Vietnam Military History Museum

The Vietnam Military History Museum at 28A Dien Bien Phu Street in Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, documents the country's military past from ancient resistance to foreign invaders through the French and American wars. The complex is set beside the Hanoi Citadel area and includes indoor galleries and a large open-air courtyard. Outdoors, visitors see a collection of aircraft, tanks, artillery and anti-aircraft guns, including a Soviet-built MiG-21 fighter and the tank that crashed the gates of the Independence Palace in Saigon in 1975. A striking monument in the courtyard is made from the wreckage of French and American aircraft shot down over Vietnam, piled into a jagged sculpture that is one of the museum's most photographed features. Indoor galleries present weapons, uniforms, maps, documents, photographs and dioramas, with special attention to the Dien Bien Phu campaign of 1954 and the Ho Chi Minh Campaign of 1975. Captions are in Vietnamese with English on many items, and the presentation carries a strong national narrative. Behind the museum rises the Hanoi Flag Tower, a 40-metre hexagonal tower built in 1812 during the Nguyen dynasty and part of the historic citadel, which visitors can view and sometimes climb for views over the neighbouring streets. A visit takes one to one and a half hours, and the courtyard is exposed to the sun, so mornings are more comfortable. Opening hours are Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday to Sunday, morning and afternoon, and the museum is closed on Mondays and Fridays. Adult admission is 40,000 VND, and children under 15 enter free. The museum is a short walk from the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum area.