9/11 Memorial & Museum

The defining moment of America's last decade is burned into our collective imaginations: the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when New York's World Trade Center crashed to the ground. Ten years later, in the spot where the Twin Towers fell, a memorial to all those lost that day (including at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Penn.), as well as those killed in the 1993 bombing, was unveiled in a solemn ceremony.
Visitors to the 9/11 Memorial Plaza, which can be visited without tickets or reservations, will certainly be moved. Covering eight acres of the World Trade Center grounds and including a grove of white oak trees, the site features the names of the 2,983 people who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, and Feb. 26, 1993, etched in bronze around the two manmade waterfall pools that are set within the footprints of the fallen towers. On the 9/11 Memorial & Museum website is a search bar where visitors can type in a name, flight number or affiliation to find a particular name and learn where it is etched around the north and south pools.

The highly anticipated 9/11 Museum opened in May 2014 with a mission to "bear solemn witness to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and Feb. 26, 1993.” Encompassing 110,000 square feet, the incredibly comprehensive exhibits include original artifacts and emotional stories of the people who lost their lives, as well as video screenings and actual pieces of the original towers. Visitors can walk down the very staircase used by workers to escape the buildings on 9/11, read touching messages of remembrance, hear voicemail messages left by the victims to loved ones and more. You’ll undoubtedly leave with a heavy heart.

Practical Info

While admission to the 9/11 Memorial Plaza is free, tickets to the 9/11 Museum are $24 for adults; $18 for seniors ages 65 and up, U.S. veterans and U.S. college students; $15 for youth ages 7 to 17; and free to 9/11 family members, rescue and recovery workers and museum members.