Free vs. Paid Access: What’s Free at the 9/11 Memorial?

Visitors are sometimes surprised to learn that most of the World Trade Center site costs nothing to visit. The confusion usually comes down to one distinction: the outdoor Memorial and the underground Museum are two different things, with two different access rules.

This guide separates what’s free from what’s paid, then walks through the specific ways to visit the Museum without charge, for those who qualify.

What’s Free: The Outdoor Memorial Plaza

The plaza sits above ground, on the footprints of the Twin Towers and the surrounding site, and it functions as a place of remembrance that anyone can enter without charge. It includes:

• The twin reflecting pools, “Reflecting Absence,” the largest human-made waterfalls in North America, set within the towers’ original footprints.
• The bronze parapets bearing the names of the roughly 2,983 people killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, arranged according to “meaningful adjacencies” rather than alphabetically.
• The Survivor Tree, a Callery pear that survived the 2001 attacks and was later restored and replanted at the site.
• The Memorial Glade, dedicated in 2019 to honor responders and survivors who live with illnesses connected to their work and presence at Ground Zero in the aftermath.

Because the plaza requires no ticket, it remains open even on Tuesdays, when the Museum is closed. Our guide to the Memorial versus the Museum covers this distinction in more detail, and our hours guide has the full daily schedule for both.

What’s Paid: The Museum

The Museum holds the exhibitions that document the events of September 11, 2001, and the 1993 bombing, including Foundation Hall, the Last Column, the slurry wall, the Survivors’ Stairs, and the memorial exhibition that presents the stories of those who were killed. Entry is by timed ticket, and tickets can sell out in advance, particularly on weekends and around the anniversary. Our tickets and prices guide lists the full price breakdown, and a standard entry ticket can be booked ahead of your visit.

Free Museum Access

Paid admission is not the only way into the Museum. Two paths exist for visiting without charge: a limited weekly release of free tickets, and standing exemptions for specific groups connected to the events of that day.

Free Mondays

Because the number of free Monday tickets is limited, and demand is high, this option works best for visitors with flexible plans who can check the official site regularly around the release and book without delay. It is not a guaranteed way to secure entry on a specific date.

Always-Free Groups

These standing exemptions are offered in recognition of those most directly connected to the events of September 11, 2001, and to the recovery effort that followed:

• 9/11 family members — those who lost a family member in the attacks.
• Rescue and recovery workers — those who took part in rescue, recovery, or relief efforts at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, or Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
• U.S. veterans — with valid military identification.
• Active FDNY, NYPD, and PAPD personnel — with valid department identification.
• Children 6 and under — free, though a ticket is still required for entry.

Because these categories involve personal loss and service connected to the attacks, visitors in these groups should expect to show identification at the ticket counter rather than book online in advance; the official site has current details on how each category is verified.

Planning a Visit Around Free and Paid Access

A practical approach for most visitors: treat the outdoor Memorial as always accessible, and decide separately whether a paid, standing-room-only Monday ticket, or a booked guided tour best fits the schedule for the Museum. Visitors with more flexibility may prefer to wait for a free Monday ticket; those with a fixed travel date are better served booking a standard timed ticket in advance, since free tickets and even paid slots can be limited at busy times of year.