Things to see in Vietnam
313 places worth seeing in Vietnam on an illustrated map: Ban Gioc–Detian Falls, Son Doong Cave, Thien Duong Cave, Landmark 81 and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and more. Zoom in and watch the landmarks, museums, nature and fun appear.
Highlights
- Ban Gioc–Detian Falls This breathtaking waterfall, the largest in Vietnam, straddles the China-Vietnam border. The water is particularly thunderous in the wet sea
- Son Doong Cave Reputed to be the world’s largest cave by the British Caving Association. Only guided tour available but with group of limited persons. Tour
- Thien Duong Cave Paved road off the main HCM Highway provides car, motorbike, and bus access. Buy 250,000 dong ticket to enter. Just after that, separate opt
- Landmark 81 The highest tower of Vietnam with 81 floors which is 461.3 m, it has a big mall inside which includes a CGV cinema. Landmark 81 are also sur
- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum The city down south may have his name, but only Hanoi has the man himself, entombed in distinctly Lenin-esque fashion. Against his wishes, b
- Bitexco Financial Tower Skydeck viewing platform (daily 09:30-21:30) with a 360° panorama of the city.
- Temple of Literature The Temple was founded in 1070 and became the country's first university six years later. The overall design is somewhat similar to the "ori
- Golden Bridge A 150m long pedestrian bridge, used as viewpoint. A notable feature is the hands sculpture that support the bridge.
- Hoàn Kiếm Lake A pleasant park in the centre of town, an easy walk from anywhere in the Old Quarter. This is the locals' favorite leisure spot; especially
- Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica A French-built Catholic cathedral in the city center.
- Presidential Palace of Vietnam Completed in 1906 as the residence of the French Governor-General of Indochina. It became the official residence of the President of North V
- Imperial City of Hue The former imperial seat of government and Hue's prime attraction, this is a great sprawling complex of temples, pavilions, moats, walls, ga
- Dragon River Bridge A 2013 bridge built in the shape of a dragon, breathing fire and water each Saturday and Sunday night at 21:00.
- War Remnants Museum This is a disturbing exhibit of man's cruelty during the Vietnam War. In addition to halls full of gruesome photographs, exhibits include a
- Independence Palace This is a restored 4-floor time warp to the 1960s left largely untouched from the day Saigon fell to the North; construction started in 1962
- Hanoi Opera House Built by the French during the colonial period, it usually hosts classical music concerts and local Vietnamese plays and pop concerts rather
- One Pillar Pagoda Visitors find this either charming and lovely or utterly pointless, depending on how many tour groups are crammed into the small grounds at
- Thiên Mụ Temple Perched on a bluff over the river and housing some very fine gold and silver Buddha images. The Thien Mu Pagoda overlooks the Perfume River
- Saigon Opera House An opera house built by the French during the colonial period, and without a doubt one of the finest performance venues in Southeast Asia. I
- Japanese Bridge The bridge was constructed in the early 1600s by the Japanese community, roughly 40 years before they left the city to return to Japan under
- Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts Only party-approved art is shown here with information in English and Vietnamese. On three floors of a colonial building, with another three
- Ho Chi Minh Museum This gleaming white museum and its gloriously ham-handed iconography is the perfect chaser to the solemnity of the mausoleum. The building,
- Saint Joseph Cathedral A late 19th-century Gothic Revival church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi. Built by the French in 18
- Christ of Vung Tau A must-do with panoramic view! The enormous 28-m figure of Jesus gazing to sea with outstretched arms is at the south end of Small Mountain.
- Vietnamese Women’s Museum This often overlooked museum has benefited from an extensive renovation of its permanent exhibitions. The modernised interior is well laid o
- Hang Én (swift cave) If your budget doesn't quite stretch to Son Doong cave, Oxalis also offer 1-4 day trips to Tu Lan and Hang En caves. They seem to have a mon
- Trấn Quốc Pagoda The oldest Buddhist temple in Hanoi, on an island near the southeastern shore of West Lake.
- Tam Cốc-Bích Động The most famous landscape of Ninh Binh. Boats begin at the village of Van Lam and proceed through a scenic landscape dominated by rice field
- Phát Diệm Cathedral Cathedral known for its scale and its oriental style. Completed in 1891. One of the earliest areas to be reached by missionaries; Portuguese
- Museum of Ho Chi Minh City The museum, housed in a French colonial-era building, narrates the history of Ho Chi Minh City from pre-history to the present and also has
- National Museum of Vietnamese History Actually two museums: one covers Vietnam from prehistoric times to 1945 and the other covers 1945 to present. This museum gives a very infor
- Museum of Cham Sculpture Founded in 1915 by the École Française d'Extrême Orient, it houses a collection of stone sculptures from the Hindu-practicing Cham civilizat
- Xá Lợi Pagoda The largest Buddhist temple in Ho Chi Minh City, and the headquarters of Buddhism in South Vietnam prior to the Fall of Saigon, said to hous
- Vietnam Museum of Ethnology Exhibitions cover mainly the culture and ritual practices of the various ethnic groups in the whole of Vietnam. One of the key attractions o
- Thien Hau Temple Dedicated to Lady Thien Hau, the Chinese sea goddess (known as Mazu in Chinese), who left two giant turtles to keep an eye on things in her
- Mariamman Temple, Ho Chi Minh City Hindu temple build by Tamil Indian immigrants in the late 19th century. Although most of the Tamils fled Vietnam following the Fall of Saigo
- Tomb of Khai Dinh Dating from 1925, this is the best preserved of the lot and, while comparatively compact, quite grand at first sight. While it follows the c
- Hanoi Museum Local natural and human history down the ages.
- Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts Museum displaying art mainly from the 20th century by Vietnamese artists. Two floors of permanent collections are in the main building and t
- Phong Nha Cave It costs 150,000 dong for the entrance fee to see Phong Nha cave and 80,000 dong for Tien Son, and 550,000 (2024) (360,000 in 2016) dong to
- Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History The museum has a fine collection of Vietnamese antiquities. Read up on Vietnamese history first or you'll have no idea what you're looking a
- Vietnam Military History Museum Originally a modest museum located next to the Flag Tower, the Military History Museum and all its 150,000 artifacts has been relocated in 2
- Hien Luong Bridge Crosses the Ben Hai River at the middle of the DMZ and marks the former border between North and South Vietnam from 1954-1972 when the North
- Bái Đính Temple Huge Buddhist complex, the largest in Vietnam, with the largest pagoda tower of Vietnam (100 m high, has elevator). Most of it was built bet
- Quán Sứ Temple The headquarters of Vietnamese Buddhism.
- Mỹ Sơn Vietnamese world heritage site with over 100 Cham Hindu monument ruins.
- My Khe Beach Across the Han River from the city centre, My Khe Beach is a wide, sandy beach long known for its beauty. Locals will often gather here as e
- Quán Thánh Temple The northern temple, dedicated to the Taoist god Xuanwu, known in Vietnamese as Trấn Vũ, with a large bronze statue of him at the main altar
- Tomb of Tự Đức Built between 1864–1867, the complex served as a second Imperial City where the emperor went for "working vacations". Tu Duc's contemplative
- Giác Lâm Pagoda Built in 1744, this is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Ho Chi Minh City. On the temple grounds is a bodhi tree that was gifted by a Sr