What to See Near the 9/11 Memorial
The Oculus
The World Trade Center Transportation Hub by Santiago Calatrava opened on 3 March 2016. It holds the PATH station and a shopping mall and is free to walk through. Its 330-foot skylight opens each 11 September for 102 minutes. Every guided walk on this site stops here, for 10 to 15 minutes by the listings.
St. Paul’s Chapel
On Broadway between Fulton and Vesey Streets, completed in 1766, St. Paul’s is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan. George Washington worshipped here on his inauguration day, 30 April 1789. On 11 September 2001 it was unscathed when a sycamore in its churchyard took the debris, and for about nine months it was a relief centre for recovery workers. Entry is free, with a permanent exhibit on that period. The observatory walk, the City Hall route and the small-group walk all start their routes here.
The FDNY Ten House and the memorial wall
Engine 10 / Ladder 10 stands on Liberty Street directly across from the site. On its Liberty Street side is the 56-foot bronze FDNY Memorial Wall, dedicated in 2006, to the 343 firefighters killed. The City Hall route and the small-group walk include it.
One World Observatory
One World Trade Center is 1,776 feet to its spire, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. The observatory on floors 100 to 102, 1,268 feet up, opened on 28 May 2015 and is reached by the Sky Pod elevators. It needs a separate timed ticket and has its own security; the listing for the observatory walk says the security wait there can reach 20 minutes in high season. Details are on oneworldobservatory.com. Three walks on this site bundle it; the observatory combinations compare them.
Trinity Church and Brookfield Place
Trinity Church stands at Broadway and Wall Street and is on the City Hall route. Brookfield Place, on the Hudson side, holds the Winter Garden; the small-group walk gives it 15 minutes and continues to the waterfront park by the river.
Battery Park and the ferries
Battery Park is a walk south of the site. The Staten Island Ferry and Statue City Cruises to the Statue of Liberty leave from there, and NY Waterway and NYC Ferry also land within a walk. The Battery Parking Garage, whose roof carries the Tribute in Light each 11 September, is in this direction too. The one-day itinerary puts the park at the end of the day.
The Oculus, St. Paul’s Chapel and the plaza are all free, so a morning around the site costs nothing until the museum or the observatory ticket.
Frequently asked questions
What is near the 9/11 Memorial?
The Oculus, St. Paul’s Chapel, the FDNY Ten House wall, One World Observatory, Trinity Church, Brookfield Place and Battery Park. The Ground Zero page puts them in order.
Is One World Observatory included with the museum ticket?
No. It is a separate timed ticket with separate security. Three walks bundle it; see the observatory combinations.
Is St. Paul’s Chapel free?
Yes, with a permanent exhibit on its nine months as a relief centre for recovery workers.
Can you walk through the Oculus without a ticket?
Yes. It is a transit hall and shopping mall, free to enter.