365 Best Sights in Vietnam

This one of the most beautiful beaches in the area, and although two state-run resorts own part of the casuarina-lined golden sands, the remainder is available for strolling and swimming. There's a small collection of thatched huts containing deck chairs, which can be rented, as well as a few vendors selling drinks and snacks. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: swimming; walking.

Literally translated as "fresh water lake," the artificial lake has become the town centerpiece with swan-shape paddleboats, garden cafés, a children's playground, and green space. Ho Nuoc Ngot usually hosts the opening ceremony for the annual Ghe Ngo boat races, part of the moon and harvest festival Ok Om Bok, one of the most important celebrations for the southern Vietnamese Khmer community. The boat racing, which takes place on the adjacent Maspero River the 13th, 14th, and 15th days of the 10th lunar month (usually October/November), honors the half-snake water god Naga and symbolically see the rains off to the ocean at the end of the growing season.

The Hoa Binh Dam on the Đà River is the second-largest hydroelectric dam in Southeast Asia. Experts say it produces about 27% of Vietnam's electricity. The reservoir is an epic place to go boating, kayaking, or swimming during the summer in Mai Chau. On a darker note, the dam's construction forcibly moved more than 89,000 residents, and dam displacement can be a controversial topic in Vietnam.

This ancient town is an interesting excursion on a number of different levels. Significantly, it was the first capital of independent Vietnam, and equally arresting is its stirring location amid the karst scenery that distinguishes Ninh Binh Province. Both the stunning natural surroundings of limestone outcrops and meandering streams and Hoa Lu's status as a former seat of power make for a worthy addition to any travel itinerary. Consider hiring a guide to enhance your experience.

The Dinh Tien Hoang Temple at Hoa Lu honors the emperor who established the capital here. The musty, dimly lit back chamber here houses statues of the king and his three sons. The main hall has been heavily restored, and much of the wood construction visible today is from renovations done in the 17th century. In the temple, courtyard stands a 3-foot-high sculpture made of stone. The dragon lying atop it is meant to symbolize the king sleeping, while unicorns stand guard on each side to protect him. To the left of the temple is a small structure containing three stone stelae inscribed with the king's blessings and details about various restorations. In 1696, the entire temple compound was shifted from its original northward orientation, the direction of evil according to Taoist belief, to face the more auspicious east. In 1898, Emperor Nguyen Thanh Thai had the temple raised 2 feet as a gesture of respect to Dinh Tien Hoang. The entire walled-in compound was designed in the shape of the Chinese character meaning "country."

The Le Dai Hanh Temple is named after the general who became the first emperor of the dynasty in 980. The back chamber here houses ornate wooden statues of Le Dai Hanh, his son Tri Trung, and one of his five wives, Duong Van Nga, arguably the most interesting of the three figures. Upon the emperor's death, Duong Van Nga beseeched the head military mandarin of the time to prevent Chinese invaders from entering the country. She promised that she'd take away the rule of her six-year-old son and put it in the mandarin's hands, marrying him if he succeeded. When the mandarin repelled the Chinese, she made good on both promises. Her lifetime saw her become the wife of two kings, as well as the mother of two kings—the only woman with such a distinction in Vietnamese history. Depending on the angle from which you view her statue, her face will appear to reflect one of three feelings: seriousness over her daily affairs, sadness for the death of her husbands, and a half-smile of satisfaction after the military mandarin defeated the invading Chinese forces and reinstalled her as queen.

A grand palace in humble Bac Ha, this unexpected and somewhat outlandish structure was built by the French between 1914 and 1921 to keep the fractious Flower H'mong chief, the so-called Cat King, Hoang A Tuong, happy. The result is one of the more striking architectural sights in this part of Vietnam, resembling a fusion of a French château and a church.

Sapa is part of this mountainous 7,400-acre landscape covered by temperate and subtemperate forests. The reserve provides a habitat for 66 species of mammals—tigers, leopards, monkeys, and bears among them—16 of which, including the Asiatic black bear, are considered endangered. An impressive 347 species of birds, including the red-vented barbet and the collared finchbill, can be found only in these mountains. Among the area's geological resources are minerals from sediments deposited in the Mesozoic and Paleozoic periods. From the Muong Hoa River to the peak of Mt. Fansipan, the eastern boundary of the reserve is formed by a ridge of marble and calcium carbonate. Also found in this region is kaolinite, or China clay, used in the making of porcelain.

