The National WWII Museum

The National WWII Museum opened on 6 June 2000 as the National D-Day Museum, a project pursued by the historian Stephen Ambrose. Congress later designated it the country's official museum of the Second World War and it took its current name in 2006. It has since grown from one converted building into a campus of pavilions spread across several blocks of the Warehouse District, with the entrance and ticketing at 945 Magazine Street.

The Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, the original building, covers the home front, the planning of D-Day and the Normandy landings, and usually has a Higgins landing craft in the atrium, alongside a Spitfire and a C-47 transport aircraft. The US Freedom Pavilion, the largest building, hangs restored aircraft including a B-17E Flying Fortress, a B-25J Mitchell and a P-51D Mustang at several levels, with walkways that let you see them from above. The Campaigns of Courage Pavilion follows the Road to Berlin and Road to Tokyo galleries, and the Liberation Pavilion, opened in 2023, deals with the end of the war and its aftermath.

General admission includes the exhibits and Final Mission, a 15-minute experience based on the last patrol of the submarine USS Tang. Beyond All Boundaries, a 48-minute 4-D film, and the shorter Freedom Theater film are sold separately or as a combination. The museum suggests anything from two hours to two days, and a Second-Day Pass can be bought within seven days of a first visit, which is worth considering if you want to read the galleries properly. Some content is graphic, so parents of younger children may want to preview it.

Opening hours are 9am to 5pm daily, and the museum closes on Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Advance tickets give faster entry and mobile QR codes are accepted. Autumn, spring and the week between Christmas and New Year are the busiest periods, so arrive at opening then. Children under five and Second World War veterans go free.

There is plenty of food on site, from the Jeri Nims Soda Shop to the American Sector Restaurant and the Higgins Hotel next door. Manual wheelchairs are lent free on a first-come basis, and there is a nursing room in the Kushner Restoration Pavilion. The official garage is at 1024 Magazine Street. The museum can be reached by bus or streetcar, and drop-off is in front of the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion on Andrew Higgins Boulevard. The Warehouse District's galleries and restaurants are all around it.