360 Best Sights in Vietnam

Dien Bien Phu Street comes to an end at the minimally landscaped Ba Dinh Square, in the center of which flutters Hanoi's largest Vietnamese flag. This is where half a million northern Vietnamese gathered to hear Uncle Ho's Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945, and where, after Ho's death in 1969 (also on September 2), another 100,000 Hanoians gathered to pay homage. On the west side of the square is the mausoleum itself, a cold and squat cubicle that's nonetheless arresting in its simplicity and grandeur.

Across the square from the mausoleum and slightly to the left is the Ba Dinh Meeting Hall, the four-story headquarters of the Communist Party and the site where the National Assembly convenes. Across the square and to the right, where Dien Bien Phu Street meets the square, stands the huge and graceful Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Directly opposite the mausoleum and at the end of short Bac Son Road is the monument to Vietnam's revolutionary martyrs. A palm- and willow-shaded mansion to the right of the monument is the family home of former minister of defense General Vo Nguyen Giap, who orchestrated the siege at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. General Giap passed away in 2013.

A stop often included in countryside motorbike tours, Ba Ho Waterfalls aren't the most impressive around, but the beautiful one-hour journey there can be quite an adventure. The entrance to the waterfalls is at the end of a long and bumpy dirt track, and the waterfalls themselves are at the end of long hike and short climb over large rocks (that requires sturdy shoes). You'll be hot, dusty, and perhaps a little tired after the journey and hike, so take a dip under the waterfalls to get reinvigorated. If you're in search of more of a thrill, you'll no doubt encounter tour groups flinging themselves from rock ledges into the deeper waters. To avoid injury, don't jump into areas not marshaled by tour guides.

In a mangrove forest about 5 km (3 miles) from the township of Bac Lieu is a large bird sanctuary that is home to 46 species of birds, including the endangered painted stork and small king cormorant. An estimated 40,000 birds live here, within a 951-acre mangrove ecosystem. The best time to visit is when the birds nest during the rainy season between May and October. Time a visit for dawn or dusk, when thousands of birds take to the skies.

Bac My An is a small, gently sloping, white sandy stretch of beach located 7 km (4½ miles) east of Danang, just south of My Khe. Thanks to its pristine natural landscapes and clear water, Bac My An is a certified crowd-pleaser. Several luxury resorts have sprouted on the beach over the years. Water sports like canoeing, windsurfing, or diving are often complimentary experiences at the resorts. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: walking; swimming; solitude; sunrise.

With its temperate climate, rich biodiversity, and exquisite views, Bach Ma National Park is a must-see for wildlife lovers and those who want a break from Vietnam's heat. In 1932, the French built a hill station around the summit of Bach Ma with 139 villas, a post office, and a market, all 1,450 m (4,757 ft.) above sea level. Today it's the ultimate getaway for trekking in the jungle, swimming in pristine streams, showering under the 300-meter-high Do Quyen Waterfall, and admiring stunning sunsets or sunrises from Hai Vong Dai on Bach Ma's summit. The ultimate experience at Bach Ma is a private tour with Mr. Cam, the king of birds, who can call and talk to more than one hundred types of birds.

Vung Tau's most popular beach has golden sands that stretch for miles, but it's not the prettiest or the cleanest beach around. Quiet on weekdays, it's crowded on weekends, with locals who will be playing volleyball, football, and jogging. Back Beach is fine for swimming, but be aware that most of the locals swim fully clothed so parading around in a skimpy swimsuit may attract some stares. There are showers at the Imperial Hotel's Beach Club, which has a 250,000d entry fee. Amenities: food and drink; showers. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking.

Located 20 km (13 miles) south of Nha Trang center, Bai Dai Beach has fantastic sand and sea, but a deluge of luxury resort developments and bare-bones seafood shacks have damaged the aesthetic appeal. Another challenge is finding beach access without entering a seafood spot or resort, where you'll be expected to purchase food or leave. Some resorts might claim to own certain stretches of the beach, but they're actually open to the public (just don't enter through the resort itself). The best way to enjoy Bai Dai Beach is to go to one of the shacks and see what live seafood they have on offer, or indeed just have a few cold drinks between dips in the cool shallows. Jet Skis, surfboards, rafts, and kayaks are available for rent, and nearly every shack offers chairs, toilets, and showers with any food or drink purchase. This is one of the few spots where surfers can find waves through April. Bai Dai Beach continues 25 km (15½ miles) south to Cam Ranh Airport.

The best section is on the north end at the protected bay.

food and drink; showers; toilets; water sports.

surfing; swimming; walking.

Located 10 km (6 miles) south of Quy Nhon, via a beautiful stretch of coastline, Bai Xep village is a narrow, confusing warren of dwellings which intersect and descend until they eventually spit you out on a pristine little beach. The beach is now occupied by a handful of guesthouses and a resort, but this has barely taken away from the pristine feeling.