Guided walking tours of the nature reserve are recommended and are easily arranged through hotels, guesthouses, and tour agencies in town. Motorbike drivers will be happy to take you down the road from Sapa for a full day of hiking, swimming in waterfall pools, and visiting H'mong and Thai villages. Hoteliers and tour companies can also make arrangements for you.

Visitors age 16 and up are required to buy a ticket at 120,000d to enter Old Town, unless you are simply shopping, though each ticket (despite being printed with the words "valid for 24 hours") is valid for the duration of your stay. The ticket has five tear-off coupons. These are for entrance to your choice of five of the 21 ticket-only sites in Old Town. Eighty percent of the ticket proceeds go directly back into Old Town renovations and paying the guides and families who open their private homes to visitors. There are four ticket offices scattered around the ancient city blocks.

One of the local attractions offered through the Heritage Pass, this 200-year-old house has 30-minute musical performances daily. In the workshop, children and adults can make Hoi An's traditional silk lanterns or paint masks at additional costs. Tickets are available on the corner of Bach Dang and Chau Thuong Van beside the Japanese Covered Bridge.

The hour-long craft workshops run daily (bookable on-site), and are great for kids.

Every month on the 14th day of the lunar calendar, Hoi An closes Old Town to traffic, switches off its lights, and hosts the magical Lantern Festival. Domestic travelers flock to the streets, and temples and pagodas open their doors for ancestor worship. Most people choose to watch the festivities from a restaurant balcony, but to really get the best experience you need to tackle the crowds head on and mingle with the locals at street level. Festivities start at sunset and this is the best time to visit the candlelit pagodas (which are free to enter on full moon) and take in the street entertainment, pop-up poetry reading groups, and live music. As darkness falls, approach the small river boats that line Bach Dang and arrange for a half-hour cruise, ending at An Hoi, where a short stroll on quieter streets lined with restaurants leads you to the glowing night lantern market where you can pick up souvenirs and grab a taxi back to your hotel.

As dusk falls, the area directly opposite the walking bridge connecting the Old Town to An Hoi Peninsula is lit by hundreds of silk lanterns, spilling out from little wooden chalets that wouldn't look out of place at a European Christmas market. In the daytime you can come here to watch the lanterns being crafted from wafts of silk and bamboo, but it's not until night, when the lantern sellers are joined by a whole host of mobile craft, jewelry, and souvenir stalls, that this area really comes alive. The night market has the biggest selection of lanterns in town and you can even design your own. While the stalls in between are not particularly notable, you can pick up cute little trinkets as souvenir for very reasonable prices.

Only accessible at low-tide across treacherous slippery rocks, Hon Ba Island is home to the Mieu Ba (lady) temple, dedicated to the patron goddess of sailors and fishermen. If you visit, follow the crowds and watch the tide carefully to make sure you don't get stranded. Other than restrooms, there are no facilities on the island.

Other than Con Son, Hon Cau (Big Island) is the only island in the archipelago with a water source. It was also used as a prison island by the French—one of the more notable inmates was the late Vietnamese prime minister, Pham Van Dong, who was incarcerated here from 1930 to 1931. Hon Cau is home to a turtle nesting beach and the tours offered by the national park headquarters include a visit to the prison site, as well as snorkeling along the coral reefs just offshore.

The rocky promontory provides good views of the coastline and the surrounding islands. Unsurprisingly, it has become an extremely popular spot for sunset photos. If you look northwest you can see Fairy Mountain (Nui Co Tien), said to resemble a reclining fairy. A stop at Hon Chong can be combined with Po Nagar Cham Towers, as they are both on the north side of the Cai River.

The highlands around Son La are naturally blessed with veins of underground hot water. Vietnam, by and large, doesn't really have much in the way of a communal bathing culture. As a result, hot spring tourism, even in a place as naturally predisposed as this, is still only burgeoning.

Several smaller highland villages surround the small city, each with its own hot springs, some of which are open to the public. If you feel like soaking your tired bones for a while, have your driver or a motorbike taxi take you to either Phu Mau Ville or Mong Ville. Both are only a few miles from the main road and are open to the public. The hot springs at Phu Mau Ville are cheaper and have been open to travelers for longer, so the quality of the water and the facilities themselves have definitely seen better days. Mon Ville is a little further, newer, and a little more expensive (by a few dollars). Its spring water is clearer and the surrounding scenery more beautiful.

