The National WWII Museum

About

The National WWII Museum is in the Warehouse District of New Orleans, a short walk from the French Quarter and the Convention Center. Congress designated it the official World War II museum of the United States. Its six-acre campus spreads across two city blocks, with six pavilions holding the galleries, on-site restoration work, restaurants and a period dinner theater.

The core galleries follow the war in sequence. Road to Berlin covers the fighting in Europe and Road to Tokyo the war in the Pacific, and the Arsenal of Democracy and Liberation Pavilion galleries fill other buildings. The collection holds more than 250,000 artifacts and over 9,000 personal accounts, and full-size planes hang from the ceilings of the main pavilions. Two paid add-ons are popular. Beyond All Boundaries is a 4D film, and Final Mission is a submarine experience based on the USS Tang. The Museum warns that both can be intense.

The Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It closes on Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Plan on at least half a day. The Museum publishes half-day, full-day and two-day itineraries to help pace a visit.

The main entrance and drop-off are in front of the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion at 525 Andrew Higgins Boulevard. The official garage is at 1024 Magazine Street, on the left side of a one-way block, and several paid surface lots nearby take oversized vehicles. The Museum's own Higgins Hotel is across the street, and the campus can also be reached by streetcar.

Accessibility

The National WWII Museum is wheelchair accessible. It publishes clear access details, and the main thing to plan for is distance. The campus spans several buildings over two city blocks, bench seating in the galleries is limited, and staff and volunteers are not able to push wheelchairs.

Accessible parking spaces are in the Museum garage at 1024 Magazine Street. The main entrance at 525 Andrew Higgins Boulevard has a ramp, and drop-off is right in front of it. Everyone goes through a metal detector and bag check on the way in.

Elevators are provided wherever there are stairs. Complimentary manual wheelchairs are loaned first come, first served. The Museum does not rent scooters or power chairs, but you are welcome to bring your own. An aide assisting a guest gets free admission, and guests with accessibility needs get a discounted ticket.

All public restrooms have wheelchair-accessible stalls. A larger accessible restroom in the Kushner Restoration Pavilion has space for bigger chairs or a caregiver and has an adult changing table. A private nursing room in the same pavilion doubles as a quiet space.

For visitors who are blind or have low vision, one-hour tours with a tactile component can be booked with at least two weeks' notice, subject to docent availability, and large-print guides are available on campus. Exhibit videos have open English captions, and Beyond All Boundaries is captioned on monitors in front of the screen. Final Mission and the Freedom Theater film have no captions yet. Some staff wear ribbons showing they are learning ASL.

The Museum is certified Sensory Inclusive, lends sensory bags and weighted lap pads when available, and holds Sensory Friendly Mornings. Only service animals are allowed on campus. Email accessibility@nationalww2museum.org to arrange accommodations.

Checked by Accessible America, September 2026. Report a change

More accessible places in Louisiana

• New Orleans Museum of Art (New Orleans)
• The National WWII Museum (New Orleans)
• Audubon Aquarium (New Orleans)
• Louisiana Children's Museum (New Orleans)
• New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint (New Orleans)
• Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium (New Orleans)

Photo credits

• The gray angled facade of The National WWII Museum pavilion with its name along the wall.: ironypoisoning, CC BY-SA 2.0 (source)
• Visitors, including a wheelchair user, gather on a paved plaza between the museum glass pavilions.: ironypoisoning, CC BY-SA 2.0 (source)
• A C-47 transport plane hangs above the floor of a bright museum pavilion.: Jim Bahn, CC BY 2.0 (source)