9/11 Museum Tickets, Compared
What is free and what needs a ticket
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum stands on the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, at 180 Greenwich Street. The memorial is the plaza: two pools, each nearly an acre, in the footprints of the North and South Towers, with the names of the 2,977 people killed on 11 September 2001 and the six killed in the bombing of 26 February 1993 cut into the bronze parapets. The Survivor Tree, the Memorial Glade and about 400 swamp white oaks are on the same plaza. It is open daily from 8 am to 8 pm with no ticket, as published; check the museum’s hours page before travelling. The museum is underground, at the bedrock the towers stood on, and is entered through the glass pavilion on the plaza. It needs a timed ticket, sells up to six months ahead, and admits nobody in the last 60 minutes before closing. One World Observatory, on floors 100 to 102 of One World Trade Center, is a third place with a third ticket. The memorial-versus-museum page sets the two apart in a table.
The museum’s own timed ticket
One of the six options is the museum’s own ticket, valid for a chosen date and time slot. It covers the three permanent exhibitions, the Historical Exhibition, In Memoriam and Foundation Hall, with free Wi-Fi inside. The listing attaches the museum’s own tours as options: a 60-minute Early Access Museum Tour before public opening, a 60-minute Guided Museum Tour with a museum guide, a FLEX ticket for arrival at any time on the chosen day, and two family bundles. The audio guide is sold separately at the museum. Visitors are asked to arrive 15 minutes before the slot and to pass airport-style security. The museum ticket page explains each option.
Guided walks with the museum as an option
Five of the six options are not museum tickets at all. They are guided walks of 1.5 to 2.5 hours through the free zone around the site: the Oculus, St. Paul’s Chapel, the FDNY Ten House firehouse, the pools and the Survivor Tree, led by a local guide. Four of them offer museum entry as an add-on. On the Ground Zero walk and the Full Access walk the museum part is either self-guided or led by a museum docent on a “VIP” option; on the City Hall walk and the small-group walk the visit inside is self-guided. The guide from the walk does not lead the group inside the museum on any of them. One walk, the memorial-and-observatory tour, does not offer the museum on any option. The guided tours page compares the five stop by stop.
Walks that add One World Observatory
Three walks offer One World Observatory as an option: the Full Access walk, the memorial-and-observatory walk and the City Hall walk. The observatory is 1,268 feet up, with its own timed ticket and its own security line, and adds about an hour to the walk, or about 1.5 hours on the City Hall route. Observatory tickets are date- and time-specific and cannot be transferred. The observatory combos page covers the three in detail.
All six options
Durations are printed on each card. Prices change by date and option and are not printed on this site; the booking page shows the live figure for the day picked. Every option allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Museum ticketNYC: 9/11 Memorial & Museum Timed Ticket with Tour Options
Guided walkNYC: Ground Zero 9/11 Memorial Tour w/ Museum Option
Walk, museum, views9/11 Memorial Tour with Museum and One World Entry Options
Max 20 people9/11 Memorial & Ground Zero Tour with Optional Museum Entry
No museumNYC: 9/11 Memorial Tour and Optional Observatory Ticket
From City Hall9/11 Memorial Tour with Optional Museum and One World Access
Four of them, side by side
The museum’s own ticket, the Ground Zero walk, the Full Access walk and the small-group walk cover the four main ways to combine the layers. The table sets them out by what each one enters, where it starts and who it admits.
| The museum’s ticketNYC: 9/11 Memorial & Museum Timed Ticket with Tour Options | NYC: Ground Zero 9/11 Memorial Tour w/ Museum Option | 9/11 Memorial Tour with Museum and One World Entry Options | 9/11 Memorial & Ground Zero Tour with Optional Museum Entry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Museum entry | Included, timed slot | Optional, self-guided or with a docent | Optional, on the Full Access options | Optional, self-guided |
| Guided walk | None; museum tours optional | 1.5 to 2.5 hours | 1.5 to 2.5 hours | 1.5 hours, capped at 20 people |
| Observatory | Not included | Not included | Optional, on the Full Access options | Not included |
| Meeting point | Museum pavilion, 180 Greenwich Street | L’Arte del Gelato | L’Arte del Gelato | M Social Hotel, Church Street |
| Wheelchair | Fully accessible | Accessible | Accessible | Not suitable |
| Book this | Book this | Book this | Book this |
The museum’s ticketNYC: 9/11 Memorial & Museum Timed Ticket with Tour Options
- Museum entry
- Included, timed slot
- Guided walk
- None; museum tours optional
- Observatory
- Not included
- Meeting point
- Museum pavilion, 180 Greenwich Street
- Wheelchair
- Fully accessible
NYC: Ground Zero 9/11 Memorial Tour w/ Museum Option
- Museum entry
- Optional, self-guided or with a docent
- Guided walk
- 1.5 to 2.5 hours
- Observatory
- Not included
- Meeting point
- L’Arte del Gelato
- Wheelchair
- Accessible
9/11 Memorial Tour with Museum and One World Entry Options
- Museum entry
- Optional, on the Full Access options
- Guided walk
- 1.5 to 2.5 hours
- Observatory
- Optional, on the Full Access options
- Meeting point
- L’Arte del Gelato
- Wheelchair
- Accessible
9/11 Memorial & Ground Zero Tour with Optional Museum Entry
- Museum entry
- Optional, self-guided
- Guided walk
- 1.5 hours, capped at 20 people
- Observatory
- Not included
- Meeting point
- M Social Hotel, Church Street
- Wheelchair
- Not suitable
The clock and the rules
The museum is open Wednesday to Monday from 9 am to 7 pm, plus many Tuesdays and holiday hours, as published; check the museum’s hours page before travelling. Entry is by time slot; arriving 15 minutes early is asked for, and entry is not guaranteed before or after the slot. Tickets can be refunded or exchanged up to 24 hours before. Every visitor passes security screening, one bag per person no larger than 8 by 17 by 19 inches is allowed, and larger bags go to the coat check. No photography is allowed in the Historical Exhibition or In Memoriam. The guided walks book by name: no printout is needed, and the guide takes names at the meeting point. The booking page covers the timing rules for each.
The plaza opens at 8 am and the museum at 9 am, so a morning that starts with the pools and the Survivor Tree before the first museum slot sees the memorial at its quietest and the museum before the midday security line builds.
Check dates for the museum ticket
The timed ticket is valid for the chosen date and slot. Pick a date below to see which slots are open.
Other dates and options
More 9/11 Memorial & Museum tickets and tours with live availability, for dates when the attractions above are sold out.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a ticket for the 9/11 Memorial?
No. The memorial plaza, the two pools, the names, the Survivor Tree and the Memorial Glade are free, daily from 8 am to 8 pm, with no booking. Only the underground museum needs a timed ticket. The cost page sets out who enters the museum free and which days are free.
Which of the six options actually enters the museum?
The museum’s own timed ticket does on every option. The Ground Zero walk, the Full Access walk, the City Hall walk and the small-group walk each offer museum entry as an add-on. The memorial-and-observatory walk does not include the museum on any option.
Can these tickets be cancelled?
All six allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before. The museum’s own ticket can also be exchanged for another slot up to 24 hours before. Observatory tickets bought on a walk are date- and time-specific, so the walk can move to another day but the observatory slot cannot.
Which option suits a wheelchair user?
Five of the six. The museum is fully accessible, and the Ground Zero, Full Access, memorial-and-observatory and City Hall walks are all listed as wheelchair accessible. The small-group walk is the only one listed as not suitable.