Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is the most solemn sight in Hanoi and one of the most visited in Vietnam. It stands on Ba Dinh Square and holds his embalmed body in a glass case in the central hall, watched over by a military honour guard. Construction began in September 1973 and the building was inaugurated in August 1975. More than 15,000 people visit every week.

The design, by the architect Garol Isakovich, was inspired by Lenin's Mausoleum in Moscow but adds Vietnamese touches such as the sloping roof. The building is 21.6 metres high and clad in grey granite, with polished grey, black and red stone inside. The grounds are planted with 79 cycad trees, one for each year of Ho Chi Minh's life. The square in front is a wide open space laid out in grass squares, and flag ceremonies are held there every day at 6am and 9pm.

Visitors queue each morning and file past the sarcophagus in silence. The mausoleum opens only in the mornings, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and is closed on Monday and Friday. From April to October the hours are 7.30am to 10.30am, and from November to March 8am to 11am, with an extra half hour at weekends and on public holidays. It also closes each year for a period of maintenance: the Hanoikids student guiding club, for example, noted that the Ho Chi Minh complex would be temporarily closed from 4 September to 2 November 2026, so check before you go if you are visiting in the autumn. Sources differ on whether an admission fee applies, so check locally.

The rules are strictly enforced. Do not wear short or revealing clothing; covering shoulders and knees is the safe choice. Cameras and phones with photo or filming functions are not allowed inside, food and drink are prohibited, phones must be switched off, and visitors must stay silent. Queues can take a long time, so arrive early and allow for waiting; the walk past the body itself takes only a few minutes.

The official address is 1 Hung Vuong Street in Ba Dinh district. After the mausoleum, the One Pillar Pagoda is close by and keeps similar morning hours, and the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long is a short walk to the east. The Temple of Literature is a few minutes away by taxi, so the area makes a full day of sightseeing for anyone interested in Vietnamese history.