The National WWII Museum Tickets New Orleans

The National WWII Museum in New Orleans

The National WWII Museum was founded in 2000 as the National D-Day Museum and later designated by the United States Congress as America's official World War II museum. It stands in the Warehouse District of New Orleans, and it has grown into a campus of five pavilions with galleries, theatres and restored aircraft. It tells the story of the American experience of the war and what it means today.

New Orleans was chosen partly because Andrew Higgins built the landing craft that carried troops ashore on D-Day in the city's shipyards. If you are planning to buy National WWII Museum tickets, expect a full, serious and very well designed visit, and plan enough time: many people spend three to five hours and some return for a second day.

The pavilions and the main exhibits

The Louisiana Memorial Pavilion holds the D-Day exhibits, including a landing craft, and a gallery on civilian life, showing how ordinary people supported the war effort. The U.S. Freedom Pavilion displays restored aircraft such as a B-17 Flying Fortress, tanks and trucks, and lets you walk on catwalks close to the planes suspended overhead.

The Campaigns of Courage galleries follow the war in Europe and the Pacific, with recreated scenes, artefacts and oral histories, and the Liberation Pavilion, opened in 2022, covers the final months of the war and the years after it. Together they answer why the war was fought, how it was won and what it means today, and the museum entry includes all open pavilions and galleries.

The 4-D film experience

The main option includes a timed ticket to the museum's 4-D film, shown in the Solomon Victory Theater. The film uses a large screen, surround sound and effects such as moving seats and atmospheric effects to bring the war to life, and it is a good starting point for your visit.

The film has a fixed showtime, so choose your time in the booking panel, and arrive a few minutes early. The museum entry that comes with the ticket is not timed: it is valid at any time on the same day, so you can visit the galleries before or after the film. The museum-only option has no film ticket.

Planning your visit: hours, getting there and tips

The museum is on Magazine Street in the Warehouse District, close to Lee Circle, and easy to reach by the St. Charles streetcar, taxi or rideshare from the French Quarter. Opening hours change by season and on holidays, so check the booking panel for available dates, including same-day tickets. Bookings made after 3:00 PM should expect a shortened visit.

Flash photography and video are not allowed, and there is a paid parking garage near the campus. Restaurants and a soda shop on site serve food, but food and drinks and parking are not included in your ticket, and a guided tour is not part of these options. Wheelchairs are available on a first-come basis. Student tickets need ID.