Aeroflot Russian Airlines Flights from Moscow, Russian Federation (SVO) to Washington (IAD)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Aeroflot Russian Airlines, which operates a non-stop flight Saturdays from Moscow, Russian Federation (SVO) to Washington (IAD), regularly scheduled to depart at 1:05pm and arrive at 3:50pm. Usually a Boeing 767-300 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Moscow, Russian Federation to Washington, DC is 10 hours and 45 minutes.
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During your Washington vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
The White House
It's amazing when you think about it: This house has served as a residence, office, reception site, and world embassy for every U.S. president since John Adams. The White House is the only private residence of a head of state that has opened its doors to the public for tours, free of charge. It was Thomas Jefferson who started this practice, which is stopped only during wartime. Our war on terrorism caused the administration in 2002 to close the White House for public tours for about 2 years. Thankfully, the White House is once again open for public tours, though not walkup tours. See the box, "How to Arrange a White House Tour," below.An Act of Congress in 1790 established the city, now known as Washington, District of Columbia, as the seat of the federal government. George Washington and city planner Pierre L'Enfant chose the site for the White House (or "President's House," as it was called before whitewashing brought the name "White House" into use) and staged a contest to find a builder. Although Washington picked the winner -- Irishman James Hoban -- he was the only president never to live in the White House. The structure took 8 years to build, starting in 1792, when its cornerstone was laid, and its facade is made of the same stone as that used to construct the Capitol. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the British set fire to the White House, gutting the interior; the exterior managed to endure only because a rainstorm extinguished the fire. What you see today is Hoban's basic creation: a building modeled after an Irish country house (in fact, Hoban had in mind the house of the Duke of Leinster in Dublin).Alterations over the years have incorporated the South Portico in 1824, the North Portico in 1829, and electricity in 1891, during Benjamin Harrison's presidency. In 1902, repairs and refurnishings of the White House cost nearly $500,000. No other great change took place until Harry Truman's presidency, when the interior was completely renovated, after the leg of Margaret Truman's piano cut through the dining room ceiling. The Trumans lived at Blair House across the street for nearly 4 years while the White House interior was shored up with steel girders and concrete. It's as solid as Gibraltar now.In 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy formed a Fine Arts Committee to help restore the famous rooms to their original grandeur, ensuring treatment of the White House as a museum of American history and decorative arts. "It just seemed to me such a shame when we came here to find hardly anything of the past in the house, hardly anything before 1902," Mrs. Kennedy observed. Presidents through the years have put their own stamp on the White House, the most recent example being President Bush's addition of the T-ball field to the South Lawn.Highlights of the tour include the Gold-and-White East Room, the scene of presidential receptions, weddings (Lynda Bird Johnson, for one), and other dazzling events. This is where the president entertains visiting heads of state and the place where seven of the eight presidents who died in office (all but Garfield) laid in state. It was also where Nixon resigned. The room's early-18th-century style was adopted during the Theodore Roosevelt renovation of 1902; it has parquet Fontainebleau oak floors and white-painted wood walls with fluted pilasters and classical relief inserts. Note the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington that Dolley Madison saved from the British torch during the War of 1812. The portrait is the only object to have remained continuously in the White House since 1800 (except during times of reconstruction).You'll visit the Green Room, which was Thomas Jefferson's dining room but today is used as a sitting room. Mrs. Kennedy chose the green watered-silk-fabric wall covering. In the Oval Blue Room, decorated in the French Empire style chosen by James Monroe in 1817, presidents and first ladies have officially received guests since the Jefferson administration. It was, however, Van Buren's decor that began the "blue room" tradition. The walls, on which hang portraits of five presidents (including Rembrandt Peale's portrait of Thomas Jefferson and G. P. A. Healy's of Tyler), are covered in reproductions of early-19th-century French and American wallpaper. Grover Cleveland, the only president to wed in the White House, was married in the Blue Room. This room was also where the Reagans greeted the 52 Americans liberated after being held hostage in Iran for 444 days, and every year it's the setting for the White House Christmas tree.The Red Room, whose satin-covered walls and Empire furnishings are red, is used as a reception room, usually for afternoon teas. Several portraits of past presidents and a Gilbert Stuart portrait of Dolley Madison hang here. Dolley Madison used the Red Room for her famous Wednesday-night receptions.From the Red Room, you enter the State Dining Room. Modeled after late-18th-century neoclassical English houses, this room is a superb setting for state dinners and luncheons. Below G. P. A. Healy's portrait of Lincoln is an inscription written by John Adams on his second night in the White House (FDR had it carved into the mantel): "I Pray Heaven to Bestow The Best of Blessings on THIS HOUSE and on All that shall here-after Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under this Roof."Note: Even if you have successfully reserved a White House tour for your group, you should still call tel. 202/456-7041 before setting out in the morning; in case the White House is closed on short notice because of unforeseen events. If this should happen to you, you should make a point of walking by the White House anyway, since its exterior is still pretty awesome. Stroll past it on Pennsylvania Avenue, down 15th Street past the Treasury Building, and along the backside and South Lawn, on E Street.
