8 Best Sights in Vietnam

Honoring Vietnam's national dress, this private museum is set on stunningly picturesque grounds that are a very long way from downtown. Once you pay the admission fee, a guide will take you to the two beautiful wooden exhibition houses, which showcase ao dais from the 17th century to the modern day. Smaller kids will like feeding the fish and playing ao dai quoits (and generally letting off steam on the verdant lawns if they're all city-ed out). This place is—amazingly—still off the tourist radar.

The outside of this museum showcasing the history of traditional Vietnamese medicine might be plain, but inside it's a fabulous carved wooden wonderland, with the interior of an authentic antique house on the third floor and a re-created Cham-style gazebo on the rooftop. Displays, enhanced by audiovisuals and drawing on nearly 3,000 items in the collection, range from Stone Age pots to 3rd-century coins (for coin-rubbing therapy), ancient texts, bronze kettles, and a range of cutting, chopping, and storing utensils. The concluding part of the introductory film (subtitled in English) and the shop at the exit are a reminder that this is a private museum, set up by Fito Pharma. It's well worth a visit for the insight into traditional Vietnamese daily life through the ages.

Showcasing the cultural heritage of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam, this museum has an indoor exhibition with a large collection of photographs and artifacts, including clothing, jewelry, tools, weapons, instruments, and items related to religious beliefs and wedding and funeral ceremonies. Behind the main building is an outdoor exhibit space with winding pathways that lead to 18 replicas of life-size tombs, boats, and traditional Vietnamese homes, including the impressive Banar Nha Rong (communal house) reachable by a log ladder with chiseled steps. A free water-puppet show is presented several times daily (check the times as soon as you arrive). This is one of Vietnam's very best museums, and it's especially worth visiting if you're going to or coming from the ethnically diverse northern mountains.

Founded in 1987, this informative and modern museum focuses on the cultural and historical aspects of Vietnamese women across the 54 ethnic community groups. The three main exhibits highlight the themes of fashion, war, and family life, and the female gender role as it pertains to customs and tradition. History is told through videos, photographs, and well-presented displays of Vietnamese women in times of peace and war. The museum also covers areas of marriage, customs, and birth. There is an interesting section honoring the modern plight of the street vendor. Signage is in English, French, and Vietnamese.

Housed in a blocky concrete building across the road from Ang Pagoda, the Khmer Culture Museum has four exhibition rooms containing re-creations of various aspects of traditional Khmer life, as well as collections of musical instruments and farming tools. All signs are in Vietnamese and Khmer. It's not the most interesting museum, but worth dropping by if you're at Ang Pagoda and Ao Ba Om.

The first floor of this small museum is called the Sapa Minorities Handicraft Shop, and you can indeed purchase beautiful gifts here. For the information, head up the large wooden staircase and peruse the slightly dusty exhibits. You can get a useful crash course in the ethnology of the area and view photos and artifacts used in traditional celebrations.

Although not as provocative as its Ho Chi Minh City counterpart, the army museum is nonetheless an intriguing example of Vietnam's continuing dedication to publicizing its military history. At the southern edge of what was once the Thang Long citadel, which housed the imperial city, the museum buildings were once used as French military barracks. The courtyard of the museum once held Chinese- and Soviet-made weaponry—including MiG fighters, antiaircraft guns, a B-52 wreckage, and what is said to be the tank that smashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon on April 30, 1975. However, at the time of this update in 2024, some of this military detritus was being moved in preparation of the opening of a much larger museum on the city periphery. Other displays include depictions of the Trung sisters' revolt against Chinese overlords in AD 40, sound-and-light shows highlighting battles and troop movements during the wars against the French and Americans, bicycles known as steel horses that were used on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, captured French and American firearms and uniforms, field maps and tables of major attacks, and the dreaded pungi sticks. It's important to check the status of this museum online before visiting, as it may have already moved.

Adjacent to the museum is the Hanoi Flag Pillar, a 100-foot tapered hexagonal guard tower atop a three-tier square base. Built in 1812, the pillar escaped destruction by the French when they leveled much of the citadel; instead they used the tower as an observation and communication station—much like the Vietnamese military before them. The intricate fan- and flower-shape holes allow light into the tower, which has a crisp red-and-yellow Vietnamese flag fluttering from its flagpole.

Located in a mixed-use development that includes a resort, cafés, and shops, this museum is 30% learning about coffee, 70% a promotional vehicle for Trung Nguyen Legend, Buon Ma Thuot’s coffee kingpin. The English explanations are somewhat convoluted, much like the architecture, which is worth the visit alone. A cup of coffee is included in the admission.