Beautiful old French buildings in Hanoi

The Presidential Palace, Vietnam National Museum of History, Hang Dau water tower, and Hanoi Opera House are four of several French colonial buildings in Hanoi that have been proposed for preservation.

1. Hanoi Opera House

The theatre is located at No.1 Trang Tien street on the August Revolution Square, the centre of Hanoi, near Hoan Kiem Lake and the Vietnam History Museum.

The 2,600m2 theatre was designed by two French architects Harlay and Broyer. The construction took place from 1901 to 1911.

It’s a phenomenal piece of neo-classical French architecture featuring Gothic themes on the doors and domes with pillars, shuttered windows, balconies and a glass room.

There are 3 main parts in this building: the lobby, the main audience room and the mirror room. The main lobby is the first place welcome visitors enter the theatre. It was made with high-quality stone of Italy. All small chandeliers are brass and look luxurious.

Inside the opera house are a large stage and a main audience room with a size of 24x24m, with many small rooms for audiences on the central floor.

At the back of the Opera House is a management chamber consisting of 18 make-up rooms, two rooms for voice training, a library and a meeting room.

The Main Audience is paved with high-quality tiles and fireproof carpet. Seats are designed in classical French style of the nineteenth century. The mirror room is the ritual room that has welcomed many high-ranking officials.

The Hanoi Opera House is the biggest theatre in Vietnam and speaks volumes as historical and cultural evidence of Vietnam under French rule. The interior is even more magnificent than the exterior with many arguing it is aesthetically even more appealing than the Paris Opera House.

Visitors today will be entertained at this architectural landmark which features a range of events including local Vietnamese opera, traditional folk music, ballets and many international concerts.

Following the end of the August Revolution in 1945, The Hanoi Opera House reverted from entertaining the French elite to becoming the centre of major historical events including the first session of the National Assembly of the Republic. The Hanoi building went into a state of decline prior to being renovated and brought up to date in 1997, which included the installation of state-of-the-art equipment and renewal of some of the interior decorations.

2. Hang Dau water tower

This water tower was built in 1894, before Long Bien Bridge, and is located at the crossroads of Hang Than, Hang Luoc, Hang Giay, Hang Dau, Quan Thanh and Phan Dinh Phung streets.

This water tower was the first work marking the transformation of Hanoi into an urban centre. Previously, Hanoians used well water or water from lakes and ponds.

This water tower has become a special landmark in Hanoi, just like Hoan Kiem Lake or the Old Quarter. During the wars, the tower was not hit, but in the 1960s, it stopped working.

For years, the tower was surrounded by many stalls, but in 2003, these stalls were closed. The ancient water tower stood in its original form until early April 2010, when the tower was refurbished.

3. Vietnam National Museum of History

The National Museum of Vietnam History was founded on the material basis of the Louis Finot, a museum of the Ecole Française d’Extreme-Orient (French School of the Far East) which was built in 1926 and completed in 1932.

In 1958, the Vietnam Government officially took over this cultural building and started to research, collect and supplement materials and objects, converting the contents from eastern arts into national history. On 3 September 1958, the National Museum of Vietnam History was officially opened for visitors.

The main exhibition system is the vivid historical book of Vietnamese nation from the prehistory (about 300,000-400,000 years) to the August 1945 Revolution. With an exhibition area of over 2,200 square meters and nearly 7,000 original artifacts, the main exhibition system is arranged chronologically.

The basic storehouses now keep more than 100,000 specimens and artifacts of different materials, including many rare and valuable items, especially the collections of objects dating back the ancient cultures (Hoa Binh-Bac Son, Dong Son), Vietnamese ancient glazed ceramics, Champa stone sculptures, and bronze items under the Le-Nguyen Dynasties.

The museum is situated at the back of the Hanoi Opera House. It is in 1 Trang Tien Street, 216 Tran Quang Khai Street, Hanoi.

4. Chu Van An High School

The school was established in 1908 by the French with the name Lycée du Protectorat for the purpose of training personnel for the ruling apparatus of France in Northern Vietnam. In addition, it was known as Buoi School or Chu school. Hanoi people often call it Buoi School because it was located in Ke Buoi area. Not only that, the name "Buoi School" is also how students express their patriotism in the French colonial period. In 1945, it was renamed national high school of Chu Van An and that name has been maintained until now.

This school is known as a beautiful school bearing the hallmark of the French. Octagonal Building is the most outstanding structure in Chu Van An School. The structure used to be Schneider Villa (La villa Schneider), named after the host of the villa Henri Schneider, a French owner of a paper shop. There was a time the building was unoccupied and seriously damaged. In 1999, with the financial aid from le-de-France region in France, the Octagonal Building was repaired and used as school library. Nowadays, this building is an impressive architectural structure on the side of West Lake.

5. Presidential Palace

Presidential Palace in Hanoi is a three-storey structure located on the north of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Presidential Palace stands as a memento of French contribution to the architectural splendour in Indochina. This mustard-yellow palace was built from 1900 to 1906 to function as the living and operational bases of the governors-general of Indo-China. Located on Hung Vuong Street and Hoang Van Thu Street, the designs of this palace were conceived by Auguste Henri Vildieu, the French architect officially appointed for Vietnam. In 1945, the building was renamed Presidential Palace. The Palace is still the Palace for the President. It is used mostly in national ceremonies or national receptions for diplomats and foreign leaders.

The architecture is a mirror of the French essence. The only tropical character of the villa is the surrounding mangoes. The Renaissance style is reflected in the aedicule, a formal piano reached by a grand staircase, and broken pediments, classical columns and quoins. The interior is lavish. The Grand Ceremony Room is designed in accordance with the King Louis XIV. Meanwhile, the Grand Dining Room is the Renaissance. Lastly, the private room of the General Governor reflects the ambience of French Emperor style. Of course, each General Governor sometimes ordered renovation. The Palace has a timeless beauty beyond time and space.