Fodor's Expert Review Ho Chi Minh City Museum

Completed in 1890, the building has been the residence for the French governor of Cochin China, the Japanese governor during Vietnam's brief Japanese occupation, and the envoy of Bao Dai, the last emperor of Vietnam, and also served as the Supreme Court. Since 1975, it's been a museum (formerly known as the Museum of the Revolution) with a strong focus on the Vietnamese struggle against the French and Americans. Displays focus on famous marches, military battles, and anti-French and anti-American activists. Exhibits include photos of historical events, uprisings, student demonstrations, and the self-immolation of the monk Thich Quang Duc as a protest against the war. The building itself is as interesting as many of the exhibits inside: a neoclassic design, it has huge columns outside and 19th-century ballrooms with lofty ceilings inside. Beneath the building are concrete bunkers and tunnels connecting to the Reunification Palace. It was here that President Ngo Dinh Diem (1901–63) and his notorious brother Ngo Dinh Nhu hid before being caught and eventually executed in 1963. Outside on the grounds are Soviet tanks, an American helicopter, and antiaircraft guns.