About this experience
The Pentagon 9/11 Memorial in Arlington, Virginia is one of the nation’s most intimate and architecturally meaningful memorials dedicated to the events of September 11, 2001. This self-guided audio tour offers an exploration of the Pentagon Memorial, which tells its story through design rather than relying on monuments or heroic imagery. The tour helps you learn how to “read” that design so you can engage with the space more deeply, while giving you the freedom to pause, observe, and reflect at your own pace. The tour starts in the parking area in front of the Pentagon building. It places the memorial within its broader physical and historical context, drawing attention to its relationship with the Pentagon building, nearby roadways, and the everyday activity that continues around it. This tour offers a contemporary perspective on those themes through a site shaped by collaboration with victims’ families and a commitment to individualised remembrance.
At a glance
- Duration: 45 min–1 hr 15 min
- Private experience
Plan your experience
Set aside 45 min–1 hr 15 min for the experience itself, with additional time to reach your meeting or pickup point.
Before you go
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Local guides to help you plan
Pentagon Memorial Visitor Guide
Plan a thoughtful Pentagon Memorial visit with practical guidance on transit, driving tradeoffs, timing, summer comfort, respectful conduct, and the current checks to make before you go.
What is included
- Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
- Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
- Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
- App for Android and iOS
- Directions to the starting point so that when you’re in the right place, the tour will start
Not included
- Smartphone and headphones
- Transportation
- Food and drink
- Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour
Itinerary and highlights
Stand before one of the most recognisable buildings in the world, a vast five-sided fortress that serves as the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense. Marvel at the sheer scale of this wartime construction, completed in just sixteen months in 1943, and reflect on its enduring presence as a symbol of American military power and national resilience.
Marvel at this soaring contemporary memorial, three stainless steel spires sweeping skyward above Arlington in a design inspired by the contrails of the Air Force Thunderbirds display team. Enjoy the sweeping views across the Potomac toward Washington DC and reflect on the service and sacrifice honoured by this striking and deeply considered landmark.
Walk through the most hallowed ground in America, where over 400,000 veterans, service members, and national figures rest beneath a landscape of white marble headstones stretching across 639 acres of rolling Virginia hillside. Stroll these deeply moving grounds and feel the weight of national memory carried by every carefully tended row of markers.
Explore this profoundly moving outdoor memorial, where 184 illuminated benches are arranged according to the ages and flight paths of those lost on September 11, 2001. Walk slowly through this quietly powerful landscape and learn to read its design — the Locator Stone, the Age Wall, the Zero Line — as a language of remembrance shaped by the families of those it honours.
Meeting and pickup information
- This tour starts at the parking area of the Pentagon. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.
Languages and tickets
- English — Audio
- English — Written
- Mobile Only
Tour operator
- VoiceMap Audio Tours
Meeting points and locations
Accessibility and practical details
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Questions about this experience
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What accessibility information is provided?
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
What is the cancellation policy?
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