9/11 Memorial & Museum

"The 9/11 memorial and museum is a beautiful and educational experience built in and around the foundations of the worst national tragedy on US soil. Tickets are $24 a person but you can reserve free tickets for Tuesday evenings after 5pm online." - Paperless Post

"Every American should visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at least once. As you enter the museum, you descend from the street to bedrock level—the foundation of the former Twin Towers—and are placed in a meditative mindset, forced to recall where you were on that fateful day. The museum itself is a masterful balance: It's grand in scale, contemplative in its construction, and personal in its execution. It pays homage to the enormity of the loss, both physical and spiritual." - Melissa Liebling-Goldberg, Alex Erdekian

"The museum features 60,000 artifacts — a mix of physical evidence, first-person testimonies, and historic records — from the September 11, 2001 and February 28, 1993 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Archaeological remnants are also on display, including the 'Survivors' Stairs' and the 'Last Column.' The memorial outside is free and open to the public, with the names of every person who died in these attacks inscribed on the edge of the two reflecting pools." - Travel + Leisure Editors

"Every American should visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at least once. As you enter the museum, you descend from the street to bedrock level—the foundation of the former Twin Towers—and are placed in a meditative mindset, forced to recall where you were on that fateful day. The museum itself is a masterful balance: It's grand in scale, contemplative in its construction, and personal in its execution. It pays homage to the enormity of the loss, both physical and spiritual." - Andrea Whittle, Charlie Hobbs

"The morning of September 11, 2001—when two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, and two others, also hijacked, crashed into the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania—is one of those moments for which everyone who was conscious that day will always remember where they were. The memorial at the World Trade Center sites, however, assures that the events will not be forgotten even by those too young to have been aware of what was happening as well as future generations. Two square holes in the ground trace the footprints of the original towers, with waterfalls cascading into two pools below street level. The names of the nearly 3,000 people who died on that day, as well as the six who died in a 1993 truck bombing also at the World Trade Center, are inscribed on bronze panels along the edges of the twin memorials. The museum at the site brings to life the stories of those who were killed on 9/11—workers at the World Trade Center, rescuers, and others—through artifacts and interactive exhibits. There are also artworks that respond to and reflect on the events."