Hanoi, the center of culture, entertainment, and information is well-known for its long history. No wonder that there are a ton of cultural and historic vestiges here. Those are the reasons why Hanoi owns lots of interesting museums which attract not only foreigners but also local people.
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Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
This special museum will show you all about Vietnamese ethnic minorities’ lifestyle and cultural beauty. It is an opportunity for you to enrich your knowledge about Vietnamese people. From the outside, you can admire their amazing and exclusive architecture such as Cham house, Bahnar Communal house, stilt houses or Cotu Tomb house, etc. This museum also has an indoor area which is an exhibition building to display ethnic’s objects and documentation. In addition, you can contemplate traditional performances like Ca Tru, puppetry, Xoan singing, etc. Sometimes, they organize the festivals and shows to demonstrate the Ethnic’s daily life for tourists or open a cooking class to teach visitors how to make delicious ethnic dishes. Some pieces of information you might need:
- Address: Nguyen Van Huyen Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi
- Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM
- Ticket: 40,000 VND (~1.5USD)
Vietnam National Fine Art Museum
You would be surprised with the Vietnamese National Fine Art Museum’s space because of the object’s quantity. It displays ancient statues for several centuries. Besides, they have a huge collection of Vietnamese paintings from famous artists,including oil paintings, lacquer paintings, silk paintings or sculptures. Sometimes, they organize artworks’ exhibitions or art events to attract tourists. Nowadays, the museum has opened some classes that teach children how to draw and engrave into wood to widen their knowledge. Almost all of Hanoi’s Artwork is gathered here, so do not miss this interesting spot.
- Address: 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi
- Opening hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM
- Ticket: 40,000 VND (~1.5USD)
Vietnamese Women’s Museum
Vietnamese Women’s Museum is the place you can find out thoroughly about Vietnamese women. It is truly a big effort to display every single female objects such as costumes, traditional wedding dresses, and stuff from their daily life.Furthermore, you can contemplate the emotional statue “Vietnam Heroic Mother”, represented for Vietnamese Women, who lived in the war periods and was always waiting for their husbands or son to come back home intactly. Trust me that this is totally the most worth seeing museum you must visit in Hanoi.
- Address: 36 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
- Opening hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM
- Ticket: 30,000 VND (~1.2USD)
Hanoi Museum
This is definitely the newest and the most special museums from this list in particular, and entire Vietnam in general. This museum was built to celebrate the Millennial Anniversary of Hanoi. It looks like a pyramid upside down, with a large garden that is all comfortable and perfect for walking. Inside the museum, there are many national treasures, valuable historic things or rare documentation. If you are addicted to Instagram, it is a captivating place for you to blow your camera phone.
- Address: Pham Hung street, Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi
- Opening hours: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Ticket: 40,000 VND (~1.5USD)
Vietnam Military History Museum
Vietnam Military History Museum belongs to the Vietnam Army. It preserves many weapons through Vietnam’s war such as guns, booms, etc. The most important part of this museum is an American B-52 airplane, which was knocked-down by Vietnamese soldiers. If you care about the Vietnam war or simply just want to discover the reasons why small Vietnam could defeat imperialism, do not forget to drop by this location.
- Address: 28A Dien Bien Phu street, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi
- Opening hours: 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
- Ticket: 40,000 VND (~1.5USD)
In addition, I just want to share with you a little bit about my trip to Vietnam and I think some of the problems that you have to pay attention might be:
Your formalities: Do not forget to take a visa. I did my visa at Vietnam Visa and it was so great that I took a fast track service, so I could get my visa sooner to save my time. You might check it at
Arrival Fast Track Service. Thank God that they have this excellent service!
Definitely do not forget your Visa or passport when you want to visit the museums.
Buy a SIM card and it would easier for you to contact people
If you want to talk more to the locals, just learn some common phrases such as Cam on (Thank you), Xin Chao (Hello), Bao Nhieu (How much), etc.
Wherever you go, bring your mask and hand sanitizer to avoid being affected by COVID-19. But don’t worry because in my opinion, the Vietnam Ministry of Health manages these diseases so well.