The Vietnam Military History Museum is a huge and newly opened (November 2024) museum in Hanoi. The museum was originally located within the city, near the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, but was relocated 30 minutes west to a much larger site, about 180 acres.
Here’s a video I filmed recently from just inside the museum’s courtyard entrance. The tower out front is called the Victory Tower and is 45 meters tall, meant to symbolize Vietnam’s independence in 1945.
At the time of writing, the museum is still undergoing new construction. Once completed, sometime in 2026, there will be four floors. Currently, floor one and part of floor two are open. But there is a lot to see just on these two floors.
There are other great museums in Hanoi, like the Museum of Ethnology, the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, and the National Fine Arts Museum. This guide covers more things to do in Hanoi.
Vietnam Military History Museum Visitor Info
| Location | Google Maps |
| Hours | 8 AM to 4:30 PM (closed Monday & Friday) |
| Cost | 40.000 VND // free under 16 or over 80 |
| How much time* | Plan between 1 and 2 hours (until new area opens) |
| When to visit | I’d visit early and avoid midday/afternoon |
| Official website | Vietnam Military History Museum |
| Accessibility | Wheelchair-friendly (elevators, ramps, escalators) |
Visiting the Military History Museum
Getting there: the museum is about 30 minutes west (12 km) of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The easiest way to get here is to use the Grab app to book a taxi. You can download the app here. I recently took a GrabCar from the Old Quarter area of Hanoi to the museum, and it cost 157.000 VND.
The courtyard entrance area is large and very open. On both sides of the main building, there are multiple types of aircraft and vehicles on display.
There is little to no shade cover outside (currently) in these areas. If you have an umbrella or one of those small, handheld fans, this would be the time to bring them.
Thankfully, inside the museum, there’s great air conditioning. It’s very clean and well-organized. There are multiple bathrooms. There’s a coffee shop outside the front entrance and one inside the museum. There are also refrigerated vending machines selling cold drinks.
Even though only floor one and part of floor two are open (currently, in late 2025), there is a lot to see. Once the museum’s four floors are fully completed, it will likely be one of the biggest and best museums in the region. What they’ve done so far is pretty amazing, compared to the other museums I’ve seen in Vietnam.
There are a lot of exhibits inside, and most of them have information written in Vietnamese and English.
On my recent visit, there were several schools visiting on field trips. So if you are a foreigner, expect a lot of kids to be saying hello and/or asking you to practice English with them. I had multiple conversations with students on my recent visit.
As mentioned, on my recent visit, part of the second floor was still under construction. The art gallery in my video below was open and huge, but I couldn’t tell if it was a temporary exhibit or if this area was still being completed. The floor seemed like a work in progress.
For 40.000 VND, the Vietnam Military History Museum is definitely worth visiting in Hanoi. With the lack of shade outside, it will be very hot midday. And as the afternoon comes, there’ll likely be tour groups and more crowds. I would take a Grab taxi in the morning and visit here first.
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