Museum Visitation Information
What are the hours of the museum?
We are open 9am-5pm daily. We are only closed Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
Can I take pictures?
Yes. Please no flash or recording in the galleries or Beyond All Boundaries.
Are food and drink allowed in the galleries?
Only bottled water with a screw top is allowed in the galleries. Food is only allowed in the designated restaurant areas or ground level lobbies.
Should I bring a sweater?
The Museum temperature is approximately 69-72 degrees F. Some visitors do need a sweater while touring.
Where should I park when I visit?
The official parking garage for the Museum is located at 1024 Magazine Street. You can find more information about it here:https://www.nationalww2museum.org/visit/plan-your-visit/parking.
Does the Museum provide audio guides?
The Museum does not provide audio guides, but we do offer guided tours for an additional fee. Please call 504-528-1944 Ext. 402 for more information.
Where is a good place to stay/eat near the Museum?
The Higgins Hotel & Conference Center
1000 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-528-1941
Dining:
Delicious decisions are easily made atThe American Sector Restaurant & Bar—the perfect destination for lunch, snacks, and spirits. With a comfortable setting, affordable fare, and a tempting array of appetizers, salads, soups, entrées, sides, and desserts to enjoy, this popular venue awaits you. Join us at the bar to sample a pre-meal craft co*cktail or refreshing microbrew! The American Sector restaurant hours are as follows: Open daily from 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
In a destination where dining is defined as much by the experience as the ingredients, The Higgins Hotel &Conference Center boasts four new eateries that blend seamlessly into the Crescent City’s culinary landscape.
Rosie's on the Roof
Open Daily: 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Provisions
Open Daily: 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
How much time does it take to visit?
The average person needs about 4 hours to tour the Museum’s 6 acre campus. Depending on your interest level, you may need more or less time.
Do you have a place for storing items while I tour the exhibits?
ONLYrolling luggage can be accommodated at the Guest Services deskbased on available space.The Museum has lockers for storing backpacks and other small itemsbut capacity is limited.
Museum History and Outreach Information
What does the "D" in D-Day mean?
The answer, like many answers in the field of history, is not so simple. Disagreements between military historians and etymologists about the meaning of D-Day abound. Here are just two explanations:
In Stephen Ambrose'sD-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II,he writes, "Time magazine reported on June 12 [1944] that "as far as the U.S. Army can determine, the first use of D for Day, H for Hour was in Field Order No. 8, of the First Army, A.E.F., issued on Sept. 20, 1918, which read, 'The First Army will attack at H-Hour on D-Day with the object of forcing the evacuation of the St. Mihiel salient.'" (p. 491)
In other words, the D in D-Day merely stands for Day. This coded designation was used for the day of any important invasion or military operation. For military planners (and later historians), the days before and after a D-Day were indicated using plus and minus signs: D-4 meant four days before a D-Day, while D+7 meant seven days after a D-Day.
Learn more about D-Day here.
Why is the Museum located in New Orleans?
New Orleans is home to the LCVP, or Higgins boat, the landing craft that brought US soldiers to shore in every major amphibious assault of World War II. Andrew Jackson Higgins and the 30,000 Louisiana workers of Higgins Industries designed, built and tested 20,000 Higgins boats in southeastern Louisiana during the war. Dwight Eisenhower once claimed that Higgins was "the man who won the war for us."
Learn more about Higgins Industries and Andrew Jackson Higgins here.
How is Dr. Stephen Ambrose connected to the Museum?
The late Dr. Stephen Ambrose was the founder of The National WWII Museum. He spent decades researching and writing about the war, Eisenhower, and D-Day. As he collected more than 2,000 oral histories from D-Day veterans, he realized that the United States had no museum to honor these men and women and the people on the Home Front who made our victory in World War II possible. Ambrose was also the founder of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at The University of New Orleans.
Find out more about Stephen Ambrose and Nick Mueller, the founders of The National WWII Museum, here.
Do you have a database listing all D-Day Veterans?
No, but we do have some helpful tips onfinding information about veterans.
How many World War II veterans are alive today?
