Treasure hunters pay attention; riches await those who break the code. For Nicolas Cage, star of the film, National Treasure, which opens nationwide on November 19, 2004, cracking the code involves stealing the Declaration of Independence from the National Archives in Washington, DC and sneaking into the bell tower at the Independence Hall in Philadelphia. For the rest of the world, it means watching the film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Jon Turteltaub, then packing up friends and family and their curiosity to explore the sites featured in the film.
Exciting and entertaining, the movie is also a history lesson, deriving clues from the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin’s Silence Dogood letters, and the Knights Templar and Masons.
Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation (WCTC) and Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) have teamed up for a first joint tourism promotion, around the release of the film. At the heart of the association is the new Washington, DC and Philadelphia tour, inspired by the film National Treasure, and featuring sites in the nation’s current and first capital. Using footage and clues from the film, the tour takes visitors on a multi-day, two-city tour of key National Treasure locations.
The WCTC and GPTMC have summarized the tour in a four-color, 10-panel brochure, illustrated with photos from the film, pointing visitors to both historical and contemporary stops.
In addition to the self-guided tour, movie fans can take advantage of hotel packages for two-night stays in Washington, DC and Philadelphia, along with discounts from Amtrak.
Elements of the collaboration include:
The Washington, DC and Philadelphia Tour – Inspired by the National Treasure movie. More details
- A 10-panel, four-color brochure tracing the path of the film in both cities, guiding visitors on their own scavenger hunt with fun and informative commentary. The brochure is available at the Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia, the DC Visitor Information Center, the National Archives, and participating hotels.
Hotel packages
- Discounts on accommodations at eight hotels in Philadelphia and 14 in Washington, DC. Hotel packages can be purchased from September 29, with promotional rates available from November 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005. More details
Amtrak discount
- Savings of 50% on a complimentary fare with the purchase of a regular fare ticket on regional trains between Philadelphia and DC, redeemable on Amtrak.com. Travelers can take advantage of this offer by referring to rate code V631. Restrictions apply.
Advertising supplement
- Four-page ad insert in the November issue of Condé Nast Traveler, promoting the film and the Philadelphia and DC tour. (The supplement presents a small sample of what is in the tour brochure).
Website
- The tour’s online presence, found at www.movietour.org, presents complete tour information, along with links to tourism websites in both cities. Internet treasure hunters can also download the tour brochure here or from the destination websites, gophila.com or washington.org.
Synopsis of the film
A secret from our nation’s past will lead to the greatest adventure in history.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer ( Pirates of the Caribbean, The Rock and Armageddon ) and director Jon Turteltaub ( Phenomenon, While You Were Sleeping ) team up to bring you National Treasure, story by Jim Kouf, screenplay by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and Marianne Wibberley and Cormac Wibberley.
Oscar® winner Nicolas Cage plays the brilliant third-generation treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates. Throughout his life, Gates has been searching for a treasure that no one believed existed: accumulated through the centuries, moved across continents, to become the greatest treasure the world has ever known. Hidden away by our Founding Fathers, they left clues to the location of the Treasury right before our eyes, from our nation’s birthplace, to the nation’s capitol, to clues buried within the symbols on the dollar bill.
Gates’ lifelong journey takes him to the last place anyone thought to look: a hidden map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.
But what he thought was the final clue is only the beginning.
As word of the invisible map spreads among the enemies of freedom, Gates realizes that in order to protect the world’s greatest treasure, he must now do the unthinkable: steal the most revered and best-kept document in American history. United before falling into the wrong hands.
In a race against time, Gates must elude the FBI, stay one step ahead of his ruthless adversary (Sean Bean), unravel the remaining clues, and uncover the 2,000-year mystery behind our greatest national treasure.
Philadelphia and Washington DC sites star in movies and tour treasure hunters; riches await those who break the code. For Nicolas Cage, star of the film, National Treasure, which opens nationwide on November 19, 2004, cracking the code involves stealing the Declaration of Independence from the National Archives in Washington, DC and sneaking into the bell tower at the Independence Hall in Philadelphia. For the rest of the world, it means watching the film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Jon Turteltaub, then packing up friends and family and their curiosity to explore the sites featured in the film.
Exciting and entertaining, the movie is also a history lesson, deriving clues from the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin’s Silence Dogood letters, and the Knights Templar and Masons.
Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation (WCTC) and Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) have teamed up for a first joint tourism promotion, around the release of the film. At the heart of the association is the new Washington, DC and Philadelphia tour, inspired by the film National Treasure, and featuring sites in the nation’s current and first capital. Using footage and clues from the film, the tour takes visitors on a multi-day, two-city tour of key National Treasure locations.
The WCTC and GPTMC have summarized the tour in a four-color, 10-panel brochure, illustrated with photos from the film, pointing visitors to both historical and contemporary stops.
In addition to the self-guided tour, movie fans can take advantage of hotel packages for two-night stays in Washington, DC and Philadelphia, along with discounts from Amtrak.
Elements of the collaboration include:
The Washington, DC and Philadelphia Tour – Inspired by the National Treasure movie. More details
- A 10-panel, four-color brochure tracing the path of the film in both cities, guiding visitors on their own scavenger hunt with fun and informative commentary. The brochure is available at the Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia, the DC Visitor Information Center, the National Archives, and participating hotels.
Hotel packages
- Discounts on accommodations at eight hotels in Philadelphia and 14 in Washington, DC. Hotel packages can be purchased from September 29, with promotional rates available from November 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005. More details
Amtrak discount
- Savings of 50% on a complimentary fare with the purchase of a regular fare ticket on regional trains between Philadelphia and DC, redeemable on Amtrak.com. Travelers can take advantage of this offer by referring to rate code V631. Restrictions apply.
Advertising supplement
- Four-page ad insert in the November issue of Condé Nast Traveler, promoting the film and the Philadelphia and DC tour. (The supplement presents a small sample of what is in the tour brochure).
Website
- The tour’s online presence, found at www.movietour.org, presents complete tour information, along with links to tourism websites in both cities. Internet treasure hunters can also download the tour brochure here or from the destination websites, gophila.com or washington.org.
Synopsis of the film
A secret from our nation’s past will lead to the greatest adventure in history.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer ( Pirates of the Caribbean, The Rock and Armageddon ) and director Jon Turteltaub ( Phenomenon, While You Were Sleeping ) team up to bring you National Treasure, story by Jim Kouf, screenplay by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and Marianne Wibberley and Cormac Wibberley.
Oscar® winner Nicolas Cage plays the brilliant third-generation treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates. Throughout his life, Gates has been searching for a treasure that no one believed existed: accumulated through the centuries, moved across continents, to become the greatest treasure the world has ever known. Hidden away by our Founding Fathers, they left clues to the location of the Treasury right before our eyes, from our nation’s birthplace, to the nation’s capitol, to clues buried within the symbols on the dollar bill.
Gates’ lifelong journey takes him to the last place anyone thought to look: a hidden map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.
But what he thought was the final clue is only the beginning.
As word of the invisible map spreads among the enemies of freedom, Gates realizes that in order to protect the world’s greatest treasure, he must now do the unthinkable: steal the most revered and best-kept document in American history. United before falling into the wrong hands.
In a race against time, Gates must elude the FBI, stay one step ahead of his ruthless adversary (Sean Bean), unravel the remaining clues, and uncover the 2,000-year mystery behind our greatest national treasure.
