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US Airways Flights from Chicago (ORD) to Philadelphia (PHL)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on US Airways, which operates 5 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Chicago (ORD) to Philadelphia (PHL), departing between 7:15am and 8:53pm, and 12 additional non-stop flights, departing between 5:45am and 8:15pm on select days of the week. The average travel time from Chicago, IL to Philadelphia, PA is 2 hours.*
* Some flights must connect with additional service on any airline.
During your Philadelphia vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
The 115-year-old Museum got started early and well, and is endowed with Benin bronzes, ancient cuneiform texts, Mesopotamian masterpieces, pre-Columbian gold, and artifacts of every continent, mostly brought back from the more than 350 expeditions it has sponsored over the years. The taller structures that surround this museum give its Romanesque brickwork and gardens a secluded feel. The museum has had spectacular special exhibitions recently, with forays into ancient Iran, Roman glass, and works from ancient Canaan and Israel.Exhibits are intelligently explained. The basement Egyptian galleries, including colossal architectural remains from Memphis and "The Egyptian Mummy: Secrets and Science," are family favorites. Probably the most famous excavation display, located on the third floor, is a spectacular Sumerian trove of jewelry and household objects from the royal tombs of the ancient city of Ur. Adjoining this, huge cloisonné lions from Peking's (now Beijing's) Imperial Palace guard Chinese court treasures and tomb figures. The Ancient Greek Gallery in the classical world collection, renovated in 1994, has 400 superb objects such as red-figure pottery -- a flower of Greek art -- and an unusual lead sarcophagus from Tyre that looks like a miniature house. Other galleries display Native American and Polynesian art and a small but excellent African collection of bronze plaques and statues.The glass-enclosed Museum Cafe, overlooking the museum's inner gardens, serves cafeteria-style snacks and light meals from 8am to 3:30pm on weekdays, from 10am to 3:30pm on Saturday, and from 1 to 5pm on Sunday. The Museum Shop has cards and jewelry and crafts from around the world, and the Pyramid Shop has children's items. There's a very active schedule of events throughout the year.
Mikveh Israel Cemetery
Philadelphia was an early center of American Jewish life, with the second-oldest synagogue (1740) organized by English and Sephardic Jews. While this congregation shifted location and is now adjacent to the Liberty Bell, the original cemetery -- well outside the city at the time -- was bought from the Penn family by Nathan Levy and later filled with the likes of Haym Solomon, a Polish immigrant who helped finance the revolutionary government, and Rebecca Gratz, the daughter of a fine local family, who provided the model for Sir Walter Scott's Rebecca in Ivanhoe.
Rodin Museum
The beautiful, intimate Rodin Museum, in a 1929 Paul Cret building, exhibits the largest collection of the master's work (129 sculptures) outside the Musée Rodin in Paris. It has inherited its sibling museum's romantic mystery, making a very French use of space inside and boasting much greenery outside. Entering from the Parkway, virtually across the street from the Franklin Institute, you'll contemplate The Thinker, then pass through an imposing arch to a front garden of hardy shrubs and trees surrounding a fish pond. Before going into the museum, study the Gates of Hell. These gigantic doors reveal the artist's power to mold metal with his tremendous imagination.The galleries had a top-to-bottom renovation 5 years ago. The main hall holds authorized casts of John the Baptist, The Cathedral, and The Burghers of Calais. Several of the side chambers and the library hold powerful erotic plaster models. Drawings, sketchbooks, and Steichen photographic portraits of Rodin are exhibited from time to time.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Philadelphia area, including:
Philadelphia Marriott
The Marriott chain opened the biggest hotel in Pennsylvania in January 1995, linked by an elevated covered walkway to the Reading Terminal Shed of the Convention Center. And it's gotten bigger. In late 1999 Marriott converted the historic 1926 City Hall Annex across 13th Street at Filbert into a 500-room Courtyard by Marriott, the largest in the Courtyard division. So all together, you have your choice of 1,910 rooms, two fitness centers, and 10 restaurants and lounges -- all linked with one another and with the Convention Center.The hotel's major auto entrance is on Filbert Street (two-way between Market and Arch sts.), with an equally grand pedestrian entrance adjoining Champions Sports Bar and retail on Market Street. The lobby is sliced up into a five-story atrium, enlivened by a 10,000-square-foot water sculpture, a lobby bar, and a Starbucks. Setbacks and terraces provide plenty of natural light and views from the rooms on floors 6 to 23. Rooms are tastefully outfitted with dark woods, maroon and green drapes and bedspreads, a TV armoire, a desk, a club chair and ottoman, and a round table, but, overall, rooms are slightly less elegant than those of the top hotels. Comfortably sized bathrooms have heavy chrome fixtures and tuck sinks and counters in the corners for more dressing room space. Closets are spacious; there are large desks with dataports in the Courtyard's rooms. Service is impeccable, thanks to the well-trained, knowledgeable staff.
Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing
The most recently constructed (Dec 2000) major hotel in town towers above the Delaware River waterfront, easily accessible from I-95. With its solid Deco-style angles and boxes, it's impossible to miss. Walkways over the highway at Walnut and Dock streets mean 5 easy Colonial blocks separate you from the historic sights. The well-lit, marble-floored lobby features a sofa encircling an enormous flower urn, flanked by warm cherry walls and swoops of fabrics; check-in is tucked near the elevator banks. The guest rooms continue the Art Deco theme, with patterns in browns and cherry furniture. Rooms have stupendous views of the riverfront or city. I-95 noise does percolate up, so choose a river-view room if quiet is important to you. Bathrooms are marbled and swanky. Self-parking can be tedious here, with a small garage elevator and long waits for it, so go with the valets for only $5 more (you can drive in and out as many times as you like without extra fees). Keating's River Grill (Dan Keating owns the site, which Hyatt manages) can seat 200 guests indoors and 75 outdoors on an elegant plaza featuring artist-commissioned wrought iron rails and overlooking the Delaware River.
Hotel Sofitel
Sofitel is the premier French luxury chain, and this 5-year-old hotel set in a limestone-and-glass tower exudes hospitality and chic, with its modern-Deco vibe and popular bar off the marble lobby. The location, half a block from the Walnut Street shopping corridor, is wonderful for business or pleasure visitors, located between Rittenhouse Square and the Avenue of the Arts. Downstairs, the lobby is filled with inlaid marble, sleek wood, and flower arrangements; upstairs, guest rooms are very upscale and Deco-contemporary, with a glass coffee table, two armchairs, and an opulent bed with wall-mounted bedside lights on walls of handsome checkerboard cherrywood. The bathrooms are huge, with luxurious travertine marble throughout. Business travelers will find high-speed Internet jacks on the desk with easy table-top plug-ins.Chez Colette is a traditional French brasserie that serves decadent breakfasts (and complimentary coffee to guests). The lobby bar is a popular gathering spot: a New York-style lounge, with tall windows overlooking Sansom Street, a long blue Brazilian granite bar, cozy seating areas, and varied wines by the glass.
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