The country’s rural landscapes are never too far away – easily reached from Hanoi, the Mai Chau valley is where the pace slows down to an ox stride. Hills are camouflaged in rippling jungle, karsts rise up like giant cairns, mountain layers fade into mist and straw-roofed villages overlook iguana-green mosaics of rice paddies. This is a place of encounters with a way of life unchanged for years.

This is Vietnam’s garden city, much smaller than Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, wrapped around the lazy waters of the Perfume River. A place best explored by bicycle, free-wheeling past mossy pagodas and water-lily ponds, down leafy streets scented by frangipani. As the home of the country’s last royal family, its imperial citadel dominates the landscape, with ornate mausoleums along the riverbank, guarded by stone mandarins, and a jumble of palaces, temples and pavilions. But it’s also Vietnam’s foodiest city, thanks to the harvest of ingredients grown nearby, and the street-food markets sizzle with the sheer variety of flavor.  

Rise early and head to the beach and you’ll see vignettes of local life, from fishermen selling their catch to volleyball games. Just south of Hue, this is Vietnam’s Venice Beach, a former French colonial port where the US Marines first landed in 1965 but now a lively city with its own character. The mighty Dragon Bridge spans the River Han, breathing fire at weekends; the best views are from the Marble Mountains, where caves conceal Buddhist shrines. But it’s the sands that are the main draw, shaded by palm trees and with warm waters to swim in.   

An immersive experience in more ways than one. Can Tho sprawls across islets and the right bank of the Hau River, its waterfront alive with color, movement and sound, its bridge lit by neon lotus flowers at night. It’s a place for dipping into local life, from Ninh Kieu Wharf to the main floating market – a feeding frenzy of wooden boats that starts at dawn. Sampans will take you down canals and past brightly painted colonial houses, while nearby villages are devoted to the delicate art of rice-paper making.   

Otherwise known as Saigon, this is Vietnam’s most dynamic metropolis – cacophonous and endlessly diverting. Best seen from the back of a motorbike (if you dare), it’s a hub for contemporary Asian culture, cuisine and entrepreneurship, with skyscrapers pushing the city upwards. But the romance prevails, with the belle epoque Opera House and Notre Dame Cathedral at its heart, and boulevards leading past colonial-era villas and hotels where Graham Greene once dawdled. There are museums and parks to explore, and the Ben Thanh market, bursting with flavor and color – while the Saigon River is a constant presence, its slow-moving surface reflecting sunshine and nocturnal neon.