On the road to Can Tho, 15 km (9½ miles) from Long Xuyen, Bang Lang is home to an estimated 150,000 storks, which create an amazing spectacle at dawn and dusk. Eleven species of stork, egret, and heron have been identified in this 1.3-hectare sanctuary, which, sadly, isn't as well-kept as it should be. The sanctuary is named after the Queen’s Flower trees (bang lang) that used to line the road.

Built in 1933, Bao Dai's Summer Palace, on the south side of Xuan Huong Lake, is a wonderfully preserved example of modernist architecture. The palace houses the original 1930s French furnishings of Emperor Bao Dai, the last emperor of the Nguyen dynasty, who ruled from 1926 to 1945 with the support of the French. With hundreds of visitors tramping through each week, the palace is showing its age. If you manage to avoid a big tour group, it's possible to find a quiet spot that feels like it's been suspended in time. For a kitsch souvenir, you can have your photo taken wearing a traditional royal getup.

This small islet east of Con Son, Con Dao's main island, is covered by rain forest and mangroves and its Cat Lon beach is a turtle nesting ground from April to September each year. Visitors can hike up to a small lighthouse in the island's northeast, built 740 feet above sea level by the French in 1884 and still operational today. Tours to the island can be organized through the national park headquarters.

This bustling market, which is more than a century old, has a bit of a Jekyll-and-Hyde personality, and if you are unlucky enough to encounter pushy vendors, scammers, and pickpockets it won't exactly be an enjoyable experience. Stay alert, though, and you can have a lovely time exploring the 3,000 stalls. The most interesting section is the wet market at the back. Cheap T-shirts and other tourist goods are for sale in the front section, fabric and haberdasheries in the middle, and some great food stalls spring up beside the market at night.

A 20-minute ferry ride from My Tho (and then a 10-minute xe om ride) is Ben Tre, considered the Mekong Delta's coconut capital. Many Mekong Delta day trips from Ho Chi Minh City stop at Ben Tre, which has many interesting waterways and river islands to explore, as well as several coconut candy factories.

This wholesale market, in a colonial-era Chinese-style building about a half-hour drive from downtown, is not so much a shopping destination (unless you want to buy spices, herbal medicine, or textiles) as a spectacle to behold, particularly if you get here before 8 am to savor the frenetic atmosphere at its peak. With more than 2,000 stalls, Binh Tay can get pretty chaotic. In the central courtyard a small shrine honors the market's founder, Quach Dam (1863–1927), a disabled Chinese immigrant who started out collecting scrap before making his fortune. The food court inside serves a wide variety of Vietnamese street food and Chinese-influenced dishes—great for a replenishing brunch after an early arrival.

A symbol of contemporary Ho Chi Minh City, the 68-floor Bitexco Financial Tower is the city's second tallest building, and you can enjoy high-altitude views from the Saigon Skydeck on the 49th floor. This deck features interactive screens that provide information about a selection of streets and sights below.

This 50-acre park behind the Presidential Palace was designed by French landscape engineers in 1890. After defeating the French in Hanoi in late 1954, the state rebuilt the gardens and opened the grounds and its extensive network of trails to the public. Athletes in search of exercise congregate here for pickup soccer games, badminton, tai chi, and jogging. Lovers looking for seclusion head to the sculpture garden on the east side of the park, or cross the bridge to an island in the middle of the tree-shaded, preternaturally green lake. Unfortunately, the park doesn't have a great reputation with tourists due to its caged birds and monkeys, but it is a spot to get away from the crowds.

The wet market here is small, but a bustling hive of activity from early in the morning to dusk. Few foreign tourists visit Ca Mau, so expect a lot of attention if you walk through.

This 1930s Gothic-Romanesque cathedral seems an anachronism in a small Vietnamese town, but it's a reminder of Vietnam's colonial past. The bell tower stands 171 feet tall and its bells, which were cast in France, weigh in at a whopping 400–2,000 kilos (880–4,400 lbs.).

The smallest of the Mekong Delta's floating markets, with only 10 to 12 boats, this is an easy excursion from most of the region's homestays. Be aware, however, that the floating markets around Can Tho are much bigger and livelier. The benefit of this market is that it runs all day, until about 5 pm.

A bigger market than Phong Dien and used by many wholesalers, Cai Rang is crowded and noisy (with many tourist boats), but still fascinating. The market, about 6 km (4 miles) or 40 minutes by boat from Can Tho, starts trading at around 4 am, in the dark, and is usually finished by 10 am. It really is worth making a superearly start to watch dawn break over the market. Coffee and breakfast are included in most floating market tours from Can Tho.

