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US Airways Flights from Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) to Philadelphia (PHL)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on US Airways, which operates a non-stop flight everyday except Monday and Saturday from Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) to Philadelphia (PHL), regularly scheduled to depart at 12:35pm and arrive at 3:25pm. Usually a Boeing 767 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Philadelphia, PA is 8 hours and 50 minutes.
During your Philadelphia vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Edgar Allan Poe National Historical Site
The acclaimed American author, though more associated with Baltimore, Richmond, and New York City, lived here from 1843 to 1844. "The Black Cat," "The Gold Bug," and "The Tell-Tale Heart" were published while he was a resident. Just reopened following structural work, it's a simple place -- after all, Poe was poor most of his life -- and the National Park Service keeps it unfurnished. An adjoining building contains basic information on Poe's life and work, along with a reading room and slide presentation. The Park Service also runs intermittent discussions and candlelight tours on Saturday afternoon.
Independence Hall
Even if you knew nothing about Independence Hall, you could guess that noble and important events took place here. Although these buildings are best known for their national role, they also functioned as the seat of government for the city of Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania both before and after Philadelphia was the capital of the U.S. From an architectural standpoint, the edifice is graceful and functional; from the standpoint of history and American myth, it's unforgettable. Independence Square sets you thinking about the bold idea of forming an entirely sovereign state from a set of disparate colonies and about the strength and intelligence of the representatives who gathered here to do it. For some historical context, try the wonderful website of the Independence Hall Association at www.ushistory.org.When the French and Indian War (1754-63) required troops, which required money, King George III believed the colonists should pay for their own defense through taxes. The colonists disagreed, and the idea that the king harbored tyrannical thoughts swept through the Colonies. Philadelphia, as the wealthiest and most cultured of the seacoast cities, was leery of radical proposals of independence. Even Ben Franklin himself, an American agent in London at the time, was wary of this scheme. But the news that British troops had fired on citizens defending their own property in Concord pushed even the most moderate citizens to reconsider what they owed to England and what they deserved as free people endowed with natural rights.The Second Continental Congress convened in May 1775, in the Pennsylvania Assembly Room, to the left of the entrance to Independence Hall. Each colony had its own green baize-covered table, but not much of the original room's furnishings escaped use as firewood when British troops occupied the city in December 1777. The Congress acted quickly, appointing a tall Virginia delegate named George Washington as commander of the Continental Army. After the failure of a last "olive branch" petition, the Congress, through John Adams, instructed each colony's government to reorganize itself as a state. Thomas Jefferson worked on a summary of why the colonists felt that independence was necessary. The resulting Declaration of Independence, wrote noted historian Richard Morris, "lifted the struggle from self-interested arguments over taxation to the exalted plane of human rights." Most of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence used Philip Syng's silver inkstand, which is still in the room. The country first heard the news of the Declaration on July 8 in Independence Square.Before and after the British occupied the city, Independence Hall was the seat of the U.S. national government. Here, the Congress approved ambassadors, pored over budgets, and adopted the Articles of Confederation, a loose and problematic structure for a country composed of states. Congress moved to New York after the war's end, and it grudgingly allowed delegates to recommend changes to the Articles.The delegates who met in the Assembly Room in Philadelphia in 1787 created a new Constitution that has guided the country for more than 200 years. Jefferson's cane rests here, as does a book belonging to Franklin. Washington, as president of the convention, kept order from his famous "Rising Sun Chair." Delegates were mature, urbane (24 of the 42 had lived or worked abroad), and trained to reason, and many had experience drafting state constitutions and laws. They decided on approaches to governance that are familiar today: a bicameral Congress, a single executive, an independent judiciary, and a philosophical belief in government by the people and for the people. No wonder John Adams called the convention "the greatest single effort of national deliberation that the world has ever seen."Across the entrance hall from the Assembly Room, the courtroom served as Pennsylvania's Supreme Court chamber. Like the court at Williamsburg, Virginia, this room exemplifies pre-Bill of Rights justice. For example, your ranger guide will probably point out the tipstaff, a wooden pole with a brass tip that was used to keep onlookers subdued. Other period details include little coal-burning boxes to keep feet warm on chilly days. This was one of the first courtrooms in America to hear the argument that disagreement with a political leader isn't sedition, one of the great concepts in modern Anglo-American law.The stairwell of Independence Hall held the Liberty Bell until 1976. The ranger will conduct you upstairs to the Long Gallery. Now it's set up as a banquet hall with a harpsichord (some of the guides even play) and a rare set of maps of the individual 13 colonies. Its view of Independence Mall is superb.Two smaller rooms adjoin the Long Gallery. To the southwest, the royal governors of Pennsylvania met in council in a setting of opulent blue curtains, silver candlesticks, and a grandfather clock. Beneath a portrait of William Penn, governors met with foreign and Native American delegations, and conducted their everyday business. On the southeast side, the Committee Room fit the whole Pennsylvania Assembly while the Second Continental Congress was meeting downstairs. When it wasn't being used to house the Assembly, it stored the Assembly's reference library or arms for the city militia.As you descend the stairs, look at leafy, calm Independence Square, with its statue of Commodore John Barry. The clerk of the Second Congress, John Nixon, first read the Declaration of Independence here, to a mostly radical and plebeian crowd. (Philadelphia merchants didn't much like the news at first, since it meant a disruption of trade, to say the least.)
