Find places in Vietnam

Must-Haves

• Temple of Literature (Dong Da)
  Vietnam's first university, with quiet courtyards and stone turtles carrying the names of scholars.
• Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple (Hoan Kiem)
  The heart of the city, with a red bridge to an island temple and tai chi at dawn.
• Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (Cau Giay)
  The best introduction to the country's many ethnic groups, with full size traditional houses in the garden.
• Hoa Lo Prison Relic (Hoan Kiem)
  The former colonial prison later known as the Hanoi Hilton, told with care and detail.

Fun for Everyone

• Vietnamese Women's Museum (Hoan Kiem)
  A small, moving museum on the role of women in family life, history and fashion.

Must-Haves

• Bun Cha Huong Lien (Hai Ba Trung)
  The simple bun cha shop made famous by a presidential visit, still serving smoky grilled pork with noodles.
• Cha Ca Thang Long (Hoan Kiem)
  Turmeric fish sizzled with dill at your table, Hanoi's signature dish.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Pho Gia Truyen Bat Dan (Hoan Kiem)
  A queue on the pavement for one of the city's classic bowls of beef pho.
• Banh Mi 25 (Hoan Kiem)
  A friendly Old Quarter stall serving crisp banh mi with a wide choice of fillings.

Great for Date Night

• Cau Go Vietnamese Cuisine (Hoan Kiem)
  Northern home cooking with a balcony view over Hoan Kiem Lake.

Must-Haves

• Cafe Giang (Hoan Kiem)
  The family café credited with inventing egg coffee in the 1940s.

Off the Beaten Path

• Cafe Dinh (Hoan Kiem)
  A worn upstairs room with lake glimpses and a superb egg coffee, run by the same family as Cafe Giang.

Fun for Everyone

• Cong Caphe (Hoan Kiem)
  Retro themed coffee chain known for coconut coffee smoothies.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Bia hoi corner, Ta Hien street (Old Quarter)
  Fresh draught beer on tiny stools in the busiest corner of the Old Quarter.

Must-Haves

• Hanoi Night Market, Hang Dao (Old Quarter)
  A weekend night market from Hang Dao to Dong Xuan with clothes, souvenirs and snacks.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Dong Xuan Market (Old Quarter)
  The biggest covered market in Hanoi, for fabrics, goods and a busy food court.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bat Trang Ceramic Village (Gia Lam)
  A centuries old pottery village where you can try the wheel yourself.

Fun for Everyone

• Hoan Kiem walking street (Hoan Kiem)
  Weekend evenings when the lake streets close to traffic and fill with games and music.

Off the Beaten Path

• Long Bien Bridge walk (Long Bien)
  Walk the old iron bridge over the Red River at sunset beside trains and scooters.

Must-Haves

• Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi (Hoan Kiem)
  The grand colonial hotel of 1901, with a wartime bunker tour for guests.

Must-Haves

• War Remnants Museum (District 3)
  A powerful and difficult museum on the American War.
• Independence Palace (District 1)
  The 1960s presidential palace preserved as it was in 1975.
• Saigon Central Post Office (District 1)
  A grand French era post office with vaulted ceilings and old maps.

Off the Beaten Path

• Jade Emperor Pagoda (District 1)
  A smoky Taoist temple full of carved figures.

Fun for Everyone

• Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts (District 1)
  Vietnamese art in a beautiful colonial mansion.

Must-Haves

• Cu Chi Tunnels at Ben Duoc (Cu Chi)
  Crawl into the wartime tunnel network at the quieter of the two sites.

Fun for Everyone

• Nguyen Hue walking street (District 1)
  A wide pedestrian boulevard full of families and lights in the evening.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Banh Mi Huynh Hoa (District 1)
  The famous banh mi stuffed with cold cuts and pate.
• Com Tam Ba Ghien (Phu Nhuan)
  Broken rice with a giant grilled pork chop.

Must-Haves

• Pho Hoa Pasteur (District 3)
  A long running Saigon pho shop.

