Fodor's Expert Review 9/11 Museum

Beside the reflecting pools on the 9/11 Memorial Plaza is the glass pavilion of the 9/11 Memorial Museum (part of the complex known as the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum). The museum descends some seven stories down to the bedrock the Twin Towers were built on, and the vast space displays a poignant, powerful collection of artifacts, memorabilia, photographs, and multimedia exhibits, as well as a gallery that takes visitors through the history of events surrounding both the 1993 and 2001 attacks. You might appreciate the tissue boxes around the museum when experiencing the memorial wall with portraits and personal stories of those who perished. There's also a panoramic media installation about the site's "rebirth," as well as World Trade Center–related art and history exhibits that change throughout the year. Giant pieces of the towers' structural steel and foundations are displayed, along with the partially destroyed Ladder Company 3 fire truck. You can also see the remnants of the Survivors Stairs, which allowed hundreds of people to escape the buildings that fateful September day. (Check the website for current ticket packages and other discounts.)