In French-colonial days, the Hotel Continental's open-air terrace—then known as Café de la Hien—was the town's most sought-after lunch spot; during the Vietnam War, journalists and diplomats met there to discuss the latest events. Now, the terrace has been enclosed (for smokers) and is part of Le Bourgeois Restaurant. The hotel features in Graham Greene's The Quiet American and the author himself was a long-time resident in room 214. Today, people who want to see and be seen can sit down to a coffee at one of the outdoor tables directly across the street from the Opera House.

Built in the late 19th century, the Majestic was one of the first French-colonial hotels, and it still has the elegant style to show for it. Head to the rooftop bar for an excellent view of the Saigon River.

The reason to visit this museum is to see the beautiful wooden structure that houses the antiques, rather than the displays themselves. Built in 1845, the grand panel house is an architectural wonder, with walls inscribed with Emperor Thieu Tri's poetry and ceilings festooned with beautiful carvings. Inside there are miscellaneous royal knickknacks, such as wooden incense boxes, many inlaid with mother-of-pearl, plus statues, old weapons, and jewelry. Unfortunately, the whole experience is let down by lackluster guides and limited information available.

Built in 1838, the brightly painted Chinese-style pagoda features elaborate wrought iron gates, as well as inlaid scenes and animal figures made by intricate mosaics of ceramic and porcelain pottery below and along the roof. If you're lucky, a monk will invite you to sit for tea and persimmons.

More than 3,000 artifacts of pottery recovered from the rivers in Hue are exhibited in this private museum. Its mammoth collection has been collected by Dr. Thai Kim Lan and her late brother since the early 1980s. Some of the earthenware items date back thousands of years. The museum, located in a verdant garden by the Perfume River, is a part of the Thai family’s property, which includes traditional panel houses used as the family’s ancestral temple and Dr. Lan’s residence. It’s a special experience to meet this knowledgeable owner and indulge in her beautiful stories about pottery, culture, and the lifestyle of Hue.

Nestled at the foot of Hon Vuon Hill, Huyen Khong Son Thuong is a monastery and the serene home of about 60 Theravada monks. Founded by Ven. Gioi Duc (Silaguna) in 1989, the monastery sits in a beautiful garden with five water lily and lotus ponds and is surrounded by pine trees. Unlike the majority of Buddhist temples in Hue in which designs are influenced by the Nguyen Dynasty’s royal style, its architecture is simpler and is decorated with calligraphy poems that are composed by the monks and written in Vietnamese rather than traditional Chinese characters. Apart from beautiful bonsai trees, hundreds of orchid plants bloom here year round. If you’d like to venture further, take a one-hour hike to the top of Hon Vuon Hill, where you'll get a stunning view of hills, lakes, the iconic Huong River, and Hue’s cityscape expanding into the horizon.

While the mud baths are the main attraction at I-Resort, there are also warm mineral pools, mineral water spas, waterfalls, and a kids' play area, all set within landscaped grounds 20 minutes northwest of Nha Trang's tourist center. Packages can be purchased that include a massage, mud bath, and a "light bite" that's really a full meal.

The Imperial City, also known as the Imperial Enclosure, was once a complex of palaces and pavilions where civil and religious ceremonies took place. Inside it was the Forbidden Purple City, where the royal family lived. Now the Imperial City has buried the few remnants of its past glory beneath the sporadic vegetation that has taken over the ruins, but restoration work is in progress and the site still conveys a sense of splendor. There are four gateways into the enclosure: the Gate of Peace (Cua Hoa Binh), the Gate of Humanity (Cua Hien Nhan), the Gate of Virtue (Cua Chuong Duc), and the South Gate (Ngo Mon). You can only get to the Imperial City after you have entered the citadel.

Cheap tours take groups to one or a few islands, such as Hon Mieu, stopping for time at the beach or seafood restaurants. Unspoiled islands these are not, but it is an inexpensive day out in the sun and on the water. For a more tranquil experience, go snorkeling with a scuba diving company. Resorts and travel agents can arrange upscale experiences and private boats. A stay at Whale Island Resort might also satisfy your itch for island life.

The Cantonese community built this structure—the finest Chinese pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City—in 1909. A mixture of Taoist, Buddhist, and ethnic myths provides the sources for the small pagoda's multitude of statues and carvings, incorporating just about everything from the King of Hell to a Buddha of the Future. Slowly strolling around the interior to view them may be preferable to attempting to decipher the significance of each of the numerous, distinct deities. Take a moment to note the main altar, the side panel's depiction of hell, and, in the side room, the miniature female figures representing the range of human qualities. There are usually a few vendors at the entrance selling turtles. Buddhists believe that releasing these turtles into the pagoda's turtle pond will generate merit.