Fun for Everyone

• Banh Xeo 46A (District 1)
  Huge crispy pancakes filled with shrimp and sprouts.

Great for Date Night

• Cuc Gach Quan (District 1)
  Countryside home cooking in an old house full of antiques.

Off the Beaten Path

• The Cafe Apartment, 42 Nguyen Hue (District 1)
  An old apartment block filled with small cafés and shops.

Fun for Everyone

• Bui Vien Walking Street (District 1)
  The loud, neon backpacker street.

Off the Beaten Path

• Pasteur Street Brewing Company (District 1)
  Craft beer brewed with Vietnamese ingredients.

Must-Haves

• Ben Thanh Market (District 1)
  The city's best known market for snacks and souvenirs.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Binh Tay Market (Cholon)
  A wholesale market in a grand old building in Chinatown.

Off the Beaten Path

• Can Gio Mangrove Forest (Can Gio)
  A biosphere reserve of mangroves and monkeys south of the city.

Must-Haves

• Hotel Majestic Saigon (District 1)
  A colonial riverside hotel from 1925.

Great for Date Night

• Park Hyatt Saigon (District 1)
  A refined hotel beside the Opera House.

Must-Haves

• Tet Flower Street (District 1)
  Nguyen Hue fills with flowers and displays for the Lunar New Year.

Must-Haves

• Japanese Covered Bridge (Ancient Town)
  The town's symbol, a small temple bridge from the early seventeenth century.
• Fujian Assembly Hall (Ancient Town)
  An ornate Chinese hall with dragons, incense coils and a fine gate.

Fun for Everyone

• Tan Ky Old House (Ancient Town)
  A merchant family home still lived in after several generations.

Off the Beaten Path

• My Son Sanctuary (Duy Xuyen)
  Hindu brick temples of the Champa kingdom in a jungle valley.

Must-Haves

• Hoi An Full Moon Lantern Festival (Ancient Town)
  Each full moon the town dims its lights for lanterns and river candles.

Fun for Everyone

• Basket boat ride in Cam Thanh (Cam Thanh)
  Spin through the water coconut forest in a round bamboo boat.

Off the Beaten Path

• Thanh Ha Pottery Village (Thanh Ha)
  A riverside village of potters, easy by bicycle.

Off the Beaten Path

• Tra Que Vegetable Village (Cam Ha)
  Organic herb gardens where you can farm and cook for a morning.
• Cham Islands (Tan Hiep)
  A marine park for snorkelling and village life off the coast.

Fun for Everyone

• An Bang Beach (Cam An)
  A relaxed beach with seafood shacks a short ride from town.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Banh Mi Phuong (Phan Chau Trinh)
  One of Vietnam's most famous banh mi shops.
• Madam Khanh The Banh Mi Queen (Tran Cao Van)
  A tiny shop with a devoted following for its banh mi.

Must-Haves

• Morning Glory Restaurant (Ancient Town)
  Hoi An street food classics such as cao lau and white rose dumplings.

Fun for Everyone

• Hoi An Central Market food hall (Ancient Town)
  Rows of stalls serving cao lau, mi Quang and sweets.

Great for Date Night

• Reaching Out Tea House (Ancient Town)
  A silent tea house run by people with hearing impairments.

Must-Haves

• Hoi An Night Market (An Hoi)
  Lantern stalls and snacks on the riverbank every evening.

Fun for Everyone

• Yaly Couture (Ancient Town)
  A long established tailor for made to measure clothes and shoes.

Great for Date Night

• Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai (Dien Duong)
  A luxury beach resort of pool villas on Ha My beach.

Fun for Everyone

• Anantara Hoi An Resort (Ancient Town)
  A riverside resort at the edge of the old town.

Must-Haves

• Marble Mountains (Ngu Hanh Son)
  Limestone hills with caves, pagodas and views over the coast.
• My Khe Beach (Son Tra)
  A long sandy city beach for swimming and sunrise walks.

