Things to do nearThe National WWII Museum

Founded in 2000 and originally opened as the National D-Day Museum, The National WWII Museum has grown into one of the most visited and highly regarded history museums in the United States. Located in New Orleans partly because the city was home to Andrew Higgins, whose company manufactured the landing craft widely credited with enabling Allied amphibious operations, the museum carries a deep connection to the industrial and human effort behind the war. Across its sprawling campus, visitors move through campaigns fought in Europe and the Pacific, tracing the conflict from its origins through the final Allied victory.

Highlights include the Road to Berlin and Road to Tokyo galleries, which use original aircraft, tanks, vehicles, and weapons alongside personal letters, photographs, and film footage to reconstruct the experience of soldiers and civilians alike. The Solomon Victory Theater presents a sweeping aerial film narrated by Tom Hanks that sets the war in global context. A restored B-17 bomber and a submarine are among the full-scale artifacts that command attention throughout the campus.

The museum also hosts traveling exhibitions, evening events, and educational programs that draw scholars, students, and curious travelers throughout the year. The dining options on campus reflect the care taken across every part of the visitor experience. For anyone seeking to understand how ordinary people responded to extraordinary circumstances, The National WWII Museum offers an encounter with history that is both rigorous and deeply moving.