Phu Quoc Island
Just off the southern tip of Phu Quoc, these 15 islands and islets are a paradise of white sand and blue waters. They can be visited by chartered boat for…
Must-see attractions in Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City
Delightfully fronted by greenery and opening to an interior blaze of red, gold, green and yellow, this is one of the most beautifully ornamented temples…
Imperial Citadel of Thang Long
Hanoi
Added to Unesco's World Heritage List in 2010, Hanoi's Imperial Citadel was the hub of Vietnamese military power for over 1000 years. Ongoing…
National Museum of Vietnamese History
Hanoi
Built between 1925 and 1932, this architecturally impressive museum was formerly home to the École Française d’Extrême-Orient. Its architect, Ernest…
Danang
This small but important museum contains the world’s largest collection of Cham artefacts, housed in buildings marrying French-colonial architecture with…
Ninh Binh Province
Set amid glorious limestone pinnacles, this tranquil reserve comprises a reedy wetland that’s popular with birdwatchers. Among the bird species that have…
Hanoi
This fabulous collection relating to Vietnam's ethnic minorities features well-presented tribal art, artefacts and everyday objects gathered from across…
Ha Tien
This small speck of an island, covered in lush vegetation and with clear blue waters, has a sordid 500-year history as a pirate haven that only came to an…
Hanoi
In the heart of the Old Quarter, the small Bach Ma Temple (literally 'White Horse Temple') is said to be the oldest temple in the city, though much of the…
Hanoi
This excellent and highly informative museum showcases the roles of women in Vietnamese society and culture. Labelled in English and French, exhibits…
Ho Chi Minh City
Cholon’s main market has a great clock tower and a central courtyard with gardens. Much of the business here is wholesale but it’s popular with tour…
Hanoi
One of the Old Quarter’s best-restored properties, this traditional merchants’ house is sparsely but beautifully decorated, with rooms filled with fine…
Phan Rang & Thap Cham
These imposing Cham towers date from the end of the 13th century. Built from brick as Hindu temples, they stand on a platform at the top of Cho’k Hala, an…
Ho Chi Minh City
The city's landmark French-era post office is a period classic, designed by Marie-Alfred Foulhoux (though often credited to Gustave Eiffel) and built…
Immaculate Conception Cathedral
Kon Tum
Built entirely from wood, this stunning cathedral from the French era has a dark frontage, gold trim and wide colonnades. Known to the locals as the …
Mekong Delta
Around 35km southeast of Cao Lanh is the magnificent 52-hectare Xeo Quyt Forest near My Hiep village. One vast swamp beneath a beautiful thick canopy of…
Southwest Highlands
Built only in 2014, this large and splendid Buddhist temple, surrounded by water features and bonsai trees, sits south of the city centre. Its proudest…
Mekong Delta
Also known as Phuoc Dien Tu, this temple is halfway up the western (far) side of Sam Mountain, with amazing views of the surrounding countryside. The…
Quy Nhon
The long sweep of Quy Nhon’s beachfront extends from the port in the northeast to distant wooded hills in the south. It’s a beautiful stretch of sand and…
Dao Tien Endangered Primate Species Centre
Cat Tien National Park
Set on an island in the Dong Nai River, this rehabilitation centre with a stellar reputation hosts golden-cheeked gibbons, pygmy lorises (both endemic to…
Hoi An
Built for worshipping family ancestors of the Tran (陳) clan, this chapel (more accurately an ancestral hall) dates back to 1802. It was commissioned by…
Chau Doc
This immense 800,000-hectare forest is home to an astounding number of wading birds. Much of the wetland is off-limits to visitors so that the birds'…
Can Tho
In a fantastic location facing the Can Tho River and decorated with huge, constantly burning incense coils, this Chinese temple is set inside the…
Mekong Delta
This wonderfully atmospheric 1895 house on the riverfront was once the residence of Huynh Thuy Le, the son of a rich Chinese family who had an affair with…
Mekong Delta
Originally built in wood in the 18th century, this magnificent Khmer pagoda was completely rebuilt in 1923 but proved to be too small. From 1969 to 1985…
Hanoi
Two kilometres south of Hoan Kiem Lake, this temple was founded in 1142. A statue shows the two Trung sisters (from the 1st century CE) kneeling with…
Kon Tum
This museum is one of the region's best, with good lighting and clear English text detailing local religious and spiritual life, including displays on the…
Robert Taylor Museum of Worldwide Arms
Vung Tau
Come here for a stupendous private collection of military arms, uniforms and paraphernalia from across the globe. One section is dedicated to the conflict…
Buon Ma Thuot
This excellent museum takes you through the history of Dak Lak province, from stone tools and bronze burial drums to the American War and its aftermath,…
Con Dao Islands
Perhaps the best all-round island to visit is Bay Canh, to the east of Con Son Island, which has lovely beaches, old-growth forest, mangroves, coral reefs…
Hoi An
By Unesco decree, more than 800 historic buildings in Hoi An have been preserved, so much of the Old Town looks as it did several centuries ago. Eighteen…
Con Dao Islands
The notorious cells dubbed 'tiger cages' were built in 1940 by the French to incarcerate nearly 2000 political prisoners; the USA continued using them in…
Bai Tu Long Bay
The spectacular islands of Bai Tu Long Bay, immediately northeast of Halong Bay, form Bai Tu Long National Park and are every bit as beautiful as their…
Con Dao Islands
The largest of the 11 jails on the island, this prison dates from 1862. Thousands of prisoners were held here, with up to 200 prisoners crammed into each…
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
Incorporating an above-water 400m-long zip line, followed by a swim into the cave and then exploration of a pitch-black passageway of oozing mud, it's…
Haiphong
Du Hang Pagoda was founded three centuries ago. It’s been rebuilt several times, but remains a fine example of traditional Vietnamese architecture and…
Ha Giang Province
This grandiose two-storey mansion was built for a local Hmong king by the French in the 1920s in Chinese-Hmong style. Set in a hidden valley in the tiny…
Tay Ninh
Home to the Cao Dai Great Temple (Thanh That Cao Dai), the Cao Dai Holy See, founded in 1926, is 4km east of Tay Ninh in the village of Long Hoa. As well…
Ho Chi Minh City
The inner walls of this sanctuary, famed as the repository of a sacred relic of the Buddha, are adorned with paintings depicting the Buddha’s life…
Hue
This tomb (completed in 1867) is the most popular, imposing and impressive of the royal mausoleums, designed by Emperor Tu Duc himself before his death…