Fun for Everyone

• Son Tra Peninsula and Linh Ung Pagoda (Son Tra)
  Forest roads, a giant white Lady Buddha and rare douc langurs.

Off the Beaten Path

• Hai Van Pass (Lien Chieu)
  One of the most beautiful coastal roads in Asia, with old forts at the top.

Must-Haves

• Museum of Cham Sculpture (Hai Chau)
  The world's finest collection of Champa sandstone carving.

Fun for Everyone

• Dragon Bridge fire show (Han River)
  The bridge breathes fire and water on weekend evenings.

Must-Haves

• Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge (Hoa Vang)
  A cable car to a hilltop resort and the bridge held by giant stone hands.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Mi Quang Ba Mua (Hai Chau)
  A local chain serving Quang style turmeric noodles.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Han Market (Hai Chau)
  A covered market for dried goods, coffee and clothing by the river.

Fun for Everyone

• Son Tra Night Market (Son Tra)
  Street food and stalls near the Dragon Bridge.

Great for Date Night

• InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort (Son Tra)
  A spectacular hillside resort on a private bay.

Fun for Everyone

• Pullman Danang Beach Resort (Ngu Hanh Son)
  A family friendly beach resort on the long sands.

Must-Haves

• Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (Han River)
  Teams from around the world light up the river in early summer.

Must-Haves

• Imperial City of Hue (Citadel)
  The walled palace of the Nguyen emperors, with gates, halls and gardens.
• Tomb of Tu Duc (Thuy Xuan)
  A peaceful lakeside tomb with pavilions the emperor used as a retreat.
• Tomb of Khai Dinh (Thuy Bang)
  A dramatic hillside tomb with dazzling glass and porcelain mosaics.
• Thien Mu Pagoda (Huong Long)
  The seven storey tower on the river that is the symbol of Hue.

Fun for Everyone

• Tomb of Minh Mang (Huong Tho)
  Grand symmetrical gardens and lakes beside the Perfume River.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Hang Me Me (Vo Thi Sau)
  Tiny banh beo, banh nam and other Hue rice cakes at budget prices.

Great for Date Night

• Les Jardins de la Carambole (Citadel)
  French and Vietnamese cooking in a colonial villa near the citadel.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Dong Ba Market (Citadel)
  The city's main market, good for conical hats and sesame candy.

Fun for Everyone

• Dragon boat trip on the Perfume River (Riverside)
  A slow boat ride to pagodas and tombs along the river.

Must-Haves

• Hue Festival (Citadel)
  A cultural festival of royal music, theatre and lanterns held every two years.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bach Ma National Park (Phu Loc)
  Cool forest trails and waterfalls high above the coast.

Great for Date Night

• Azerai La Residence Hue (Le Loi)
  An art deco former governor's residence on the Perfume River.

Off the Beaten Path

• Pilgrimage Village Boutique Resort (Thuy Bieu)
  A garden resort in the countryside near the tombs.

Must-Haves

• Sung Sot Cave (Bo Hon Island)
  The bay's largest cave, with huge chambers full of stalactites.
• Cat Ba National Park (Cat Ba Island)
  Forest trails to a lookout tower over the island's green peaks.

Fun for Everyone

• Ti Top Island (Ha Long Bay)
  Climb to a panoramic viewpoint, then swim from the small beach.

Off the Beaten Path

• Lan Ha Bay kayaking (Cat Ba)
  Paddle through quiet lagoons and to sandy coves away from the busy routes.
• Bai Tu Long Bay (Van Don)
  The quietest of the bays, with wild islands and few boats.

Off the Beaten Path

• Hospital Cave (Cat Ba Island)
  A secret wartime hospital built inside a mountain.

Fun for Everyone

• Quang Ninh Museum (Ha Long City)
  A striking black glass museum on the region's sea, mines and history.

Fun for Everyone

• Sun World Ha Long cable car (Bai Chay)
  A long cable car over the bay to a hilltop park and big wheel.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Cat Ba seafood street (Cat Ba Town)
  Harbour front restaurants where you pick your seafood from the tanks.