Hanoi

Hỏa Lò Prison

Hanoi Hilton

This prison was built by the French at the turn of the 20th century, in classical French prison design. Two thirds of the prison was torn down to make way for the Hanoi Towers, and the rest was converted into a museum. This is where the French imprisoned and executed Vietnamese freedom fighters. The museum exhibits the plight of jailed political revolutionaries under the French colonial regime and the struggle of the Vietnamese people against imperialism in chilling detail. Later, during the America-Vietnam War, the prison held US prisoners of war that sarcastically referred to it as the "Hanoi Hilton". This period is not emphasized, except to present the official narrative of how humanely the POWs were treated, such as showing photos only of prisoners being treated well and playing basketball and playing chess. The museum claims to have the flight suit of John McCain, the most notable POW held here, from when his plane was shot down. Most of the exhibits have detailed English information, but you can also get an audioguide for 50,000 dong.

Daily 08:30-12:00, 14:00-16:30 (Mon & Fri from 08:00) · 50,000 dong · Heritage listed

Hồ Chí Minh Museum

This gleaming white museum and its gloriously ham-handed iconography is the perfect chaser to the solemnity of the mausoleum. The building, completed in 1990, is intended to evoke a white lotus. Some photos and old letters are on display on the second floor, but the main exhibition space is on the third floor. It includes cars crashing through walls to represent the chaos of post-war American capitalism, soldiers charging around with bombs that looked like electric plugs, a cave hideout re-imagined as the inside of Ho Chi Minh's brain, and several other postmodern confections integrated with the detailed main story of the man's life and his country's struggle. There are plenty of photographs, prison documents and newspaper cuttings tracing his life along the way. The tour ends with a burnt bridge signifying the separation of Vietnam, followed by a reconstructed bridge showing the unification of Vietnam after the war. One of the more informative museums in Vietnam. Free guides are available in English, French, Chinese and Russian. The displays are labelled in English and French.

Daily 08:00-11:30, and Tue-Thu Sat Sun 14:00-16:00 · 40,000 dong · Wheelchair accessible · Entry 40000 VND

Fine Arts Museum

Bảo Tàng Mỹ Thuật

Only party-approved art is shown here with information in English and Vietnamese. On three floors of a colonial building, with another three galleries in the west wing. Pieces include soldiers on boats depicted on prehistoric bronze drums, Buddhist art, and revolutionary art of the 20th century wars. Also some interesting lacquer and silk paintings.

Daily 08:30-17:00 · Adult 40,000 dong · Entry 40000 VND

Vietnamese Women's Museum

Bảo Tàng Phụ nữ Việt Nam

This often overlooked museum has benefited from an extensive renovation of its permanent exhibitions. The modernised interior is well laid out with information in Vietnamese, English and French, and contains a huge amount of information on the fearsome female heroines of Vietnamese history. There are also exhibitions on the rituals and traditions surrounding women in family, as well as a beautifully presented collection of intricate hand-made ethnic costumes. A highlight is the regularly updated special exhibitions on a diverse range of subjects, from contemporary issues such as single mothers and street vendors to traditional medicine and Mother Goddess worship. English language tours are available on request.

Daily 08:00-17:00 · 40,000 dong (80,000 dong with audioguide)

National Museum of Vietnamese History

Bảo tàng Cách mạng Việt Nam

Actually two museums: one covers Vietnam from prehistoric times to 1945 and the other covers 1945 to present. This museum gives a very informed and detailed account of the Vietnamese struggle against first the French (starting in 1858—on the first floor), then against the US, ending on 30 Apr 1975 (on the ground floor). It is housed in a colonial French building which was completed in 1932. The building, designed by the architect Ernest Hébrard is considered as a successful blend between the colonial French architecture and traditional Vietnamese architecture, called Indochina architecture. He created double-walls and balconies for a natural ventilation system and protection from sunshine.

Daily 08:00-12:00 and 13:30-17:00, except first Mon of month · 40,000 dong for both

Museum of Ethnology

Bảo tàng Dân tộc học Việt Nam

Exhibitions cover mainly the culture and ritual practices of the various ethnic groups in the whole of Vietnam. One of the key attractions of the museum is the open-air exhibition, which has reconstructions of traditional houses from multiple ethnic groups, which even comes with inhabitants in costumes. The museum features actual explanations of the exhibits in Vietnamese, French and English. There is an excellent café on the premises.

Tue-Sun 08:30-17:30 · 40,000 dong for foreigners, extra 50,000 dong for photography.

