Vietnamese Women's Museum

The museum was founded in 1987, opened to the public in 1995 and was substantially redisplayed in 2010, and it is generally regarded as one of the better presented museums in Hanoi - the English labelling is thorough, which is not universal here. Its permanent floors cover women in the family, with material on marriage customs, childbirth and household practice across a range of Vietnamese ethnic groups; women in history; and a costume and textile floor with garments from many of the country's fifty-odd recognised groups. Temporary exhibitions have addressed subjects like street vendors and single mothers directly, using recorded testimony.

What's there

• A floor on family life - marriage, birth and household across ethnic groups.
• Textiles and costume - garments from many of the recognised groups.
• Thorough English labelling - better than most museums here.
• Temporary shows with testimony - on street vendors and other subjects.

When to go

Year round; it is indoors and works in any weather. Two hours.

What to expect

It is a mid-sized museum and two hours covers it. Some of the historical framing is official rather than critical. It closes on some Mondays. Photography rules apply in places.

Nearby

Hoan Kiem lake is north; the old quarter is beyond it.

Key facts