The best museums Hanoi

Created in 1987, this museum, with easy access, in the heart of the central district, is managed by the Vietnamese Women's Union. For a long time asleep, welcoming only a few visitors overwhelmed by boredom from dusty collections, it finally closed its doors in 2007 to allow a complete renovation. The cure of youth has been a spectacular success. Re-opened in October 2010, the museum has become very popular with both the Vietnamese public and international visitors. It is now regularly included at the top of the charts establishing the attractiveness of the various tourist sites in Asia. At the heart of this success is the very theme of the museum's exhibitions, which remarkably highlights the role of Vietnamese women, both in family life and in the tragedy of the country's recent history. The museum has a collection of more than 1,000 objects and photos, organized thematically on three levels. On the first floor, "women in the family". The opportunity to discover the specificities of the Vietnamese family, as well as the customs specific to different ethnic minorities: marriage, birth, daily life, crafts... On the second floor, "women in history". Undoubtedly the strongest and most moving theme. Heroism is celebrated without being suffocated by propaganda. Objects and photos bring the visitor to life with the personal dramas that weave the horror of the last two wars. The third floor is dedicated to "feminine fashions" and gives a good overview of the variety of shapes and colours of the costumes of ethnic minority women by detailing the techniques and skills specific to each group, batik or embroidery... It is also a testimony to the diversity of ideals relating to feminine beauty, for example through the presentation of the technique of lacquered teeth. The visit of the museum is very pleasant thanks to a dynamic journey and a colourful and didactic scenography. Last but not least, for once, Francophones will feel perfectly at ease there, thanks to trilingual cartridges in Vietnamese, French and English. An audioguide is even available! The museum often organizes temporary exhibitions that make it even more attractive. A visit to recommend absolutely, therefore, and which will seduce all audiences, from 7 to 77 years old...

The museum is located in the immediate vicinity of the Temple of Literature, in a building where East and West mingle. Built in the 1930s, it housed the Jeanne d'Arc boarding school, a renowned girls' high school in colonial times. After the refurbishment of the premises, the museum was inaugurated on 6 June 1966. Covering more than 4,700^m2, the works on display cover a period from prehistory to the present day. A rare opportunity for those interested in Vietnamese art to be offered a panorama that is both chronological and embraces all techniques (ceramics, sculpture, lacquer, painting on silk, mulberry paper, popular arts...). However, it should be noted that the museum has been the subject of several controversies due to the large number of copies that would be presented there. The integrity of the collections has suffered greatly from successive wars, but also from corruption. Many of the original works have made a tortuous path to the galleries of Tokyo, Hong Kong or Singapore .

For prehistory, human and animal figures discovered in the Dong Noi cave (Lac Thuy district, Hoa Binh province), dated 10,000 years ago and considered to be "the first Vietnamese plastic work". The Dao Tinh bronze jar (Yen Bay Province), dated 2,500 years ago, is a national relic. It reflects the different aspects of the Dông Son civilization (dwellings, funeral rites, spiritual life, etc.), which for Vietnamese historians is at the origin of Vietnamese identity. In the main hall, dated from the 18thcentury, a superb Goddess of Mercy, a goddess with "a thousand eyes, a thousand arms", a lacquered wooden work that testifies to the skill and technical level of the craftsmen of the time. The room most appreciated by visitors is the one dedicated to the painters of the Indochina School of Fine Arts, which paved the way for a specifically Vietnamese style of modern art, emancipating itself from the influences of Western and Chinese painting. Major works: the lacquers of Nguyen Gia Tri (1908-1993), the oil paintings of To Ngoc Van (1906-1954), the paintings and engravings of the painter Tran Van Can (1910-1994), the works of Bui Xuân Phai (1921-1988), a painter who is to Hanoi what Toulouse-Lautrec was to 19th century Paris. He drew his inspiration from the old streets of Hanoi. In addition to the permanent collections, the museum presents temporary exhibitions.

The museum was built on the site granted by the Vietnamese authorities to France in 1874. On the site of the museum was once the headquarters of the French Consulate, which was transformed into the Hotel du Résident de France until 1887. The present building, designed by Ernest Hébrard, chief architect of the General Government of Indochina, was built between 1926 and 1930 and completed in 1932. It is an example of the style of Indochinese architecture, of which Hébrard was the founder, which combines the technical standards and aesthetics of French architecture of that time with those of traditional Vietnamese architecture. Former museum of the French School of the Far East (Musée Louis-Finot, named after the first director of the school: see the abbreviation of the Efeo stamped on the sides of the octagonal entrance pavilion), it is, since 1954 and the withdrawal of the French, dedicated to the history of Vietnam from its prehistoric origins to the proclamation in 1945 of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. It was plundered and stolen before being restructured.

Among the most important pieces are impressive bronze drums, testimony to the culture of Dong Son (named after the village in northern Vietnam where they were exhumed). The museum also presents statues, reliefs and terracotta objects, some of which are among the oldest testimonies of Champa (from the^5th to the 13th century). Less spectacular than the gigantic statues, but essential for the work of historians, several steles : foundation stele from the Cham shrine of Po Nagar in Nha Trang and stele from the Cham shrine of My Son dating from 731, stele of Vinh Lang, whose engraved text was composed by Nguyên Trai (1380-1442), national hero, strategist and man of letters, political and military adviser to Le Loi (1385-1433), who repelled the Chinese invader and became Emperor Le Thai Tô.

The museum often organizes temporary exhibitions of great interest, but the means are lacking to present remarkable archaeological remains and discoveries in a modern way.

Another building (216, Tran Quang Khai or 25, Tong Dan) is devoted to modern history from 1858 to the present day. Installed in the former Indochina Mining Museum, it recounts in detail the history of the anti-colonial struggle, its hidden phases, the origins of the heroes of the revolution, their studies, their lives... How the spark of the revolt left Paris, Hong Kong or Beijing.

Inaugurated on 6 October 2010 as part of Hanoi's millennium celebrations, the museum was designed by the German architectural firm von Gerkan, Marg und Partner. It affects the shape of an upside-down pyramid 30.7 m high, stretching over 54,000 m² (5,000 sq ft) spread over 6 floors including 2 basements. Access to the exhibition spaces is via a spiral ramp. The museum displays artefacts from the history of Hanoi, and more broadly of Vietnam. The museum is rarely visited, due to the lack of attractive activities and an educational presentation of the exhibits.

Outside, presentation of anti-aircraft weapons and a B -52 carcass.