Look in the Sunday New York Times "Travel" section for ads posting low rates.Facilities: Restaurant (New American); pub (with live jazz Thurs-Sat evenings); afternoon tea (daily 4-6pm); access to a fitness room in the Morrison-Clark Historic Inn (see listing below) across the street; 24-hr. concierge; complimentary weekday-morning sedan service to downtown and Capitol Hill; business services; 24-hour room service; same-day laundry/dry cleaning.
Capitol Hill Suites
A $3 million renovation completed at this well-run, all-suite property in spring 2000 produced remarkable and lasting results. Bedroom walls are painted cobalt blue, heavy velvet drapes keep out morning sun, lamps and mirrors are from Pottery Barn, desks are long, desk chairs are ergonomically correct, and beds are firm. Bathrooms are tiny, but sparkling. The lobby, which features an enclosed fireplace, leather chairs, and an antique credenza where self-serve coffee is laid out, is inviting enough to linger. (Sit here long enough and you might spy a congressperson or senator -- a number of members reserve suites for 100 days at a time.) High-speed Internet access is available in all guest rooms at a charge of about $10 per day.The location is another plus: Capitol Hill Suites is the only hotel truly on the Hill (on the House side of the Capitol). It stands on a residential street across from the Library of Congress, a short walk from the Capitol and Mall attractions, a food market, and more than 20 restaurants (many of which deliver to the hotel).The term suite denotes the fact that every unit has a kitchenette with coffeemaker, toaster oven, microwave, refrigerator, flatware, and glassware. Most units are efficiencies, with the kitchenette, bed, and sofa all in the same room. The best choices are one-bedroom units, in which the kitchenette and living room are separate from the bedroom. A third option is a "studio double," with two queen beds and a kitchenette, but no living room area. Some rooms in each category have pullout sofas.Guests, no matter their political leanings, have privileges to dine at the Capitol Hill Club, a members-only club for Republicans, and can charge their meals and drinks to their hotel bill.
The Madison
Having completed a $40-million plus renovation and reinvention in 2003, The Madison is once again at the top of its game. Not surprisingly, with all of the extra touches offered here (fresh fruit always available, water and fruit waiting for returning morning runners, etc.), the Madison feels like a nice mix of luxury hotel and comfortable home. Having hosted every U.S. president since JFK as well as numerous dignitaries and heads of state, The Madison really knows how to give its customers everything they could need or want (consider a whole floor devoted to those traveling with pets -- and there's no size limit nor deposit required to bring Benji along). The Federalist decor is effectively juxtaposed with all the modern amenities you'd expect from a world-class hotel. Though the 2-bedded doubles are a tad on the small side and the beds were a bit firm for my taste, the luxe sheets, Frette duvet covers, helpful staff, shower curtains that curve away from the tub (no more sticking to you -- why haven't more places done this?), and the hotel's location all make this a great choice in the area. Be sure to check out the framed and signed presidential correspondences on the wall of Postscript, the hotel's lounge. Funfact: the Madison was the first hotel to introduce the minibar!
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