Temple of Literature

Văn Miếu / 文庙

The Temple was founded in 1070 and became the country's first university six years later. The overall design is somewhat similar to the "original" Confucian Temple in Qufu, with 5 courtyards. Most of the architecture is named with titles indicating reverence to literature and language. The showpiece of the complex is the third courtyard with eighty-odd stone tablets, each mounted on the back of a tortoise (known as bixi in Chinese), inscribed with the names of graduates. Another courtyard is full of gift shops, which also sell stamps, coins, and books. A reduced-size replica of the famous giant softshell turtle (the original being at the Ngoc Son Temple at the Lake of the Returned Sword) can be seen in one of the pavilions as well; it was made by Vietnamese artisans out of ceramic, and gold-plated. The fourth courtyard contains a temple and statues devoted to Confucius and his four disciples. Chinese history buffs should look out for the 萬世師表 plaque, which was presented to the temple by Emperor Kangxi of China in 1693. The fifth and last courtyard, which was destroyed by the French in 1946 and rebuilt in 2000, contains a mini-museum showcasing information on Emperor Lý Thánh Tông and his successors who built and renovated the temple. You may find a Vietnamese band playing local instrumental music in front of this museum. There are explanatory wall-hangings in English and French all along the way, and you don't need a guide.

Daily 08:00-18:00 · Adult 30,000 dong; student, senior or disabled person 15,000 dong; child under 15 free

Vietnam Military History Museum

Bảo tàng Lịch sử Quân sự Việt Nam

Originally a modest museum located next to the Flag Tower, the Military History Museum and all its 150,000 artifacts has been relocated in 2024 to an enormous 39-hectare compound in the city's outskirts, 12 km from its original location. Now the largest and most modern museum in all of Vietnam, the imposing main building covers the country's military history extending back some two millennia. All museum exhibits and videos are captioned in Vietnamese and English. The vast courtyard houses dozens of military vehicles, aircraft and artillery; many of which are French, American and South Vietnamese assets captured in the Indochina wars. Extremely popular with locals, the museum is usually completely packed on weekends, with dozens of tour buses ferrying out-of-town visitors to the site. Peak queuing times can exceed an hour as a result, so try to visit early on a weekday if possible; give the museum a call beforehand to check how busy it is.

Tue-Thu Sat Sun 08:00-11:30 & 13:00-16:30; closed Mon Fri · Entry fee 40,000 dong; free for under-16s, over-80s, soldiers, veterans, military academy cadets and contributors to the Revolution

Air Force Museum

Bảo Tàng Không Quân

There's a UH-1 helicopter, Soviet-built MiG fighters, a huge Mi-6 helicopter and other aircraft. Unfortunately they've been exposed to the elements for some time and local children climb over them.

Canton Assembly Hall

Hội Quán Quảng Đông / 粵東會館

Former assembly hall of the Chinese from Guangdong province. It was converted to a kindergarten after the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War, but was restored to its former glory in 2021, and is now an exhibition space open to the public.

Hanoi Museum

Bảo tàng Hà Nội

Local natural and human history down the ages.

Tue-Sun 08:00-11:30 & 13:30-17:00 · Free

Vietnam Museum of Revolution

The Vietnam Museum of Revolution was a museum in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is now part of the Vietnam National Museum of History. Located in the Tong Dan area of the city, it was established in August 1959 in a two-story building, formerly used by the Trade Department of Vietnam.

B52 Victory Museum

The B-52 Victory Museum, Hanoi or Bảo Tàng Chiến Thắng B.52 is located at 157 Đội Cấn, Ba Đình district, Hanoi. The museum's name refers to the "more than a dozen" Boeing B-52 bombers shot down in December 1972 by North Vietnamese air defense crews. The museum comprises one main building with displays on the history of the Vietnamese revolution, the First Indochina War, the Vietnam War, Operations Rolling Thunder, Linebacker and Linebacker II and the air defense of Hanoi.

Free entry

Heritage House

87 Mã Mây

08:30-17:00 · Heritage listed

Đông Phong Art Gallery

3 Phố Lý Đạo Thành

Mo-Su 09:30-18:30

Bảo tàng Công an Hà Nội

67 Phố Lý Thường Kiệt

Heritage listed

Hang Da Galleria

Hàng Da

Green Palm Gallery

39 Phố Hàng Gai

Mai Gallery

113 P. Hàng Bông

Nguyen Art Gallery

32 Phố Văn Miếu

Phòng Tranh Gia Bảo

2 P. Hàng Đào

Blue Gallery

32 Phố Tràng Tiền

Hanoi Studio Gallery

23 P. Mạc Đĩnh Chi

House number 48 Hang Ngang Street

48 Hàng Ngang

Kinergie Studio

101A P. Nguyễn Khuyến

Manzi

14 P. Phan Huy Ích

Vietnam Military History Museum

28A Đường Điện Biên Phủ

Thang Long Art Gallery

41 P. Hàng Gai

Gallery39A Lý Quốc Sư

39A Phố Lý Quốc Sư

LOTTE Hanoi Sky - Đài Quan Sát LOTTE