Skip to content The Can Tho Museum is the city’s main museum, a short taxi ride from the Ninh Kieu waterfront on the corner of Tran Quoc Toan street. It holds nearly 5,000 objects across about 3,000 square metres, and it’s laid out in themes rather than a single timeline.
What you’ll see
The collection tells the story of the delta in four strands. The first is the land itself, with how settlers reclaimed it and the tools they farmed with. The second is the peoples who live there: the Kinh (the Vietnamese majority), the Khmer, the Hoa (Chinese) and the Cham, each with costumes, musical instruments and religious objects, including items from the Khmer Ok Om Bok moon festival. The third is the wars of the 20th century, with weapons, photographs and documents. The fourth is river life: canoes, fishing gear, pottery and weaving.
Hours and entry
Guides to the museum quote free entry, and opening hours in two sessions with a closure over lunch, plus an evening session at weekends. It’s reported closed on some weekdays. Hours at state museums shift, so check on the day, and plan the visit for mid-morning or mid-afternoon.
How to fit it in
The floating market is a dawn activity, so the day after it is empty. A sensible order is the floating market at about 5:30 am, breakfast, a rest, then the museum and a walk to the old pagoda and the riverfront in the afternoon. The museum is only a few minutes from some other sights, including the city’s old pagodas, so it works as part of a loop.
Our Can Tho guide has the rest of the city, and the drive down from Saigon takes 2½-3½ hours by private car. If you’re staying a night, ask your driver to drop you at the hotel first.