Museums in Vietnam, and the four that are worth an hour
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Vietnam has a great many museums and about four that a visitor should plan around. The rest tend to be rooms of captioned photographs behind glass. Knowing which museums in Vietnam are which saves several wasted hours on a short trip.
Which museums are actually worth it?
Four, and they are spread across the country rather than clustered in one city. The museums in Vietnam worth a ticket sit in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, which means most trips pass at least two of them.
| Museum | Where | Go for | Ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Museum of Ethnology | Hanoi | The fifty-four ethnic groups | 40,000 dong |
| War Remnants Museum | Ho Chi Minh City | The war, unsoftened | 40,000 dong |
| Cham Sculpture Museum | Da Nang | Champa stonework | 60,000 dong |
| Hoa Lo Prison | Hanoi | Colonial and wartime prison | 50,000 dong |
| Fine Arts Museum | Hanoi | Lacquer and silk painting | 40,000 dong |
| Con Dao prison complex | Con Dao | The hardest site in the country | Modest |
Why the Ethnology Museum first?
Because it is the best museum in Vietnam and it is not a close contest. It covers the country's fifty-four recognised ethnic groups with real objects, clear English captions and none of the vagueness that afflicts the rest.
The garden behind the main building is the part people remember. It holds full-size reconstructed houses, among them a Bahnar communal house tall enough to be visible from the road, and a Giarai tomb. You walk into them rather than around them.
The Ethnology Museum sits about 8 km from the Old Quarter, which puts it outside most walking itineraries — the things to do in Hanoi page covers where it fits. At weekends it also hosts village water puppet troupes in the garden pond, the closest thing to the original form of the art. The stage forms sometimes appear alongside them.
What about the war museums?
The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City is the essential one and the hardest. It presents the war from the Vietnamese side with very little softening, and the photojournalism floor and the Agent Orange section are distressing by design rather than by accident.
Go in the morning. It is not an hour you want immediately before dinner, and the war sites guide covers how the conflict is presented across the country, which is worth reading first.
Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi is the other one, covering both the French colonial period and the American pilots held there. Its account of the second is notably cheerier than the first, which is itself informative.
Is there anything for art?
The Cham Sculpture Museum in Da Nang holds the best collection of Champa stonework anywhere, gathered from temple sites across the centre. It is small, well lit and takes under an hour, and it makes a visit to My Son or Phan Rang mean considerably more.
The Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi is the other one worth a ticket, mostly for the lacquer and silk painting, which is a genuinely Vietnamese tradition rather than an imported one.
When are they open?
Not on Mondays, as a rule, and many close for a long lunch from about eleven thirty to one thirty. Turning up at midday is the standard mistake.
The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi catches people hardest. Mornings only, closed Mondays and Fridays, and closed altogether for maintenance for several weeks most autumns. Put it early in a stay rather than late.
What do they cost?
Almost nothing. Most charge 40,000 to 80,000 dong, which is under three US dollars at about 26,000 dong to the dollar. Some ask a small extra fee for a camera.
The museums inside the Hue citadel are covered by the citadel ticket rather than charged separately, which the things to do in Hue page explains.
Which should you skip?
Most provincial museums, and the majority of the revolutionary ones. They follow a fixed template — photographs, captions, a diorama, a room of gifts to the province — and having seen one you have seen the format.
The format is not a criticism of the subject. It is a practical point about how a short trip spends its hours, and the four above are where those hours go.
One exception is worth naming. The prison complex on Con Dao is the hardest historical site in the country and nothing about it follows the provincial template. If the trip reaches the island, it is not optional.
FAQ
Which museums in Vietnam are worth visiting?
The Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi, the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, the Cham Sculpture Museum in Da Nang, and Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi. Those four repay an hour each, and the Ethnology Museum also hosts visiting water puppet troupes at weekends. Most of the rest are rooms of captioned photographs.
Is the War Remnants Museum worth it?
Yes, and it is the hardest hour on this list. It presents the war from the Vietnamese side with little softening, and the photojournalism floor and the section on Agent Orange are genuinely distressing. Go in the morning rather than before dinner.
What is the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi?
The best museum in the country, and it is not close. It covers Vietnam's fifty-four ethnic groups with real objects and good English captions, and the garden behind holds full-size reconstructed houses you can walk into, including a Bahnar communal house.
When are Vietnamese museums closed?
Mondays, usually, and many close for a long lunch between about eleven thirty and one thirty. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi closes Mondays and Fridays and only opens mornings, which catches more visitors out than anything else.
How much do museums cost in Vietnam?
Very little: roughly 40,000 to 80,000 dong for most, which is under three US dollars at about 26,000 dong to the dollar. Cameras occasionally cost extra, and the sites inside the Hue citadel are covered by the citadel ticket rather than charged separately.
Are Vietnamese museums good for children?
The Ethnology Museum is, because of the houses in the garden. The war museums are not, and that is worth taking seriously rather than treating as squeamishness — the photographs are explicit and there is no separate route around them.