FITO Museum
FITO Museum in Ho Chi Minh City showcases over 3,000 artifacts related to traditional Vietnamese medicine, offering insights into the country’s rich medical heritage.
Planning your visit
The FITO Museum documents traditional Vietnamese medicine, a system that draws on Chinese theory but developed its own distinct practice — thuoc nam, southern medicine, using local plants, as distinct from the imported thuoc bac. Over 3,000 objects across several floors of a purpose-built house in District 10 cover the herbs, the preparation, the practitioners and the texts, including material dating back to the Stone Age and manuscripts by the physicians who codified Vietnamese practice, Tue Tinh in the fourteenth century and Hai Thuong Lan Ong in the eighteenth.
The building itself is worth the visit: constructed in traditional style with carved wood, salvaged architectural elements from old houses across the country, and a reconstructed pharmacy and traditional practitioner's consulting room. The knife-and-block for chopping roots, the grinding boats, the lacquered medicine cabinets with their hundreds of small drawers — these convey the craft dimension of the practice.
Tours are guided and included, and a tea tasting usually closes the visit. Allow around an hour.
It sits outside the main District 1 tourist area but is a short taxi ride. The main booking is an admission ticket. Current availability is shown below.
Before you book
Where is FITO Museum?
FITO Museum is in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for FITO Museum?
Allow an hour. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Do I need to book FITO Museum in advance?
Tickets can be bought on the door at quiet times, but booking ahead fixes the date and avoids the queue at busy ones. Live availability is shown on this page.