Every day, memories of World War II—its sights and sounds, its terrors and triumphs—disappear. Yielding to the inalterable process of aging, the men and women who fought and won the great conflict are now in their late 80s and 90s. They are dying quickly—according to US Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, we are losing 348veterans per day and only 496,777 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II were alive in 2018.
This urgency guides the Museum in everything we do. Collecting the oral history of a veteran,donating an artifact, orcontributing to the Museumare only a few of the ways you can help us to preserve the legacy of the Greatest Generation.
View more statistics and download full report.
I have something from the war in my attic. Do you want it for the Museum?
Find out more about artifact donation.
Are the "Higgins Boats" in the Museum from World War II?
Less than 10 original LCVPs or “Higgins Boats” are known to exist today. The Museum’s LCVP was built by volunteers, many of whom were Higgins employees, from the original plans and contains some original parts like the ramp and the engine.
Our LCP(L) is an original Higgins built craft.It was restored to original condition by our volunteers, many of whom also helped build the LCVP.
Is the Museum part of the federal government?
No, The National WWII Museum is a private non-profit institution. We have received federal, state, and private funds for initial construction and the ongoingRoad to Victory Expansion.
I want to tour Normandy. What should I go see?
Please look into ourD-Day Toursor find out more about otherWorld War II travel packages.
With three hundred seventy-five miles of beaches, cliffs, farming villages and ports, Normandy is a contrasting landscape of ancient fortresses and castles, ruined monasteries, and rolling farmland replete with memories of World War II and scarred with evidence of the Allied D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944. While there are many faces of Normandy, here are some basic suggestions for those travelers wishing to visit D-Day-related sites
Top Sites (from east to west):
Pegasus Bridge. Located on the Caen Canal, this key bridge was captured by British airborne troops in the early morning hours of D-Day, helping to secure the eastern flank of the invasion. Although the original bridge was taken down in 1994, a museum marks the site of this crucial coup de main operation.
“The Memorial and Museum of Peace.” Caen’s Battle of Normandy Museum offers guided tours of the landing beaches (British and American) along with a pass to the memorial. Caen is the site of the British breakout through German lines.
WWII Museum at Bayeux. While this town’s chief attraction is its 11th century tapestry honoring William the Conqueror’s victory at Hastings in 1066, the Musée Mémorial de la Bataille de Normandie 1944 paints a vivid picture of the Allied invasion and campaign in Normandy.
Arromanches. See the remnants of Mulberry B, one of two huge artificial harbors the Allies towed to Normandy from England. The Museum here has a great model, showing how the structure worked.
Omaha Beach. One of two beaches attacked by American forces on D-Day (the other is Utah Beach). Located near the town of St. Laurent, Omaha Beach was the bloodiest of the D-Day beaches. You can still see remnants of one of the Mulberries, or artificial harbors, the Allies built to support the invasion.
American Military Cemetery at St. Laurent. Stretching across the bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, the rows of white marble crosses and stars commemorate the men who died fighting for the Allied victory in Normandy. A must see.
Pointe-du-Hoc. The elite US Rangers scaled this 40-meter high cliff between Omaha and Utah beaches to neutralize a dangerous German gun battery. Check out the cliffs, the ruins of German bunkers, the bomb craters, and see if they were successful.
St.-Lô. In the town where the Americans finally broke through the German lines, the Holy Cross Church is home to a memorial to Maj. Thomas Howie, who had vowed to be the first American in St.-Lô. He was killed shortly before his troops took the city.
Utah Beach. The area around Utah Beach contains monuments, abandoned tanks, and pillboxes— reminders of D-Day. The Musée du Débarquement, near La Madeleine, is located in a German bunker, and offers striking accounts of the battle for Normandy.
Ste-Mère-Eglise. In this town taken by the US Airborne on D-Day, the Musée des Troupes Aéroportées includes photos, a glider, and parachutes commemorating the morning of June 6, 1944 when American paratroopers dropped over the town to secure the western flank of the invasion.
Recommended Travel Books:
The Visitor's Guide to Normandy Landing Beachesby Holt, Tonie and Valmai
AAA Essential Normandy: All You Need to Knowby Nia Williams
Insight Compact Guide: Normandyby Manfred Braunger
A Traveler's Guide to D-Day and the Battle for Normandyby Carl Shilleto and Mike Tolhurst
