Museums in Hanoi
By location:
In Hanoi |
Old Quarter |
Southwest of Hoan Kiem Lake |
Southwest of the central city |
Outside Hanoi
Alphabetical list:
Air Force Museum |
Hoa Lo Prison Museum (Hanoi Hilton) |
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum |
Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum |
National Museum of Fine Arts |
Memorial House |
Temple of Literature |
Vietnam Military History Museum |
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
Many of Hanoi's most significant museums are found in the area of the city 3 km or so northwest of Hoan Kiem lake.
Here you'll find the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museum, the Temple of Literature, the Fine Arts Museum, and the Vietnam Military History Museum.
You will also find museums in the Old Quarter, and on the city's outskirts.
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museum [top]
Hung Vuong Street, at Ba Dinh Square.
Open daily except Monday and Friday, 7:30 - 10:30 am (April through October), 8:30 - 11 am (November through March).
Here, Ho Chi Minh's body lies under glass, viewable to all, except for a period between September and December when the body is taken to Russia for maintenance.
Visitors with shorts and tank tops are not allowed, and photography is prohibited (you'll be requested to leave your camera at the entrance).
This is a good place, incidentally, to buy Uncle Ho postcard sets. Three sets of ten cards are available at 10,000 VND (less than $1 USD) each, and two of them feature nifty colored renditions of black and white scenes from Ho's life.
Also on the grounds are Ho Chi Minh's Stilt House, and the cryptic Ho Chi Minh Museum, where mock Edsels and Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe vie with photos from Uncle Ho's life.
Vietnam Military History Museum [top]
Corner of Dien Bien Phu and Nguyen Tri Phuong streets.
Mobile Tel: 09135-38743.
Open daily except Monday and Friday, 8 - 11:30 am, then 1 - 5:30 pm.
GPS: N21°01.913' E105°50.398'
Main focus areas are the French Indochina war, and the AmeriViet war.
Lots of photos, some artifacts, and various artillery pieces, bombs, and ephemera.
Overall, the museum is not as compelling as Saigon's War Remnants Museum.
On the grounds is Hanoi's landmark Flag Tower.
Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) [top]
Quoc Tu Giam Street, south of Nguyen Thai Hoc intersection.
Open: Tuesday through Sunday, 7:30 am - 6pm April through October; 8 am - 5 pm November through March.
GPS: N21°01.753' E105°50.159'
Founded in 1070 ACE, this is the site of Vietnam's first university.
The architecture is exceptional, the grounds beautiful.
National Museum of Fine Arts [top]
66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.
Tel: (04) 823-3084.
Open: 8:30 am - 5 pm Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; 8:30 am - 9 pm Wednesday and Saturday; closed Monday.
GPS: N21°01.816' E105°50.215'
Well worth a visit, this museum has a nice collection of painting, sculpture, and tribal clothing.
Our favorites included the tiny clay Kinh village figurines in room 32, the 17th century lacquered wooden sculptures of princesses and Botthisattvas on level two, and the collection of woodcuts.
If you miss the Ethnography Museum outside of Hanoi, this is the one to see.
In the Old Quarter [top]
Memorial House [top]
87 Ma May Street.
Open: Monday through Friday, 9 - 11 am, and 2 - 5 pm.
GPS: N21°02.264' E105°5.20'
This very pretty older house, located in Hanoi's Old Quarter, was restored with the help of the city of Toulouse, France, and is the best publicly accessible example of Vietnamese residential architecture in Hanoi.
Southwest of Hoan Kiem Lake [top]
Hoa Lo Prison Museum (Hanoi Hilton) [top]
1 Hoa Lo Street, corner of Hai Ba Trung.
Open 8-11:30 am, 1:30-4:30 pm Tuesday through Sunday.
The infamous Hanoi Hilton, where US pilots were held during the AmeriViet War, was opened by the French in 1896 to house Vietnamese political prisoners.
Although much of it was torn down to build the adjacent Somerset Hotel, enough remains of the old colonial structure to be of interest.
In addition to a stellar list of Vietnamese patriots, those imprisoned here include the first U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Douglas "Pete" Peterson, and Senator John McCain, whose flight suit is on display.
Southwest of the central city [top]
Air Force Museum (Bao Tang Khong Quan) [top]
D Truong Chinh, Dong Da District.
Open 8 - 11 am and 1 - 5 pm daily.
GPS: N21°00.030' E105°49.759'
The brand new exhibit hall of the Air Force Museum is slated to be open in late 2005.
Here, and on the grounds, you can see a unique collection of Soviet-era aircraft, including MIGs, recon planes and radar vehicles, and high-design (for the era) choppers.
Museums outside of Hanoi [top]
Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum [top]
Located 15 km southwest of Hanoi, at Km15 marker on Highway 6 (Hanoi-Hoa Binh Road), turnoff is located at GPS: N20°57.030 E105°44.954.
Museum is located at GPS: N20°57.243' E105°44.878'
This museum offers a fascinating look into the inner-workings of the 2000+ km trail that led the North Vietnamese army ultimately into Saigon.
Here, photos document the incredible civil engineering feats, while exhibits show missile guidance systems, weapons, and vehicles used on the trail.
Many weapons used by both sides of the war are on display, including a barrel of "Riot Control Agent CS-1," used by the U.S. military to clear war tunnels.
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology [top]
Nguyen Van Huyen Road, Cau Giay District, Hanoi. Tel: (04) 756-2193.
GPS: N21°02.420' E105°47.885'
Located 7 km northwest of the city center, the museum features exhibits and artifacts on many of the 54 ethnic groups that make up Vietnam.
The Black Thai common house, reconstructed on the grounds, is a must-see while you're there.
