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The presidential palace of the old South Vietnamese regime, which has been preserved as a museum, almost as it was when the Republic of Vietnam ceased to exist in April 1975. A striking piece of modern architecture, designed by Paris-trained Ngo Viet Thu in the 1960s.

26 photographs - click any one to see an enlargement (Please see the note on the home page about popup blockers).

The palace from the approach road
The palace from the approach road
One of the conference rooms
One of the conference rooms
The large reception hall
The large reception hall
The mural on the back wall of the same hall
The mural on the back wall of the same hall
Another conference room
Another conference room
The mural in that conference room
The mural in that conference room
The map room
The map room
A private office
A private office
The president's International Reception Room
The president's International Reception Room
Superb carpet in one of the lobbies, showing the dragon and the phoenix, looking through into...
Superb carpet in one of the lobbies, showing the...
The vice president's reception room off the lobby with the carpet
The vice president's reception room off the lobby...
View from the balcony above the main entrance
View from the balcony above the main entrance
Incredible lacquer-work mural on the subject of the first king, in the Salle de Présentation
Incredible lacquer-work mural on the subject of the...
Delightful courtyard on the second floor
Delightful courtyard on the second floor
Official gifts from foreign visitors at the side of the courtyard
Official gifts from foreign visitors at the side of...
Looking straight down Dai Lo Le Duan from the top floor
Looking straight down Dai Lo Le Duan from the top floor
Old military helicopter on the roof, with markings where VC spy Nguyen Thang Trung bombed the palace in the final weeks of the war
Old military helicopter on the roof, with markings...
A view from the roof
A view from the roof
In the music room: Ngo Tuyet Mai demonstrates the ethereal (but Hank-Marvin-echoed) dan bau
In the music room: Ngo Tuyet Mai...
A particularly elaborate t'rung (seen from behind)
A particularly elaborate t'rung (seen from behind)
Ngo Tuyet Mai demonstrates the particularly daft ghim pum (or something like that) with surprising fluency
Ngo Tuyet Mai demonstrates the particularly daft ghim...
In the basement: the radio room, preserved for posterity
In the basement: the radio room, preserved for posterity
They don't make 'em like this any more
They don't make 'em like this any more
The teleprinter room
The teleprinter room
The president's combat duty bedroom
The president's combat duty bedroom
A preserved tank in the grounds, with a fighter plane in the background
A preserved tank in the grounds, with a fighter plane...

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