Though Ho Chi Minh looks like a typical economic hub on the outside, the city holds a centuries-long history. Vietnam War remnants, history, arts, and unique cultural heritage are all presented in museums in Ho Chi Minh City.
War Remnants Museum
Address: 28 Vo Van Tan, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: 7:30 AM – 6 PM
Ticket price: VND 40,000/person
Recommended visiting time: 45 minutes
Established in 1975, the War Remnants Museum has conserved and displayed precious documents to narrate the heroic strengths of the Vietnamese, the atrocities of the invaders, and especially, the confronting remnants of the Vietnam War. There are souvenir counters and 7 exhibition rooms with 7 different war themes, images taken by war-time photographers, drawings, propaganda, films, and recovered artifacts.
The museum attracts many foreign visitors intrigued to learn about the Vietnamese side of the war. As a precaution, standing in front of the pictures of Agent Orange victims or wounded soldiers can be graphic and confronting, and it will trigger profound emotions. The museum, for the most part, was set up to raise people’s awareness against war and promote peace in the world, just like the meaning of the white dove room.
Fine Arts Museum
Address: 97A Pho Duc Chinh, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: 9 AM – 6 PM
Ticket price: VND 30,000/person
Recommended visiting time: 30 minutes
The building once belonged to one of the wealthiest Chinese businessmen in Ho Chi Minh, Hua Bon Hoa. Nowadays, besides being home to thousands of artworks, The Fine Arts Museum is also a unique art-deco architecture designed by Rivera, a French architect. The domed entrance is the highlight of the building, with solid supporting pillars, two stairs on the sides, and iron patterns. The museum is large, and there is even a giant oculus in the middle of the architecture.
The museum displays sculpture works, contemporary arts, potteries, and a collection of ancient, modern, and traditional craftworks. Visitors coming to the museum take time to admire the artworks and pose against the building’s unique design. Note that the entrance staff is a little iffy about visitors bringing a camera into the museum, and they might charge extra if you intend to take photos with your camera. Therefore, you can choose to use your phone or don’t let them know you have a camera on hand.
Vietnam History Museum
Address: 2 Nguyen Binh Khiem, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: 8 AM – 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM – 5 PM
Ticket price: VND 30,000/person
Recommended visiting time: 45 minutes (or up to 1 and a half hour if you’re also visiting the zoo)
Established in 1929, the Vietnam History Museum displays ancient artworks, the history of Vietnam before the Vietnam War, and some ancient art pieces from other Asian countries. It is located next to the Botanical Gardens, right inside Saigon’s Zoo entrance on Nguyen Binh Khiem, so you can stroll around the area with many greens. The Indochine style of the building embraces both Chinese and French architectural influences.
There are 2 main exhibitions at the museum, and the first one shows Vietnam’s history from the Bronze Age to the Nguyen Dynasty, right before the birth of the Vietnam Communist Party. The second part exhibits some art collections featuring the culture and history of neighboring countries. The most impressive works may be artifacts of the Cham, Khmer, Buddha statues in Asian countries, cannons in the 18th and 19th centuries, selected sculptures, and pottery works in Vietnam and neighboring countries. If you are into the prehistoric period, this could be one of the top museums in Ho Chi Minh City.
Ho Chi Minh Museum
Address: 1 Nguyen Tat Thanh, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: 7:30 AM – 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM – 5 PM
Ticket price: Free
Recommended visiting time: 30 minutes
Ho Chi Minh Museum in Ho Chi Minh City was once the headquarters of a French Imperial Shipping Company. However, the architecture of the building bears both European and Vietnamese styles. The 2 dragon sculptures on the roof gave the museum another name, the Dragon House.
The museum is also a historical landmark to the Vietnamese as it is where President Ho Chi Minh left for Europe in 1911, starting his journey to liberate the nation from the French. Now, the museum mainly displays documentaries, images, and artifacts from Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary life.
Ton Duc Thang Museum
Address: 5 Ton Duc Thang, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours:7:30 AM – 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM – 5 PM (closed on Monday)
Ticket price: Free
Recommended visiting time: 30 minutes
Ton Duc Thang Museum is dedicated to the life and work of Ton Duc Thang, the first president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The exhibition includes many articles, pictures, and medals that show different stages of his life, including when he was incarcerated in Con Dao Prison, then broke out of the place and became the Vietnamese state president.
Ho Chi Minh City Museum
Address: 65 Ly Tu Trong, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: 7:30 AM – 6 PM
Ticket price: VND 30,000/person
Recommended visiting time: 30 minutes
Designed by a French architect, the Ho Chi Minh City Museum‘s architecture combines Gothic, ancient Roman architecture, and Southern Vietnam inspiration. Specifically, the Spirit of Commerce wearing the wreath at the entrance, the giant parallelling pillars, and the Gothic staircase will bring impressions.
Regarding the exhibiting values, the museum preserves and displays artifacts and materials featuring old Saigon and the Southern region. There are ten rooms with 133 collections, and the most noticeable ones are Saigon Pottery and Money in the Nguyen Dynasty.
