Hotels near War Remnants Museum

The War Remnants Museum documents the Vietnam War and the First Indochina War through photography, military hardware and archival material, presented from the Vietnamese perspective. It opened in 1975 and now holds more than 20,000 documents and artefacts. The outdoor courtyard displays captured American aircraft, tanks and artillery, including a UH-1 helicopter and an F-5A fighter. Inside, three floors are arranged by theme: historical background, war crimes, the effects of Agent Orange and other chemical defoliants, and the international anti-war movement.

The Requiem exhibition, assembled from the work of 134 photographers killed during the conflict, is the section most visitors remember. The rooms covering Agent Orange contain graphic medical photographs, and the museum does not soften them. Entry costs 40,000 VND (roughly 1.40 EUR) and the doors open from 7:30 to 17:30 daily. Allow at least two hours. Signage throughout is in Vietnamese and English.

Pro Tip: Arrive at 7:30 when the doors open. Tour groups start filling the ground floor from about 9:00 and the narrow Requiem corridors become hard to move through. If the Cu Chi Tunnels are also on your itinerary, do the museum first - the context makes the tunnel site far easier to follow.