Vietnam Military History Museum is one of the six national museums in Vietnam. If you are a museum enthusiast, the destination cannot be missed.

This is your chance to acquire knowledge about the Vietnam wars and to know about courageous Vietnamese people.

Here you will be presented about all the hardship of Vietnamese people through the long history of devastating wars.

>>> Check out 20+ Top Things To Do In Hanoi (and the ONE thing NOT to do!) + MAPS<<<

Vietnam Military History Museum Hanoi

Military planes used in the Vietnam war (insta: ruthhazard)

Vietnam Military History Museum Location

  • 28A Dien Bien Phu Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi (about 15 minutes on foot from Hanoi Old Quarter)

Vietnam Military History Museum Entrance Fee

  • International visitors: US$1.8/person
  • Fee for filming and photo shooting
    • Photo shooting: US$1.3/camera
    • Filming under 1 hour: US$13/camera
    • Filming from 1 to 2 hours: US$17.5/camera
    • Filming from 2 to 3 hours: US$21.8/camera

Vietnam Military History Museum Opening Hours

  • Every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday
  • Morning: 08:00 – 11:30
  • Afternoon: 01:00 – 04:30

Other Information of Military Museum Hanoi

  • Language Availability: Notecards about each artifact is provided in Vietnamese, English, and French. Yet audio-visual displays are in Vietnamese only.
  • Historical Perspective: The First and Second Indochina Wars displayed in Vietnam Military History Museum are seen from the perspective of Vietnamese people.
  • Regulations:
    • Dress properly: no shorts, mini skirt or tank-top.
    • Leave bulky luggage at the cloakroom (except valuable items such as jewelry, money).
    • Don’t smoke. Don’t put your hands on the glass or touch/sit/move objects.
    • Do not bring food or drinks into the Museum.
    • Only take pictures or film under allowance.

Other Information of Military Museum Hanoi

Inside Hanoi Flag Tower near Vietnam Military History (insta: angitheron)

Vietnam Military History Museum Introduction – Army Museum Hanoi

Vietnam Military History Museum, established on 17/7/1956, is the first museum about the military. It has been a cultural institution and an important part of the Communist Party and the People’s Army of Vietnam with thousands of artifacts.

Implementing the decree of President Ho Chi Minh on “Cultural Heritage Preservation“, Ministry of Defence already collected and preserved documents, images, and artifacts during the resistance war against French colonialists (1945 – 1954).

>>> See more: 2020 | Top and Tips for Hanoi Museums  Price + Opening Hours

On the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Army of Vietnam, the museum was officially opened on December 21, 1959. Vietnam Military History Museum not only educates Vietnamese citizens about their own tradition but also helps foreigners gain insight into Vietnam and courageous Vietnamese people.

The museum has an indoor-outdoor display system with an area of up to 3,200 m2.

75mm Mountain Gun

75mm Mountain Gun – an artillery weapon used in Dien Bien Phu Campaign (1954) is exhibited in Vietnam Military History Museum (insta: angitheron)

Vietnam Military History Museum Display – Vietnam War Museum Hanoi

Indoor display of Vietnam Military History Museum

The indoor display system of the Vietnam Military History Museum is divided into three 2-storey buildings.

  • At the first building near the entrance on Dien Bien Phu Street,
    • The first floor is about building and defending the country before 1930.
    • The second floor is for military artifacts from 1930 until the end of the war against French colonialists (1954) and the famous Dien Bien Phu Campaign.
  • In the next building there are:
    • The first floor: American War 1954 – 1968, Ho Chi Minh Trail and Spring Offensive 1975.
    • The second floor is divided into three sections: Vietnam war against the United States 1969 – 1975, the gallery of rudimentary weapons 1945 – 1975 and international support for Vietnam liberation.
  • In the third building
    • The first floor of the third building showcases military artifacts since 1975.
    • The second floor is to memorize Vietnamese Heroic Mothers and exhibit the model of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

>>> Explore more museum in Hanoi Museum FREE Tour with local students

Ho Chi Minh Trail

This legendary route supplied the southern battlefield with food, medical and military aid during the resistance war against America. Enemy bombs, automobile tires, intercom devices, and images illustrate the horror of the American war. The fighting life of Truong Son soldiers at the time is also demonstrated.

If interested in the American War, you had better find a local buddy to discuss the topic.

People’s Armed Forces of Vietnam 1930 – 1944

The display system with thousands of artifacts in the Vietnam Military History Museum

The first documents of the Communist Party of Vietnam are preserved here:

  • “The Way of the Destiny”,
  • “The Thesis of Politics 1930”,
  • “The Resolution of the Self-Defence Team”

The first victory of the Vietnam Liberation Army Propaganda is exhibited here as well.

Artifacts displayed in the museum will give you the image of Vietnam history

People’s Armed Forces of Vietnam during August Revolution 1945

This section mainly shows the resistance war against JapanThe Great Vietnamese Famine 1945 and Political to armed struggle.

Visitors are provided with information about the establishment of the Vietnam government, too. Also, images of Ba Dinh Square on Declaration of Independence Day on September 2, 1945, are shown.

People’s Armed Forces of Vietnam 1955 – 1968

A bold introduction to the Third National Party Congress of Vietnam is given. Yet the highlight of this section is about South Vietnam after the Geneva Agreement.

It exhibits artifacts, images of prisons, torture tools of America and rudimentary weapons of Vietnamese people.

Information about The General Offensive and Uprising of Lunar New Year 1968 can also be found here.

>>> Get the FREE ITINERARY PLANNING to explore Hanoi Museums <<<

People’s Armed Forces of Vietnam 1969 – 1/1973

  • Display of American side: Statistic of enemy forces, strategy “Vietnamization of war
  • Display of Vietnamese side: how the soldiers overcome difficulties, self-guarantee logistics, maintain liberated areas and launch major campaigns such as Ninth Route – Southern Laos Campaign and 1972 Spring – Summer Offensive

People’s Armed Forces of Vietnam 1973 – 1975

The section shows American conspiracies after the Paris Agreement and how Vietnamese firmly held on to liberated zones.

Simultaneous uprisings resulting in the victory of Phuoc Long and the campaign to liberate Tay Nguyen, Hue-Da Nang and central coastal provinces are all displayed here.

Nightlife on Hanoi train street

The tank broke through Independence Palace on April 30, 1975 (insta: njmalaspina)

Vietnam Military History Museum Outdoor Display – Hanoi War Museum

Outdoor display of Vietnam Military History Museum

The outdoor exhibition area involves war artifacts of great size. All are associated with the up and downs and victories of Vietnamese people in the two bloody resistance wars against French colonialists and American empire.

It is beyond doubt a unique experience to see all those cool artifacts in person!

  • The wreckage of a Boeing B-52G shot down during Operation Linebacker II

Hanoi War Museum

The monument built from the wreckage of B-52 for Victory Dien Bien Phu in the air (insta: tangagua)

  • M3 Half-track purportedly used by Groupe Mobile 100 and captured in the Battle of Mang Yang Pass
  • M101 howitzer / M107 Self-Propelled Gun / M113 armored personnel carrier / M114 155 mm howitzer
  • T-34 tank / T-54 tank

Outdoor artifacts such as tanks and airplanes

  • 37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K) / 57 mm AZP S-60 / 85 mm divisional gun D-44 / 130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46)