In order to offer the public a representative selection of the numerous archaeological finds excavated since 2002 on the site at 18 rue Hoàng Diệu, the exhibition space is divided into five rooms tracing the chronological sequence of the five major dynasties that have ruled Vietnam over the past thousand years. The design of the museum is organized around two main themes, addressed in each of the rooms: architecture (decorative roof elements, tiles, paving stones, bases of columns, etc.) and daily life within the old imperial city (ceramics, earthenware and iron objects, etc.).
Along with the opening of the new museum, the EFEO Center in Hanoi has organised an exhibition entitled De la transformation au démantèlement de la citadelle de Hanoi au XIXe siècle: enjeux politiques et aménagement de l'espace urbain, [From the reconfiguration to the dismantling of the Hanoi citadel during the 19th century: political stakes and development of urban space]. After an initial showing at the French Cultural Center in late September, the exhibition is moving to the heart of the central sector of the Citadel for a three-months period beginning on October 2.