Top 8 Museums in Hanoi You Should Visit

The museums in Hanoi are quite diverse in terms of themes. If you want to learn about history, culture, art, and the Vietnamese people, then you should visit the museums in Hanoi that we introduce below. Here is a list of the most famous museums in Hanoi, Vietnam, where thousands of artifacts and valuable materials about the development and struggles of the Vietnamese nation are preserved.

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Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

Address: Nguyen Van Huyen Street, Quan Hoa Ward, Cau Giay District, Hanoi.
Website: http://www.vme.org.vn/en

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is one of the most visited museums in Hanoi, especially by international tourists. The main reason international tourists like to visit this place is because the Museum of Ethnology preserves and displays numerous cultural artifacts from all 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam, providing visitors with a clear understanding of the history, life, and diverse cultures of the ethnic groups living in Vietnam.

To cater to visitors, all information in the displays, articles, and captions are provided in three languages: Vietnamese, English, and French. Additionally, if you’re interested in traditional folk arts, you can experience water puppetry right at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.

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Ho Chi Minh Museum

Address: 19 Ngoc Ha, Ba Dinh, Hanoi

The Ho Chi Minh Museum is located in the central area of Hanoi and is classified as the largest museum in Vietnam. The museum primarily focuses on displaying artifacts and materials related to the life and achievements of President Ho Chi Minh. This is a museum you shouldn’t miss when visiting Hanoi.

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Surrounding the museum are several famous historical sites like the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Presidential Palace area, and the One Pillar Pagoda, creating a complex of attractions for both local and international visitors.

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Vietnam National Museum of History

Address 1: 1 Trang Tien, Phan Chu Trinh Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Address 2: 216 Tran Quang Khai, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi

After merging the Vietnamese Revolutionary Museum with the Museum of Vietnamese History, the Vietnam National Museum of History maintains two fixed exhibition systems at two locations: 1 Trang Tien Street – Hanoi, displaying the history of Vietnam from prehistoric times to the end of the Nguyen Dynasty (1945); and 216 Tran Quang Khai Street – Hanoi, displaying the history of Vietnam from the mid-20th century to the present.

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Located in the central Hoan Kiem District of Hanoi, the Vietnam National Museum of History houses and preserves around 200,000 artifacts and historical-cultural materials of Vietnam. The museum also displays artifacts from archaeological cultures such as the Stone Age and masterpieces of well-known Vietnamese cultures like the Dong Son culture and Cham sculpture. Additionally, the museum possesses over 80,000 valuable documents and artifacts related to Vietnam’s struggle for independence.

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Vietnamese Women’s Museum

Address: 36 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hang Bai Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi

The Vietnamese Women’s Museum has been voted by TripAdvisor as one of the most attractive museums in Hanoi. Over the decades, the museum has developed a collection of over 25,000 documents and artifacts related to Vietnamese women. The collection is categorized by materials like textiles, metals, wood, paper, ceramics, leather, clay, and glass, collected since the 1970s. Each artifact carries the history and role of Vietnamese women throughout different periods, displaying their resilience and strength from wartime to peace.

Hanoi Museum

Address: Pham Hung Street, Me Tri Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi

The Hanoi Museum was built in 2010 during the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi and is situated within the area of the Vietnam National Convention Center. The museum’s spacious and modern architecture provides a comfortable feeling for visitors.

Inside the museum, there are numerous artifacts and antiquities from ancient dynasties. Alongside these items, you can learn more about historical documents that detail the formation and development of Hanoi over thousands of years.

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Vietnam Military History Museum

Old Address (closed): 28A Dien Bien Phu, Dien Ban Ward, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
New location: Km6+500 Thang Long Boulevard, Tay Mo Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi

According to the announcement from the Vietnam Military History Museum, as of September 30, 2024, the museum at its previous location at 28A Dien Bien Phu, Ba Dinh, Hanoi, will stop receiving visitors.

Starting from November 1, 2024, the Vietnam Military History Museum at its new location will officially open to the public and offer free admission until the end of December 2024.

The Vietnam Military History Museum is a prominent cultural institution dedicated to preserving and promoting the nation’s rich military heritage. It serves to meet the research, educational, and cultural needs of both domestic and international visitors.

At the Vietnam Military History Museum, locals and tourists can gain a deeper understanding of the cultural traditions, spirit, and resilient determination displayed throughout Vietnam’s history of building and defending the nation over thousands of years.

The new design of the Vietnam Military History Museum includes a distinctive museum building with a front plaza and a 45-meter-high Victory Tower. The museum complex consists of a four-story main building with a ground floor, covering a construction area of 23,198 square meters. The total floor area of the main building spans 64,640 square meters, with a height of 35.8 meters.

The museum’s exhibition space on the first floor is divided into six themes:

• Theme 1: “The Early Days of Nation-Building and Defense”
• Theme 2: “Defending Independence from 939 to 1858”
• Theme 3: “Resistance Against French Colonialism and the Struggle for Independence from 1858 to 1945”
• Theme 4: “The Resistance Against French Invasion from 1945 to 1954”
• Theme 5: “The Resistance Against the United States from 1954 to 1975”
• Theme 6: “Building and Defending the Nation from 1976 to Present”

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Some images of the Vietnam Military History Museum at its new location, which is more spacious and modern:

Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts

Address: 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Dien Ban Ward, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi

The Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts is another worth-visiting museum in Hanoi, located on a beautiful street in the central area of the city, opposite the Temple of Literature. The museum is a place for research, collection, display, preservation, and introduction of Vietnamese art heritage to visitors. Additionally, the museum hosts various exhibition and artistic exchange activities, both domestically and internationally.

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Air Force and Air Defence Museum

Address: 173C Truong Chinh, Khuong Mai Ward, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi

The Air Force and Air Defence Museum is a place that preserves images, documents, and artifacts that showcase the birth, development, combat, growth, and victories of the Vietnamese Air Force.

The outdoor exhibition space of the Air Force and Air Defence Museum introduces various collections of unique artifacts and weaponry such as airplanes, anti-aircraft artillery, missiles, and radars. Additionally, there are 73 major artifacts representing different types of weapons from the Vietnamese Air Force that participated in and achieved victory in the two resistance wars against French colonialism and the American empire.

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Conclusion

Hanoi also has several other museums, however, for most tourists visiting Hanoi, the list of the most attractive museums that we have just introduced is sufficient for you to explore and understand to some extent the history of development and the heroic struggle for independence of the Vietnamese people. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment, our travel experts are more than willing to provide answers.