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
A department of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (though located nowhere near it), the Renwick Gallery is a showcase for American creativity in crafts, housed in a historic mid-1800s landmark building of the French Second Empire style. The original home of the Corcoran Gallery, it was saved from demolition by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1963, when she recommended that it be renovated as part of the Lafayette Square restoration. In 1965, it became part of the Smithsonian and was renamed for its architect, James W. Renwick, who also designed the Smithsonian Castle.Although the setting -- especially the magnificent Victorian Grand Salon with its wainscoted plum walls and 38-foot skylight ceiling -- evokes another era, the museum's contents are mostly contemporary. On view on the first floor are temporary exhibits of American crafts and decorative arts. On the second floor, the museum's rich and diverse displays boast changing crafts exhibits and contemporary works from the museum's permanent collection, such as Larry Fuente's Game Fish, or Wendell Castle's Ghost Clock. The Grand Salon on the second floor, styled in 19th-century opulence, is newly refurbished and currently displays 170 paintings and sculptures from the American Art Museum, which is closed for renovation. The great thing about this room, besides its fine art and grand design, is its cushiony, velvety banquettes, perfect resting stops for the weary sightseer. Tour the gallery for about an hour, rest for a minute, then go on to your next destination.The Renwick offers a comprehensive schedule of crafts demonstrations, lectures, and films. And check out the museum shop near the entrance for books on crafts, design, and decorative arts, as well as craft items, many of them for children. Note: The main branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum that is closed for renovation, not this offshoot.
Newseum & Freedom Park
The Newseum opened in 1997 as the world's first museum dedicated exclusively to news, it's been such a hit that it's already outgrown its location. This location is closed, and a new, larger, and higher-profile headquarters is under construction at 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, just off the Mall, though it won't open until 2006. You can visit Freedom Park and the Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial, however.Adjoining the museum, Freedom Park, which opened in the summer of 1996 and sits atop a never-used elevated highway, celebrates the spirit of freedom and the struggle to preserve it. Here, too, are many intriguing exhibits: segments of the Berlin Wall (the largest display of the wall outside of Germany), stones from the Warsaw Ghetto, a bronze casting of a South African ballot box, a headless statue of Lenin (one of many that were pushed over and beheaded when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991), and a bronze casting of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birmingham jail-cell door. The glass and steel Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial (honoring, as of 2004, more than 1,528 journalists killed while on assignment; their names are etched in the glass panels) rises above the Potomac, offering views of the Washington Monument, the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, and the National Cathedral.
Lincoln Suites Downtown
This is a little hotel with a big heart. It tries hard to do right by its guests and, judging from feedback I've received from readers who've stayed here, I would say it succeeds. (Check out the website, where the hotel's can-do personality shines through.) Key elements include the hotel's location, in the heart of downtown, near Metro stops, restaurants, and the White House; a congenial staff; the complimentary milk and homemade cookies served each evening; and daily complimentary breakfast (fruit, pastries, muffins, cereals, and sometimes waffles) in the breakfast room. Lincoln Suites also has direct access to Mackey's, an Irish pub right next door, and to Recessions, a restaurant on the lower level serving American/Mediterranean cuisine. Famous Luigi's Pizzeria Restaurant [ST], an Italian restaurant and veritable Washington institution, located right around the corner, delivers room service for lunch and dinner.The all-suite 10-story hotel is quite nice, in a nothing-fancy sort of way. Lots of long-term guests bunk here. Suites are large and comfortable; about 28 offer full kitchens, while the rest have wet bars (mini-refrigerator, microwave, and coffeemaker). An ongoing renovation has slowly but surely overhauled the hotel, replacing all the furniture, appliances, carpeting, and wall coverings, so that the overall design is brighter and contemporary. That goes for the lobby, which has been transformed into a hip two-story lobby/lounge. By the time you read this, the hotel will be offering high-speed Internet access and have on-site its own fitness center (most likely, you'll still have the choice to use the nearby larger facility for free).Facilities: Restaurant (American/Mediterranean); bar (Irish); free passes to the well-equipped Bally's Holiday Spa nearby; 24-hr. front desk/concierge; room service (11am-11pm); coin-op washer/dryers; Mon-Sat same-day laundry/dry cleaning; 2 rooms for those w/limited mobility, 1 with roll-in shower.
Park Hyatt Washington
This luxury hotel, last renovated in 1998, features large guest rooms with goose-down duvets on the beds, modern furniture, wall coverings, and fabrics. High-speed Internet access is available in all the guest rooms (at the time of this writing, the hotel had not decided whether to charge for this service). Specially commissioned artwork hangs throughout the hotel. More than half of the rooms are suites (meaning the parlor and bedroom are separate), and the remaining rooms are deluxe kings. The suites also have dressing rooms with full vanities. Each bathroom has a TV, a radio, and a telephone, along with the usual amenities. The 17-year-old 10-story hotel hosts big names, royal families (who use the Presidential Suite, with its fireplace and grand piano), lobbyists, and tourists. Rooms are handsome and service is superb. A major renovation scheduled for completion in 2005 will redesign the look of the sleeping rooms.The bright and lovely Melrose dining room offers four-star cuisine with an emphasis on seafood; the amiable chef, Brian McBride, pops into the dining room personally from time to time to make sure all is well. Adjoining the Melrose is a bar, where there's swing dancing to live jazz every weekend. For the lowest rate, visit the hotel's website.Facilities: Restaurant (American); bar/lounge (with live entertainment Fri-Sat); health club with indoor pool, whirlpool, and sauna and steam rooms; spa with hair and skin salon; concierge; business center; 24-hr. room service; in-room massage; same-day laundry/dry cleaning; 10 rooms for those w/limited mobility, 3 with roll-in showers.
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!
