Hai Phong

Built by the French colonial government early in the 20th century, its neoclassical front much like Hanoi's. Flame trees line the square in front. The doors stay closed outside performances, so the inside is seen only at a show.

Counted as Hai Phong's oldest pagoda, its founding put in the 10th century, though rebuilt repeatedly. Past the gate tower, old trees and a stone stupa fill the yard, which is packed with incense-bearers on the 1st and 15th of each lunar month.

A dinh is the northern village hall, home of the guardian spirit and the village meeting. Hang Kenh's is timber, with several hundred dragons carved into its posts and beams. It stands among the houses of Le Chan, and neighbours cut across its yard.

A beach at the tip of a peninsula some 20km southeast of the centre. River silt makes the water murky brown, a letdown if you want clear sea, yet Hanoi people come at weekends for seafood. French villas stood here, and Vietnam's first casino opened here too.

Buffalo fights held at Do Son during the eighth lunar month, on its 9th day, each village fielding a bull raised for months. Custom has winners and losers alike slaughtered as offerings and the meat sold. Stadium seats are ticketed and fill early on final day.

In 1288 General Tran Hung Dao planted sharpened stakes in this riverbed and wrecked the Yuan fleet on them at ebb tide. A shrine and his statue stand under limestone hills at Trang Kenh, north of the city, across the river, so it needs its own half day.

A hilltop battery behind Cat Ba town, its Second World War guns, trenches and tunnels still in place, looking over the harbour and the islands of Lan Ha Bay. The climb from the gate is steep, and many people ride it on a motorbike taxi.

A secret Vietnam War hospital made by lining a limestone cave with concrete, out of the bombs' reach. Operating theatre, wards and a meeting room survive on several levels, off the road from Cat Ba town to the park. It is dim inside, so bring a torch.

Three small coves within walking distance of Cat Ba town, known simply as 1, 2 and 3. Number 3 is the closest, one hill over from the harbour. They are the nearest sand to town on the island, so summer weekends are crowded.

A village deep in Cat Ba National Park. Ordinary cars cannot get in, so you hike the forest trail or arrive by boat. People usually hire a bicycle to ride between paddies and houses, and by boat it pairs with Lan Ha Bay in a day.

Hai Phong calls itself the city of flame trees, and the densest stand of them rings Tam Bac Lake in the centre. Their May and June blossom turns the lakeside and the street before the Opera House red. The city times a flower festival to that season.

A small harbour over the hill east of Cat Ba town, where the boats to Lan Ha Bay set out. Fish farms and floating homes bob just offshore, and many visitors rent a kayak to paddle out alone. Walking over from town takes roughly 20 minutes.