More about: 9/11 Memorial and Museum Tickets and Tours
Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial are two visits that are deeply moving, but they provide context for New York's recent history that will change your view of the event that shocked the world, as they explore its social and political consequences in greater depth.
In memory of the September 11 attacks, today you can visit the Museum, the Memorial, Ground Zero, and the World Trade Center. Here's how to visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
New York 9/11 Memorial and National Museum Tickets
Skip the lines when entering the 9/11 Museum
The most convenient and economical way to access the 9/11 Museum is to purchase tickets online in advance.
Something you should know before going to Ground Zero is that the 9/11 Memorial and Museum are two different things. The Memorial is a monument located on the foundations that used to occupy the Twin Towers, and the 9/11 Museum is an underground facility beneath Ground Zero that houses an exhibition about the September 11 attacks and their aftermath.
To visit the 9/11 Museum, you only need to purchase this ticket. When booking your tickets for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, you will need to select a time slot for your visit to the museum. The average visit lasts two and a half hours.
Recommended if... you want to learn more about the events of 9/11 that shaped the history of the United States and the world. With this combined ticket, you won't have to worry about a thing and can focus on the experience.
New York 9/11 Memorial and Ground Zero Tour with National 11S Museum Tickets
Experience Ground Zero through the eyes of a witness
Tour the 9/11 Memorial with a guide who lived through that day and add admission to the Museum to delve deeper into history.
If, in addition to visiting the museum, you want to understand the human magnitude of the attacks, this guided tour of Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial is the perfect option. A guide with a personal connection to the events will accompany you through St. Paul's Chapel, the Memorial pools, and the avant-garde Oculus while recounting firsthand what it was like to experience that day.
When you book, you can choose between two options: the 90-minute essential tour of the exterior or the 3-hour experience that ends with skip-the-line entry to the museum. After listening to the testimonies, you can delve into the underground galleries to see rescued objects and multimedia exhibitions with the context still fresh in your mind.
Recommended if... you are looking for a comprehensive and emotional overview of 9/11 from a first-hand witness and want the freedom to add the Museum to complete the experience.
What does your ticket to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum include?
With this ticket to the 9/11 Memorial and National Museum, you can visit both the outdoor grounds, which are now the Memorial, and the 9/11 Museum. What was once the World Trade Center is now an oak-lined park with two twin fountains at its center that form the 9/11 Memorial. In tribute to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the names of those who lost their lives that day are engraved on the outer edges of the fountains.
The fountains and the names of the victims are illuminated at night, giving the place a special atmosphere. If you book your tickets for the 9/11 Museum and Memorial, you can learn all about what happened on that day.
Afterwards, you can complete your tour by visiting the National September 11th Museum at your leisure. If you prefer to have an expert guide to help you contextualize everything you see, I recommend this tour of the 9/11 Memorial and Ground Zero.
Where are the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and how do I get there?
To get to Ground Zero, located at 180 Greenwich Street, I recommend taking the subway to the World Trade Center station or going to the Chambers Street station.
How to access the 9/11 Museum with the New York Pass and other passes?
Remember that admission to the 9/11 National Memorial & Museum is included in the city's main tourist passes:
If you purchase any of these passes, you will be able to access the museum, although you will not have the in-depth commentary of a local guide that you will get if you take a tour of the 9/11 Memorial and Ground Zero.
You can also purchase this combo ticket for a guided tour of the National Museum and the 9/11 Memorial with admission to One World Observatory, which will allow you to go up to the best observatory in the area for the most impressive views of the financial district and southern Manhattan.
What is the 9/11 Museum tour like?
With your ticket to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, you will take the following tour:
- You will enter the 9/11 Museum through a pavilion located in the Memorial.
- You will descend to the underground facilities where the first thing you will see is Virgil's quote, "No day shall erase you from the memory of time," in the room known as Memorial Hall.
- As you proceed through the space beneath the World Trade Center, you will pass through the Foundation Hall, the main hall of the Museum, whose most prominent feature is the "Last Column." During the cleanup of the Twin Towers, it was the last piece of the building to be removed, and it is covered with inscriptions and signatures of those who participated in the recovery efforts at Ground Zero.
What are the exhibits at the 9/11 Museum like?
If you book your ticket for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, you will have access to the two main exhibitions:
- In Memoriam, which pays tribute to the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks and those of the 1993 bombing that also took place at the World Trade Center.
- September 11, 2001, a minute-by-minute chronology of what happened that day and a reflection on how the world we live in today has been shaped by the attacks on the Twin Towers.
Throughout the museum, you will find a collection of 60,000 objects recovered from the rubble of the Twin Towers, which tell the story of September 11 from various perspectives, including first-person accounts, documents, and personal belongings.
What are the hours of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum?
To enjoy your ticket to the 9/11 National Memorial & Museum, you should know that it is open every day of the year (except September 11, when it is closed to the public to commemorate the victims). The 9/11 Memorial and Museum are open on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (last admission at 7 p.m.), and from Thursday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (last admission at 6 p.m.).
I recommend visiting the museum when it opens to experience the solemnity and intimacy of the exhibition. If there is one criticism of the museum, it is that its minimalism and the atmosphere it tries to create are not entirely compatible with the crowds of tourists.
Practical information for your visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum
- Try to arrive at Ground Zero as early as possible to avoid crowds and have a more personal and peaceful experience. The place deserves it. You can also visit the Memorial at night to experience a more contemplative atmosphere.
- Visiting the Memorial is always free, but you can also enter the Museum free of charge on Thursdays from 5 p.m.
- You can take photos both at the Memorial and in the Museum.
- Learn more about the best 9/11 tours in New York.
- You can enhance your visit to the 9/11 Museum with the augmented reality app "Explore 9/11."
A little history: September 11, 2011
I will never forget that Tuesday in September when, after returning home from school with my brother, we turned on the television as usual to play video games, but we never changed the channel: we were transfixed by the images of the Twin Towers collapsing in a cloud of black smoke, which the news repeated over and over again.
We had not been back in Madrid for long after living in New York for nearly seven years, so those images came from the place we still considered home.
Chances are, if you are reading this, you also have a story to tell about September 11. If you were not in New York, you were probably at home watching the news in complete shock, just like me. If you lived in New York, your story will be very different, and it is precisely this story that is told at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York.
Where to eat in the 9/11 Memorial and Museum area?
Being in the middle of the Financial District, there aren't too many restaurants in the 9/11 Memorial and Museum area, but there are a couple of places worth checking out:
- Delmonico's: A relatively expensive steakhouse, but it has a fairly high rating on TripAdvisor.
- Leo's Bagels: A place where you'll find the typical New York bagel that I recommend to everyone I know who travels to New York.
- And if you're looking for something quick, The Oculus has plenty of restaurants and fast food chains (just like any shopping mall in the United States): Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Eataly, Shake Shack...
The Oculus
Speaking of The Oculus, I recommend you stop by while visiting the World Observatory. It is a building with a very unique design that houses the World Trade Center train station and a shopping center where you will find shops, restaurants, and cafes.
If you like photography or are looking for the best photos for your Instagram, this is the perfect place to add to your list of must-see places in New York. The Oculus is open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Sundays.
Other interesting tours in New York
If you want to learn more about the history, culture, and most interesting places in New York, I recommend taking three of their most popular tours: Harlem, Contrasts, and Upper and Lower Manhattan.
Here are the practical guides I've written for each one in case you'd like to take a look before planning your visit: Contrasts Tours in New York, Upper and Lower Manhattan Tours in New York and How to Attend to a Gospel Mass in Harlem, New York City.