Guidebook: At Ground Zero

Getting there: American, United and Delta airlines fly nonstop from LAX to New York’s JFK airport; restricted round-trip fares begin at $298. American, Continental and United fly nonstop to Newark, N.J.; fares begin at $278. Northwest, American Trans Air (ATA) and Spirit have direct flights (one stop, no change of plane) to La Guardia airport; fares begin at $268 on ATA. Additional airlines that have direct or connecting service from the L.A. area include America West, National, US Airways, Vanguard, Midwest Express, Frontier and JetBlue; they sometimes offer lower fares.

Viewing platform: Free, timed tickets, required for admittance to the viewing platform at the entrance of Broadway and Fulton Street, are available at the Pier 16 ticket booth of the South Street Seaport Museum, (212) 732- 7678, at the foot of Fulton Street, about a 20-minute walk from ground zero. The platform is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The ticket booth is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Tickets (maximum two to a person) are first come, first served. Those who arrive at the ticket booth in the morning usually get viewing times from one to three hours later; afternoon arrivals sometimes receive times for the next morning. (Weekends are busiest.) You should arrive no sooner than 15 minutes before your allotted time but may have to wait in line for some time before being admitted to the platform.

For tickets, take the Lexington Avenue IRT subway to Broadway-Nassau Street, then walk down Fulton Street to South Street Seaport.

Other sites: Empire State Building, 34th Street and Fifth Avenue; (212) 736-3100, https://www.empirestatebuilding.com. Admittance to observation deck: adults $9, seniors $7, children under 12, $4.

The Circle Line Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry, (212) 269-5755, https://www.statueofliberty ferry.com, departs from Battery Park; adults $8, seniors $6, children 3-17, $3.

Fraunces Tavern, 54 Pearl St., New York, NY 10004; (212) 968-1776, https://www.frauncestavern museum.org.

River Café, 1 Water St., Brooklyn, NY 11201; (718) 522-5200, https://www.rivercafe.com.

For more information: New York Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019; (800) NYC-VISIT (692-8474) or (212) 397-8222, https://www.nycvisit.com.