Vietnam Military History Museum & Flag Tower

Bảo tàng Lịch sử Quân sự Việt Nam / Cột cờ Hà Nội

A courtyard of downed aircraft and an 1812 tower

Address

28A Dien Bien Phu, south of Ba Dinh Square; the Flag Tower stands in the museum grounds

The front courtyard is stacked with wreckage of downed aircraft, flanked by tanks and artillery. Indoors the story runs from Dien Bien Phu to the 1975 push into Saigon through photos and weapons. The Flag Tower in the grounds is a three-tier octagonal tower from 1812; climb its steps for a view over Ba Dinh rooftops. The narrative is told from the Vietnamese side, which is the point of going.