9/11 Memorial & Museum Visitors Guide

The stars are now well aligned to close the book on the Sept 11, 2001 World Trade Center attack, and allow America to move into a post-9/11 phase.

For starters, Osama bin Laden was killed by navy seals on May 1, 2011 which should provide a semblance of closure for the 9/11 families.

It's also fitting that Osama's death so closely precedes the opening of the 9/11 Memorial on September 12, 2011.

The opening is also preceded by a dedication ceremony on 9/11/11 - the 10th anniversary of the attack.

For those planning to visit New York and Ground Zero, here's a guide to the 9/11 Memorial and the Museum, along with some tips for travelers and visitors in Lower Manhattan.

Surrounded by the Freedom Tower and other structures, the memorial design by Israeli architect Michael Arad has two acre-sized reflecting pools at its core.

The pools cover the exact same space once occupied by the twin towers.

The names of the 2,982 victims of the 9/11 and 1993 WTC attacks are set in bronze panels on the pool perimeters.

The reflecting pools also feature the biggest man made waterfall in N. America, and are surrounded by a thick cluster of trees.

For those who want to know more about how the memorial slowly turned into reality in these agonizing 10 years, there's a preview site near the WTC site, at 20 Vesey St.

The preview site, where admission is free, allows visitors to understand the process and progress through models, films, renderings and construction photos.

Don't miss the 10-ft Lady Liberty replica that originally came from a firehouse which lost 15 of its men that day.

The statue became a magnet for an outpouring of support after 9/11. Every inch of it is adorned with tiny U.S. flags, police patches, and letters of support and tributes.

For those who want to go further back to Sept 11, 2001 and connect the faceless names on the bronze panels to graphic visuals and audio of that fateful day, there is the 9/11 Museum.

The museum's growing collection includes objects associated with the pre-9/11 WTC towers, the events as they unfolded on the day of Sept 11 and the heroic rescue effort that followed.

Visitors can feel it all in stories, pictures, video and audio tapes, and the personal effects of victims and responders.

There's also a 9/11 Memorial iPhone app which offers a narrated WTC tour. You can also visit the official 9/11 Memorial website - http://www.911memorial.org/

An important part of a 9/11 pilgrimage is a visit to St. Paul's Chapel and the historic Trinity Church which towers over Wall St.

The Church, located at the corner of Wall St and Broadway just behind the WTC site, was unharmed by the attack and is a critical part of the 9/11 story where rescue workers eat, slept and prayed.

Millions of visitors are expected to converge on Ground Zero starting from September. To make it easier, NYC has setup a free timed online reservation system.

They're also providing hop-on hop-off buses so that visitors don't have to worry about parking, and tour buses won't choke off all the space.

The new hotels that have recently opened here include The World Center Hotel, The Andaz Wall Street, W New York - Downtown, and the DoubleTree Hilton Financial District.

Popular dining choices include Libertine Restaurant, The Capital Grille Wall Street, Adrienne’s Pizza Bar, Bayard’s, Cipriani Wall Street and SHO Shaun Hergatt.

Visitors who need any other assistance in Lower Manhattan can get it at the official NYC kiosks in Chinatown and at City Hall Plaza.