We ended up having an extra day in Hanoi before our overnight train trip to Da’Nang (we returned to Hanoi after Halong Bay in the afternoon and technically could have caught the train that night but we knew the kids would be desperate for a swim so we decided to stay another night). I had read about the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi Vietnam, and had heard good things about exploring the houses in the outside area of the Museum and thought it would be a place the kids would like and a fun thing to do in Hanoi.
Climbing up into one of the houses
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology Hanoi, location
We were again staying at the Hotel Tirant in the Old Quarter, so it was simple for the hotel to call us a taxi to take us to the Museum of Ethnology, Hanoi, which is about 20 minutes across town.
The Museum is located on Nguyen Van Huyen Street in the Cau Giay district of Hanoi about 8km away from the centre of town.
Things to explore at the Museum of Ethnology
Once again it was stinking hot so we couldn’t wait to get inside to cool down. The museum takes you on a tour of different ethnic groups throughout Vietnam – most of which the kids were not interested in, but they loved looking out for all the different masks (or scary ‘winks’ as they said – who knows what that means!?).
We then headed outside, and this is where the fun was had for the rest of the afternoon. There were approx. 15 different full-scale houses to explore. You are allowed to climb up into and walk through these houses and you get a real sense into the way of life. You are required to take off your shoes and to be honest some of bamboo flooring gave me the shivers when up so high! Each house had a description on who would have lived here and how they would have been separated by age and sex.
Part of The Long House
The two best houses to explore for us was the Longhouse which was about 42 m long and the 19m, very tall house with a steep wooden ladder to climb up and down.
Climbing up the very steep stairs. I was quite scared. It was steeper than it looks.
There is a little café on site which is run by students which has an extensive menu where we cooled down with a sprite. We had a downpour of rain towards the end but it didn’t last very long.
The museum also has wheelchair access with ramps throughout and an elevator for access to the second floor.
I would recommend taking the kids for an afternoon of exploring at the Museum of Ethnology.
Museum of Ethnology Hanoi, entrance fee
There is a little ticket office at the entrance of the Museum and it wasn’t very expensive at all. It cost 40,000 VND each (approx. $2.20) and the kids were free. Cash only also.
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology Hanoi, opening hours
The Museum of Ethnology is open from 08:30 – 17:30 and closed on Mondays.
There was a nice looking playground across the road but it was just too hot and it had no shade so we didn’t even mention it to the kids!
There were taxi’s waiting at the gate so it was easy to get home (I had a card from the hotel with the address which is a big tip for newbie travellers!). It did take approximately the same amount of time to get home but it cost us more – was this one of those times were we were ripped off? Hmm…I am not sure….
Have you been to the Museum of Ethnology before with your kids? Did they enjoy it? Please leave me a comment below if you like.
If you would like to sign up here for our newsletter that would be lovely! I don’t send out many (as I know we all get far too many) but it’s a really nice way to keep in touch xx
Leave A Comment