Ho Chi Minh Campaign Museum
Address: 2 Le Duan, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: 7:30 AM – 11:30 AM and 1:30 – 4:30 PM from Monday to Friday (Saturday for advanced booking)
Ticket price: Free
Recommended visiting time: 30 minutes
Located in the center of the city, the Ho Chi Minh Campaign Museum depicts the campaign to liberate the South and it is considered as a symbol of the Vietnamese victory against the American military in 1975. The museum includes 2 areas: the outdoor exhibition area and the indoor one. Outside of the building, different weapons and means of transportation used in the war, such as tanks and cannons, are on display, and some specific artifacts are the M-46 130mm cannon, T-54 tank, and the 57 mm AZP S-60 anti-aircraft gun.
A helicopter on display at the museum’s outdoor exhibition area
As for the exhibition house, the highlighted part is the maquette of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign and its modern electrical facilities. Generally, the house has 5 exhibition rooms, categorized based on topics and periods before the final victory of the South.
Ao Dai Museum
Address: 206/19/30 Long Thuan, Long Phuoc Ward, District 9, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM
Ticket price: VND 100,000/person
Recommended visiting time: 30 minutes
Ao Dai Museum exists thanks to the idea and the efforts of an Ao Dai Designer named Sy Hoang. With open space, the museum’s design takes inspiration from Southern Vietnam’s traditional houses. The main showcase is Ao Dai, a classic and national Vietnamese fashion identity. You can look at Ao Dai through different periods in Vietnam and see its changes from the 1600s until the present day.
Also on display are Ao Dai worn by influential Vietnamese women in the past, and Ao Dai sewed with designs of other countries in the world to present the integration. Besides, there are exhibitions of Vietnamese conical hats, turbans, and old wooden clogs. The museum showcases the soul of Vietnamese women and Vietnam as a whole via the displays of Ao Dai.
Southern Women’s Museum
Address: 202 Vo Thi Sau, Ward 7, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: 8 AM – 4:30 PM
Ticket price: Free
Recommended visiting time: 30 minutes
Southern Women’s Museum was officially inaugurated in 1985 on the occasion of celebrating 10 years of the Southern liberation. Ever since, the Museum has played an essential role in honoring Southern Women’s accomplishments and contributions, especially during the Vietnam War, and appreciating women’s values in general. Entering the museum campus, you will be deeply impressed by the bronze statue of a warm-hearted Southern Mother wearing a Vietnamese loose-fitting blouse. Below the statue are 4 gold words that Ho Chi Minh gave to Vietnamese women in the war period, and they translate to “heroic, resilient, faithful, and resourceful” in English.
Inside the museum, paintings and artifacts associated with women’s devotion during the Vietnam War are on display, and there are 2 rooms depicting the activities of influential women, such as Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Vo Thi Sau, and Nguyen Thi Dinh, etc. Besides, the museum organizes other valuable activities like hosting mobile exhibitions all over the country, showcasing collections overseas, publishing books on Southern Vietnamese women, arranging meetings with great mothers, and supporting their lives. Overall, the paintings of Vietnamese Mothers, statues of heroic figures, and pictures of female martyrs dying in prison depict more than words about Vietnamese women’s values.
Fito Museum of Traditional Medicines
Address: 41 Hoang Du Khuong, Ward 12, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City.
Opening hours: 8:30 AM – 5 PM
Ticket price: VND 120,000/person
Recommended visiting time: 45 minutes
With 18 rooms in a roughly 600-meter square area, the Fito Museum was primarily built in wood, and Vietnam’s traditional style inspired the architecture. The museum is an excellent source of documentaries, tools, and patterns of Vietnamese folk medicine dating from the Stone Age. Specifically, there are collections of traditional medicine tools like ancient pestles, mortars, old scales, knives, potteries, and teapots.
There is also the altar worshipping 2 Vietnamese medicine saints named Tue Tinh and Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac, who had great merits to the medicine and became idols for all medical practitioners later. As a one-of-a-kind museum, this is one of the top museums in Ho Chi Minh City to visit.
3D Art Museum
Address: 02-04, Street No. 9, Tan Hung Ward, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: 9 AM – 10 PM
Ticket price: VND 150,000/person from Monday to Friday or VND 200,000/person on weekends and holidays
Built in 2015, the 3D Art Museum seems to be the newest but one of the most entertaining art museums in Ho Chi Minh City. It possesses numerous 3D paintings designed by skilled Korean artists who master 3D techniques and optical illusions. Being a part of the thrilling scenes, you will have a lot of fun when taking photos with friends or looking at the different paintings. There are 9 themes to explore: ocean, animal, masterpiece, love, Egypt, fairy, giant, and strange house. If you seek a place to chill out of the city’s heart, this is a great place to be with kids. We recommend you bring a camera and tripod and spend around 2 hours here.
See also
Get the best camera for traveling
Don’t forget to bring a portable tripod for your trip
Summary of Top Museums in Ho Chi Minh City to Visit
The best museums in Ho Chi Minh make up the symbols of tradition, history, and entertaining aspects of the city. They are blessed with unique architecture, the countless values inside, and their preservation efforts. When visiting Ho Chi Minh City, it is advisable to put the museums on your must-do list as they will show you another exceptional city dimension.