Presidential Palace in Hanoi

• Location: 2 Hung Vuong, Ngoc Ha, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
• Entrance Fee: 40000 VND
• Opening Time: ‎08:00 AM - 04:00 PM

The Presidential Palace, formerly the Governor's Office of Indochina, was the highest authority of the French colonial rule during the Vietnam period and is now the official residence of the Vietnamese president. The presidential palace in Hanoi was named one of the 13 most beautiful palaces in the world by American Architecture Digest magazine.

Where is Presidential Palace

The presidential palace located at near Ba Dinh square in centre area of Hanoi and on the right side of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

The Introduction of Presidential Palace

The presidential palace was constructed in 1900 by French architect Auguste Henri Vildieu and completed in 1906 and named Indochina Governor Palace.The Presidential Palace was originally built as a governor's office of Indochina. This is a typical French style building, beautifully sited and proportioned, bright yellow color exterior wall, red tiled roof, showing a unique romantic temperament. There are 30 rooms in the palace and is the most luxurious building at that time. In 1945, when Vietnam had independence, it was renamed the Presidential Palace. It was taken over by the Vietnamese government in 1954 and was mainly used to hold high-level foreign meetings and welcome foreign delegations. His stilt house and carp ponds were made into the Presidential Palace Historical Site in 1975. So far, the Presidential Palace is still operating, where Vietnamese president to welcome heads of state, high-level delegations of parties and governments all over the world.

Ho Chi Minh and Presidential Palace

After the Vietnamese government took over the Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh president ought to live and work here. However, he declined to live in this luxurious construction as this is totally inappropriate for his simple and frugal lifestyle. Ho Chi Minh preferred to live in the traditional Vietnamese stilt house next to the palace. Uncle Ho's stilt house is actually a beautiful insight into his rejection of the pompous trappings of power.

Travel Tips of Presidential Palace

At present, the Presidential Palace is not open to the public, tourists are only allowed to visit the outside gardens and cannot entrance into the palace itself to get close for a decent view. The appearance of the building is well maintained, the grounds are maintained to the highest standard and the architecture and gardens are truly spectacular. This is an iconic and historical building in Hanoi that you should not miss.

To the palace, it shows the places that Ho Chi Minh used for work and life including his bedroom and cars used by him. The garden is lush and well kept. This is not only a political history site, but also helps to learn more about the titanic struggle that the Vietnamese have had to endure and feel the reverence of the Vietnamese people.