National Constitution Center
Opening July 4, 2003, on Philadelphia's redesigned Independence Mall, the stunning, modern National Constitution Center is the first museum in the world devoted to the United States Constitution -- its history and its relevance in the daily lives of Americans. The 160,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, designed by Pei, Cobb Freed and Partners, in angular glass, steel, and limestone, has departments of history, education, and outreach, all using a blend of the most exciting and attention-grabbing technological tools to offer something for everyone, from scholars to casual visitors. While same-day tickets are usually available, it's a good idea to buy tickets in advance, and arrive 20 minutes early for the timed theater shows that welcome visitors twice each hour.As you stroll north from Independence Visitor Center, you'll cross Arch Street and a broad walk to the gleaming white stone entrance to the Constitution Center, emblazoned with those three magic words, "We the People . . ." A 12-minute multimedia show with an inspiring live actor and 360-degree movie screen explain the Constitution's early history. From there, visitors learn how the Constitution affects the functioning of government -- you can take your own Presidential Oath of Office, explore a national family tree, try on a Supreme Court robe, and check out the Bill of Rights. Signers Hall has bronze life-size figures of the 39 men who signed the Constitution, and the three who dissented. Especially good are exhibits featuring a voting machine from Palm Beach, Florida, from the contested 2000 election, and one featuring tools used by G. Gordon Liddy at the Watergate burglary. There will be plenty of daily events, talks, and programs, as well as a 225-seat, glass-enclosed restaurant and store.Note: Watch for special events at the National Constitution Center on and around Ben Franklin's 300th birthday, Jan 17, 2006, still in the works as we go to print. See www.benfranklin300.org for details.
The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia
The Ritz-Carlton, which opened in 2000, is the jewel of the Avenue of the Arts, set in a 1908 domed bank designed by McKim, Mead, and White, and an adjacent 30-story marble-clad neighboring building. The tower has been converted into the hotel rooms, and the soaring 140-foot-high lobby is a domed rotunda with rococo Versace furnishings, two restaurants, a clubby bar called the Vault, and a downstairs ballroom. Many architectural details have been preserved, including marble flooring and a bank teller desk.The hotel rooms occupy floors 4 to 29, with a spectacular concierge/club area in a paneled former boardroom on the 30th floor. (If you can upgrade to this level, you'll consider it money well spent -- the room is gorgeous, and the hors d'oeuvres, champagne, and lavish breakfast are the best club-floor spread we've ever seen.) In guest rooms, you'll find more space than normal allotted to generous bathrooms with opulent marble tub/shower alcoves, and less to the snug bedrooms, decorated with stippled paper in peach and warm ochers. The furnishings and amenities are lovely, from the old Philadelphia prints and engravings to plush terry robes to the high-speed Internet access for laptops.Pantheon, with its marble Ionic columns and 18-foot high windows, serves breakfast daily and weekend brunch. The Grill, a clubby space on the City Hall side, features an open kitchen, with former Striped Bass chef Terence Feury serving exceptional lunches and dinners. On weekends, a lavish 40-dessert buffet is served in the lobby.
Holiday Inn Independence Mall
This eight-floor Holiday Inn, set back from the street, is the closest you can sleep to the Liberty Bell -- just turn the corner and you're at the pavilion that houses it. A renovation of the bedrooms and public spaces 5 years ago, and the addition of dataports, voice mail, and a concierge have given it a "commendable" rating within the Holiday Inn organization. Rooms are standard size and decor.
The Latham
A landmark apartment house from 1915 to 1970, the Latham's charm, congeniality, and small attentions bring to mind a small, superbly run Swiss hostelry in a great setting off Walnut Street. On weekday mornings, the lobby -- a high-ceilinged salon with terrazzo highlights -- is filled with refreshed executives, though the hotel does no convention business. Weekend packages are great bargains. The reception staff is quick and professional. The guest rooms, redone in Victorian motif in 1998, are not huge or lavish but perfectly proportioned and decorated with cheerful striped silk. Full-wall and lighted facial mirrors, large marblelike basins, and over-size towels highlight the white-toned bathroom interiors.
