Before 1954, it was named the Palace of the Governor-General of Indochina (French: Palais du Gouvernement général de l'Indochine, Vietnamese: Phủ Toàn quyền Đông Dương).

The only visual cues that it is located in Vietnam at all are mango trees growing on the grounds.

The yellow palace stands behind wrought iron gates flanked by sentry boxes.

It incorporates elements of Italian Renaissance design, including: When Vietnam achieved independence in 1954, Ho Chi Minh was claimed to have refused to live in the grand structure for symbolic reasons, although he still received state guests there; he eventually built a traditional Vietnamese stilt house and carp pond on the grounds.

On February 27, 2019, Donald Trump officially met Kim Jong-un for the second time in Hanoi's Presidential Palace.