Erected in the 1600s, these are the few remaining tombs of Hoi An's old Japanese community. Although the tombs—tombstones, really—are not nearly as grand as those in Hue, it's worth the trek if only to see the "suburbs" of Hoi An. En route you'll encounter families sitting in their front yards and field workers harvesting rice. Buried in the first tomb along the dirt path clearly visible in the front yard of a family home is a Japanese merchant named Masai. About another 1,500 feet ahead is the most famous of Hoi An's Japanese tombs, the burial place of a Japanese merchant named Yajirobei, who died in 1647. Perched right in the middle of a working rice field, his tomb has an almost supernatural feel. The main tombs are easily accessible by bicycle---just head along Hai Ba Trung Street and go north of Old Town. To find the tombs, keep your eyes peeled for the white-and-yellow signs positioned along the right side of the road. (Cars are not recommended because the tombs are at the end of narrow, rugged paths.)

Continue 5 km (3 miles) to the end of Hai Ba Trung for a refreshing dip and lunch at one of the restaurants on An Bang beach.

This small memorial between West Lake and Truc Bach Lake marks the capture of one of the Vietnam War's most famous American POWs. On October 26, 1967, Navy lieutenant commander John McCain's jet fighter was shot down, sending him parachuting into Truc Bach Lake. Suffering from badly broken bones and severe beatings, he was imprisoned in the "Hanoi Hilton" and other North Vietnamese prisons for more than five years. He went on to become an Arizona senator and a vocal advocate of reconciliation between the United States and his former captors, and was a presidential candidate in 2008. The underwhelming red-sandstone memorial features a bound and suspended prisoner with his head hanging low and the letters U.S.A.F. (the memorial is incorrectly labeled, as McCain belonged to the navy and not the air force).

A small community of about 30 ethnic Mnong households on the southern shores of Lak Lake, Buon Jun Village is an interesting place to stroll and see the traditional raised bamboo or wood longhouses (and the more modern concrete versions), while getting a glimpse of daily life which may include fishing in a dugout canoe, making rice wine in jars, or watching an elephant stroll by. Rustic homestays in a longhouse can also be arranged (be advised that bathrooms are outside). The village is sometimes a stop on motorcycle tours.

Built in 1897 by a French architect, the lighthouse lies 32 km (20 miles) south of Phan Thiet, a scenic drive along arid, windswept coast. Boats to the rocky islet 300 meters offshore cost 60,000d per person. The lighthouse interior is not open to the public, but DIY camping is allowed. As is the case with much of this region, trash is an issue.

Surrounded by graceful palms, the beautiful Khmer Theravada Buddhist temple includes a main ceremonial hall, monk's quarters, stupas, and sala. Originally constructed in the 16th century, when the area was part of the Khmer empire, it was rebuilt in the French-Khmer style at the turn of the 20th century. The exterior of the main hall is adorned in the Khmer tradition with gilded wood carvings, while inside the columns are painted with Chinese motifs of dragons and flowers in black and gold.

One of the biggest battles of the war—and one of the most significant American losses—took place on January 21, 1968, at Khe Sanh, the site of a U.S. Army base 145 km (90 miles) northwest of Hue. General William Westmoreland, the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam from 1965 to 1968, became convinced in late 1967 that the North Vietnamese were massing troops in the area in preparation for a campaign to seize South Vietnam's northernmost provinces. Relying on an analogy with the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, he reinforced Khe Sanh with thousands of Marines and ordered the dropping of more than 75,000 tons of explosives on the surrounding area. The North Vietnamese suffered horrendous casualties—estimates are that as many as 10,000 North Vietnamese soldiers and hundreds of U.S. Marines lost their lives. Although the debate continues, many military experts believe that the battle at Khe Sanh was merely a feint designed to pull American forces away from the population centers of South Vietnam in preparation for a massive assault by the North Vietnamese in the Tet Offensive of early 1968. Although there is only a small museum commemorating the battle at Khe Sanh, a visit to the base provides a sense of how isolated and besieged the U.S. Marines must have felt as they were bombarded from the surrounding mountains. In the museum, which opens whenever tours come through the area, there are a number of interesting pictures of the battle and a book for visitors' comments that reflects the continuing debate about the American presence in Vietnam.