Hỏa Lò Prison (Hanoi Hilton)
1 Hỏa Lò, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi
Hỏa Lò Prison is one of the most historically complex sites in Hanoi — a French colonial prison built in 1896 that was used to hold Vietnamese political prisoners during the independence struggle and later became the prison where American pilots shot down during the Vietnam War were held as POWs.
Museum of Ethnology
Nguyen Van Huyen, Dich Vong, Hanoi, Vietnam
The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is the best museum in Hanoi — a thoughtfully curated institution in the Cầu Giấy district that documents the cultures, traditions, and daily lives of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups through artifacts, photographs, and full-scale reconstructions of traditional houses in the outdoor exhibition garden.
Museum of Fine Arts
66 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Dien Bien, Hanoi, Vietnam
The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum is the national art collection — housed in a French colonial building near the Temple of Literature that displays Vietnamese art from the prehistoric period through Buddhist sculpture, Nguyen dynasty court art, French-influenced modernism, and the wartime and post-war periods that produced some of the most distinctive art in Southeast Asia.
Thăng Long Imperial Citadel
19C Hoang Dieu, Dien Bien, Hanoi, Vietnam
The Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that preserves the remains of 1,300 years of continuous political power in Hanoi — from the 7th-century Chinese Tang dynasty fortress through the Vietnamese Lý, Trần, and Lê dynasties to the French colonial period and the Vietnam War, when the D67 underground bunker beneath the citadel served as the command centre for North Vietnam's military operations.
Vietnam National Museum of History
1 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
The Vietnam National Museum of History occupies a handsome French colonial building on Trang Tien street that traces Vietnamese civilisation from prehistoric times through the Bronze Age Dong Son culture, the thousand years of Chinese domination, the independent Vietnamese dynasties, French colonialism, and the wars that defined the 20th century.
Vietnamese Women's Museum
36 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hang Bai, Hanoi, Vietnam
The Vietnamese Women's Museum is one of the best museums in Vietnam — a four-storey exhibition on the roles of women in Vietnamese history, from the Trưng Sisters (who led a rebellion against Chinese rule in 40 AD and remain national heroes) through the war years (when women served as soldiers, spies, and the logistical backbone of both the anti-French and anti-American resistance) to the present day.
Explore museum in Hanoi
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