Vietnamese Women’s Museum

The Vietnamese Women's Museum is one of the most rewarding museums in central Hanoi and one of the easiest to fit into a day of sightseeing. It is run by the Vietnam Women's Union and sets out to show the part women have played in the country's family life, history and culture, drawing on the traditions of all 54 of Vietnam's ethnic communities. It is regularly described as one of the most modern museums in the country, with clear displays and plenty of personal stories.

The museum opened in October 1995 in a building designed by the architect Tran Xuan Diem, and was closed for redevelopment between 2006 and 2010 before reopening with its current displays. In the lobby stands the statue of a Vietnamese mother that won first prize in a sculpture competition in 1995. The collection holds around 40,000 items, and more than 1,000 materials, photographs and artefacts are on show in the permanent exhibitions.

The permanent displays are arranged over the upper floors of the four-storey building. Women in Family is on the second floor, Women in History on the third, and Women's Fashion on the top floor. Across them you will find artefacts, costumes, crafts, memoirs and photographs covering roughly the last hundred years, which give a personal angle on events that other museums in the city tell through politics and battles. The fashion floor is a good choice for visitors interested in textiles, craft and design.

Allow around one and a half to two hours to see all three permanent exhibitions without rushing. The museum is open from 8am to 5pm every day, according to Vietnam's official tourism site, so it is a good option for the middle of a hot or rainy day when outdoor sights are less pleasant. The content is moving in places, particularly in the history galleries, and older children with an interest in history will get the most out of it.

The museum is at 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, in the south of Hoan Kiem district, about 600 metres south of Hoan Kiem Lake. St Joseph's Cathedral and Hoa Lo Prison are also in the centre, which makes it easy to put together a half-day route on foot or by taxi covering the lake and the streets to its south and west.