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Northwest Airlines Flights from Atlanta (ATL) to Washington (IAD)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Northwest Airlines, which operates 2 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Atlanta (ATL) to Washington (IAD), departing between 10:00am and 12:49pm. Usually a Boeing 757 or McDonnell Douglas MD80 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Atlanta, GA to Washington, DC is 1 hour and 48 minutes.*
* Some flights must connect with additional service on this airline.
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.
Corcoran Gallery of Art
This elegant art museum, a stone's throw from the White House, is a favorite party site in the city, hosting everything from inaugural balls to wedding receptions.The first art museum in Washington, the Corcoran Gallery was housed from 1869 to 1896 in the redbrick and brownstone building that is now the Renwick. The collection outgrew its quarters and was transferred in 1897 to its present beaux arts building, designed by Ernest Flagg.The collection, shown in rotating exhibits, focuses chiefly on American art. A prominent Washington banker, William Wilson Corcoran was among the first wealthy American collectors to realize the importance of encouraging and supporting this country's artists. Enhanced by further gifts and bequests, the collection comprehensively spans American art from 18th-century portraiture to 20th-century moderns like Nevelson, Warhol, and Rothko. Nineteenth-century works include Bierstadt's and Remington's imagery of the American West; Hudson River School artists; expatriates like Whistler, Sargent, and Mary Cassatt; and two giants of the late 19th century, Homer and Eakins.The Corcoran is not exclusively an American art museum. On the first floor is the collection from the estate of Sen. William Andrews Clark, an eclectic grouping of Dutch and Flemish masters; European painters; French Impressionists; Barbizon landscapes; Delft porcelains; a Louis XVI salon dore transported in toto from Paris; and more. Clark's will stated that his diverse collection, which any curator would undoubtedly want to disperse among various museum departments, must be shown as a unit. He left money for a wing to house it and the new building opened in 1928. Don't miss the small walnut-paneled room known as "Clark Landing," which showcases 19th-century French Impressionist and American art; a room of exquisite Corot landscapes; another of medieval Renaissance tapestries; and numerous Daumier lithographs donated by Dr. Armand Hammer. Allow an hour for touring the collection.Pick up a schedule of events -- temporary exhibits, gallery talks, concerts, art auctions, and more. Families should inquire about the Corcoran's series of Saturday Family Days and Sunday Traditions. (Family Days are especially fun and always feature great live music.) Both programs are free, but you need to reserve a slot for the Sunday events. There is some street parking.The charming Café des Artistes is open for lunch Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 11am to 2pm, on Thursday from 11am to 3pm for lunch and from 4 to 8pm for dinner, and for Sunday brunch from 10:30am to 2pm (reservations accepted for parties of eight or more), which costs $24 per adult, $11 per child (under 12), and includes live gospel music singers; call tel. 202/639-1786 for more information. The Corcoran has a nice gift shop.
International Spy Museum
After several visits to the Spy Museum, my 12-year-old and I like to test each other's powers of observation. We'll be standing in a store or other public place and look around for signs of "hostile surveillance, security systems, and unexpected risk or unlucky breaks." We're putting into practice some tips we picked up at the museum, in a section called "Tricks of the Trade," where interactive monitors teach you what to look for, when it comes to suspicious activity. This tradecraft area is the first you come to in the museum, after you've seen the 5-minute briefing film, and it's easy to spend a lot of time here. In addition to the surveillance games, the section displays trick equipment (such as a shoe transmitter used by Soviets as a listening device and a single-shot pistol disguised as a lipstick tube) and runs film in which spies talk about bugging devices and locks and picks. You can watch a video that shows individuals being made up for disguise, from start to finish, and you can crawl on your belly through ductwork in the ceiling overhead. (The conversations you hear are taped, not floating up from the room of tourists below.)Try to pace yourself, though, because there's still so much to see, and you can easily reach your limit before you get through the 68,000-square-foot museum. The next section covers the history of spying ("the second oldest profession") and tells about famous spymasters over time, from Moses; to Sun Tzu, the Chinese general, who wrote The Art of War in 400 B.C.; to George Washington, whose Revolutionary War letter of 1777 setting up a network of spies in New York, is on view. Learn about the use of codes and code-breaking in spying, with one room of the museum devoted to the Enigma cipher machine used by the Germans (whose "unbreakable" codes the Allied cryptanalysts succeeded in deciphering) in World War II. An actual Enigma machine is displayed, and interactive monitors allow you to simulate the experience of using an Enigma machine, while learning more about its invention and inventor.Much more follows: artifacts from all over (this is the largest collection of international espionage artifacts ever put on public display); a re-created tunnel beneath the divided city of Berlin during the Cold War; the intelligence-gathering stories of those behind enemy lines and of those involved in planning D-Day in World War II; an exhibit on escape and evasion techniques in wartime; the tales of spies of recent times, told by the CIA and FBI agents involved in identifying them; and a mockup of an intelligence agency's 21st century operations center. You exit the museum directly to its gift shop, which leads to the Spy City Café.While you may look with suspicion on everyone around you when you leave the museum, you can trust that what you've just learned at the museum is authoritative: The Spy Museum's executive director was with the CIA for 36 years and his advisory board includes two former CIA directors, two former CIA disguise chiefs, and a retired KGB general.The International Spy Museum has been immensely popular ever since its mid-2002 opening, which often translates into long lines for admission. Consider ordering advance tickets for next-day or future date tours through Ticketmaster (tel. 202/432-SEAT), which you can pick up at the Will Call desk inside the museum. You can also purchase advance tickets, including those for tours later in the day, at the box office.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Washington area, including:
Hilton Washington
This sprawling hotel, built in 1965, occupies 7 acres and calls itself a "resort" -- mostly on the basis of having landscaped gardens, tennis courts, and an Olympic-style pool on its premises, unusual amenities for a D.C. hotel. The Hilton caters to corporate groups, some of whom may have families in tow (during the summer, the reception desk gives families a complimentary gift and lends them board games -- ask for the "Vacation Station" perk), and is accustomed to coordinating meetings for thousands of attendees. Its vast conference facilities include one of the largest hotel ballrooms on the East Coast (it accommodates nearly 4,000). By contrast, guest rooms are on the small side. A renovation of all guest rooms completed in 2003 installed elegant dark wood furnishings in every room. High-speed Internet access is available in all guest rooms, for a charge of $10 per 24 hours. From the fifth floor up, pool-side, you'll have panoramic views of Washington. The hotel's health club has been thoroughly renovated and expanded, and now offers extensive spa services.The designated concierge-level rooms usually go for about $30 more than the standard room rate. The hotel has 52 suites, in all kinds of configurations, from the junior executive (in which parlor and bedroom are combined) to the huge Presidential Suite.The Hilton puts you within an easy stroll of embassies, great restaurants, museums, and the charming neighborhoods of Adams-Morgan, and Woodley Park (all up the hill), and Dupont Circle (down the hill).Facilities: 2 restaurants (both American); deli; 2 bars (a pub, and lobby bar occasionally featuring a pianist); Olympic-style heated outdoor pool; 3 lighted tennis courts; extensive health-club facilities; concierge; transportation/sightseeing desk; comprehensive business center; lobby shops; room service (until 2am); same-day laundry/dry cleaning; concierge-level rooms; 28 rooms for those w/limited mobility, some with roll-in showers.
Hotel Madera
The Hotel Madera fancies itself as a kind of pied-a-terre, or home away from home, for travelers. But it would be a mistake to think that means the hotel is homey in the traditional sense. This is a boutique hotel, whose sisters, the hotels Rouge, Topaz, Helix, and Monaco, each reviewed elsewhere in this chapter, have all made separate splashes in our fair city. The Madera, likewise, caters to those with avant-garde tastes. The registration desk in the small lobby is covered in leather; a hammered copper mobile of abstract leaflike shapes dangles overhead. The guest rooms are large (this used to be an apartment building), measuring an average 340 square feet. Those on the New Hampshire Avenue side have balconies that offer city views. Rooms at the back of the house, 6th through 10th floors don't have balconies, but do have pretty good views of Rock Creek Park, Georgetown, and the Washington National Cathedral. All rooms are comfortable and furnished with sofas and bed benches, and with beds whose wild-looking headboards are giant dark wood panels inset with a patch of vibrant blue padded mohair. Other fey touches: pillows covered in animal print or satiny fabrics, grass-clothlike wall coverings, and black granite with chrome bathroom vanities. Every guest room has complimentary high-speed Internet access. The "specialty" rooms (a feature of all Kimpton Group hotels) at the Madera include a Nosh Room (studio with kitchenette and grocery shopping service), Flash Room (with personal computer, printer), Strength (has a Nautilus machine) and Cardio (has either a treadmill, exercise bike, or elliptical steps) rooms, and a Screening Room (equipped with a second TV, DVD player, and a library of DVDs).The Madera has an excellent restaurant, Firefly.Facilities: Bar/restaurant (American bistro); access to the posh Sports Club/LA health club at the nearby Ritz-Carlton ($15 per guest per day); 24-hr. concierge; business center; room service (during restaurant hours); same-day laundry/dry cleaning; 6 rooms for those w/limited mobility, all with roll-in showers. In room: A/C, TV w/pay movies, 2-line cordless phones w/dataports, minibar, coffeemaker with Starbucks coffee, hair dryer, iron, safe, robes, umbrella, free high-speed Internet access.
Phoenix Park Hotel
The Phoenix Park is one of a cluster of hotels across from Union Station and 2 blocks from the Capitol. It's distinguished by its popular and authentic Irish pub, The Dubliner, which attempts to set the tone for the entire property. Because of this well-worn, wood-paneled pub, which offers Irish fare, ale, and nightly entertainment, the hotel attracts numerous sons and daughters of Erin, stages a number of Ireland-related events in its Connemara marble-accented ballroom, and generally conveys an air of Irish hospitality. The rooms are attractive but rather cramped with furnishings. Reserve a "deluxe" room (about $30 more than a standard) to stay in a room with a view (Union Station, Smithsonian museums, or congressional buildings). Or book a one- or two-story suite, some of which have balconies, working fireplaces, and spiral staircases. The last major renovation was in 1997, when marble was installed in all the bathrooms; more recently, bathroom scales and heat lamps were added. Irish decorative accents include linens and bathrobes, artwork, toiletries, and carpeting. High-speed Internet access is currently available only in deluxe rooms.
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