Camp Carroll was one of the nine U.S. artillery bases located along the DMZ. It was home to the 3rd Marine Regiment and the most powerful artillery used during the war. Many battles were fought here, but the biggest and bloodiest of all was the Easter Tet Offensive when the North Vietnamese stormed the camp and the firebase fell into enemy hands. The site was cleared shortly after the war and is now a pepper plantation. The only visible remains of Camp Carroll are a small concrete platform and a few overgrown trenches. The turn-off to Camp Carroll is 5 km (3 miles) west of Cam Lo, 24 km (15 miles) northeast of Dakrong Bridge, and 37 km (23 miles) east of the Khe Sanh bus station.

Taking place every Saturday, this market is a worthy precursor to the extravaganza that is Bac Ha's Sunday trading jamboree. Indeed, Can Cau possibly feels more authentic due to its remoteness—it is 20 km (12 miles) north of Bac Ha—and the relative lack of tourist numbers. Like Bac Ha Market, it is a magnet for the local tribespeople. The colorful Flower H'mong are a noticeable presence, as are the Blue H'mong, distinguished by their striking zigzag pattern costume. All manner of items are traded here, including livestock and traditional medicine.

This mangrove forest, officially part of Ho Chi Minh City, covers an area the size of Singapore. The old forest was destroyed by aerial bombing and defoliants—primarily Agent Orange—during the Vietnam War because it had been a regular hiding place for the Vietcong, who would fire mortars at the supply ships on the Saigon River. Residents of the area were forced to leave, and it wasn't until 1978 that surviving Can Gio families returned, replanted the forest, and gradually resettled. Surprisingly, the area's wild animals also returned, and today there are monkeys, wild boar, deer, leopards, long-tailed macaques, crocodiles, birds, and giant fruitbats, although not all are easy to spot.

In 2000, the area was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the local economy is now supported by various eco-tourism ventures. Under the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve model, families live inside the reserve conducting small-scale aquaculture ventures to help preserve what's known as the "lungs of Ho Chi Minh City."

The government-owned Saigon Tourist has an "eco forest park" on Monkey Island that includes a bizarre animal circus with monkeys and crocodiles which we do not recommend.

The Can Tho Museum has a large collection of artifacts from the local region. Displays illustrate the lives of former Chinese and Khmer occupants, and there's a life-size pagoda and a traditional teahouse. You will find a lot of English signage here.

A French-era fort that was also used during the defense of Haiphong during the war with the United States, this hilltop landmark is also notable for offering some of the best views on Cat Ba Island. A motorbike taxi can take you most of the way up the hill from Cat Ba Town and wait while you explore the area. You will find two cannons, two bunkers, a small photography and memorabilia shop, and several lookout points that offer views of the sweeping vista that captures the karst-studded landscape in all its glory. There is also a small café serving tea and juice where you can relax if you've made the journey on foot.

The town of Tay Ninh is home to Cao Daism, an indigenous hybrid religion founded in 1926 by a mystic named Ngo Minh Chieu, and its impressive and brightly colored temple, the Cao Dai Holy See. The noon ceremony (others are held at 6 am, 6 pm, and midnight) at the temple is a fascinating and colorful religious vignette. A finely tuned hierarchical procession of men and women of all ages parades through the temple's great hall, where painted columns twined with carved dragons support sky-blue arched vaulting. Panels of stained glass with a cosmic-eye motif punctuate the walls. You are permitted to watch and take snapshots from the mezzanine. Ignore any feeling of complicity in what appears to be a collective voyeuristic sacrilege; the ceremony goes on as though you were not there.

Touted as the largest of its kind in central Vietnam, the colorful Cao Dai Temple lies 1 km (½ mile) west of the Song Han swing bridge, on the Bach Dang side of the Han river, and is a peaceful spot to escape the madness of the city. Built in 1920, the impressive temple is still in use today and serves as a place of worship for approximately 50,000 followers. During the day, visitors are welcome to tour the gardens, temple, and a small building behind that holds a display of historic artifacts and statues of popular saints. The main temple is sparsely furnished and, beyond the impressive divine eye that towers from behind the altar, most visitors are left unimpressed. But venture up the staircase at the entrance and you'll be treated to a beautiful view of the city that spans all the way across to the East Sea.

Established in 1926 in the southern Vietnamese city of Tay Ninh, Caodaism is a monotheistic religion, in which Cao Dai is believed to be the creator of the universe. The temple in My Tho is a smaller offshoot of the main Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh (also called the Holy See Temple), and was built in the early 1970s. The colorful structure, which is done up in every shade of the rainbow and then some, has impressive wooden carvings of deities, immaculately painted iron grillwork, and handsome tiles.