Museum of Cham Sculpture, Da Nang

How much are tickets?

Admission is 60,000 VND per visit — the price on Da Nang's official tourism portal, a little over two US dollars — and the audio guide is free on top. Students pay 10,000 VND with a student card, according to Vietnam Airlines' and Vinpearl's guides. For children and other concessions the portal simply says to ask the museum.

Pay at the desk by the entrance, in cash (VND); unofficially a Vietnamese QR code sometimes works, but don't count on a card. There's no need to book: queues are rare, and the resellers selling online tickets charge more for the same entry.

Entry is reportedly free on some major public holidays, when the rooms fill with school groups and local families.

What is the Museum of Cham Sculpture?

Champa was a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that held the coast of today's central and southern Vietnam for more than a thousand years. Its sculptors carved gods and dancers out of sandstone and built brick tower-temples. The best-known ruins are at My Son, near Hoi An — and the finest carvings from there and other temple sites ended up here.

Scholars of the École française d'Extrême-Orient first gathered the finds in a riverside garden. The building was begun in 1915 on archaeologist Henri Parmentier's plan and opened in 1919. Galleries were added in the 1930s, a two-storey wing in 2002, and the whole museum was restored in 2016.

The architects worked Cham motifs into the façade, so the yellow building with its colonnade and courtyard is a pleasure in itself. The rooms are still arranged Parmentier's way — by find site — which makes the change in style from century to century easy to follow as you walk through.

What to see: the highlights

• Tra Kieu altar (Tra Kieu room) — a National Treasure: a pedestal for Shiva's linga, ringed by apsara dancers and gandharva musicians, 10th century. The most graceful carving in the building.
• My Son E1 altar (My Son room) — another National Treasure, 7th century, with hermits in a forest and musicians around its base. One of Champa's earliest masterpieces.
• Dong Duong altar (Dong Duong room) — from Champa's great Buddhist monastery, late 9th to early 10th century: scenes from the Buddha's life and fierce, heavy-featured guardians you'll recognise instantly afterwards.
• Ganesha — Shiva's elephant-headed son, 8th century, seated and serene. Kids' favourite.
• Shiva and lingas — Champa's chief god turns up in every room: as a statue, as a face on a linga, as the reason for each altar.
• Apsaras and the “flying warrior” — celestial dancers on the reliefs and a 10th-century warrior from My Son C1.
• Thap Mam room — the late 12th–13th-century style from Binh Dinh: Garuda, dragons, makaras and the gajasimha, a lion with an elephant's head and another National Treasure.
• Tara — a statue of the bodhisattva (Lakshmindra Lokeshvara), also a National Treasure.
• Courtyard and verandas — some pieces stand outside under frangipani trees; the best light for photos.

Is there an audio guide?

Yes, and it's free. Join the museum Wi-Fi, open the audio guide page (the address is posted at the entrance), pick a language and either follow the suggested route or scan the QR code next to a piece. It comes in English, French and Vietnamese. Bring earphones — the rooms are quiet.

Groups of five or more can have a museum guide in English, French or Vietnamese; English- or French-speaking guides need booking at least three days ahead. Otherwise, a private guide from Da Nang or Hoi An can be booked through the button on this page.

Is the Cham Museum worth it, and how long do you need?

An hour covers the main rooms. Listen to the audio guide at each altar and linger in the courtyard and it's more like 1.5–2 hours. The galleries are shaded and the courtyard has trees, so it's a decent place to sit out the midday heat.

It's worth it if you have any interest in Hindu art or early Southeast Asia — nowhere else has this much Cham sculpture in one place. It's close to essential before a trip to My Son: the ruins there are brick towers, while the finest altars and reliefs are here. Honestly, if sculpture leaves you cold and you have one day in Da Nang, spend it on the beach or the Marble Mountains.

My Son Sanctuary: a separate day trip

My Son is a valley of ruined brick temples to Shiva built between the 4th and 13th centuries, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. It's 45–50 km southwest of Da Nang and 36 km from Hoi An, so most people go from Hoi An, early in the morning before the heat.

Plan it as its own half or full day: roughly an hour to 90 minutes each way and 2–3 hours on site (unofficial). The best order is museum first, My Son second — here you'll learn who Shiva, Ganesha and the apsaras are and see the altars whole; at My Son you'll see where they once stood.

Cham Museum or My Son?

My Son distances and status from English Wikipedia; time on site from travel guides (unofficial).

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Da Nang's places with a past, scored by YesGo. Tap a column header to sort.

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How to do it right

• Start in the My Son room, then Tra Kieu and Dong Duong — the styles run roughly in date order.
• Play the audio guide at least at the three National Treasure altars; without it they're easy to walk past.
• Heading to My Son? See the museum before the trip, not after.
• The best photo light is in the courtyard, by the frangipani and the stone pedestals.
• On a hot day the museum is a good midday refuge, right by the riverside.
• Friday, Saturday or Sunday? Keep the evening for the Dragon Bridge show five minutes away.
• Give kids a mission: find Ganesha and the lion with an elephant's head.

Questions