The Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi is the main art museum in Vietnam. It was opened in 1966, but it’s very clean and well-maintained inside. There is a ton to see here, from ancient works to modern art.
There are directional signs inside the museum that say “continue your visit” with an arrow pointing you where to go, but I still got lost several times. I’m not saying the directions are poor — there’s just a lot to see over numerous rooms, exhibits, and floors.
For 40.000 VND (for adults), this is worth adding to your Hanoi itinerary — and the air-conditioning is a nice bonus! After you’re done here, you can walk to see Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, museum, or Stilt House at Ba Dinh Square (10 minutes away) or head over to the northern location of Hanoi’s Train Street.
FYI, the painting in the featured photo above is called “Red light” by Nguyen Ngoc Dan, and it’s on display at the museum. At first, I thought it was a picture because I see sights like this every day in Vietnam.
Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum Visitor Info
| Location | Google Maps |
| Hours | 8:30 AM to 5 PM (closed on Mondays) |
| Ticket cost | 40.000 VND // 10.000 VND for children 6 to 15 |
| How much time | You could spend close to 2 hours here |
| When to visit* | I’d visit in the afternoon |
| Official website | Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum |
| Accessibility | I did not see ramps or an elevator on my recent visit |
| Other notes | Audio guides available for 50.000 VND Tour guides available for 150.000 VND |
Visiting the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum
Getting there: the Fine Arts Museum is right across the street from the Temple of Literature. I recommend visiting them back-to-back since you’ll be here anyway. Since the Fine Arts Museum has air-conditioning, I’d visit here during the hotter part of the day.
There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of pieces of art here, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, wood carvings, bronze statues, and an entire exhibit (the basement, currently) devoted to ceramics. Most of the displays next to the pieces were written in Vietnamese, English, and French.
I’m not an art connoisseur at all, but there were several pieces that I liked. I’ll share some of my photos below. When I visited at around 11 AM, it was also pretty quiet for the entirety of my nearly two-hour visit.
