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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Vietnam

76 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Vietnam

Updated January 22, 2025

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  1. Côn đảo
  2. Dalat
  3. Da Nang
  4. Hanoi
  5. Hòa Vang
  6. Ho Chi Minh City
  7. Hội An
  8. Huế
  9. Hương Thủy
  10. Phan Thiet

Unusual Attractions in Vietnam

See All 76 Things To Do in Vietnam

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Vietnam

See all 16 Places to Eat in Vietnam
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Flavors of Vietnam: Fish Sauce, Pho & Royal Tea

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Architecture 9
History & Culture 8
Military 7
Sacred Spaces 6
War History 6
Street Food 5
Caves 5
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Stories About Vietnam

Though traditional tāngyuán are plain dumplings, you can also make artful variations.

5 Recipes to Make for Lunar New Year

Welcome the Year of the Dragon with fortune-telling soups, lucky goldfish dumplings, and more.
by Sam O'Brien
Along the Vietnamese coast, temples constructed in reverence to whales and other marine mammals—such as this one in Phan Thiet—house valuable information on the country’s little-studied cetaceans.

How Vietnam’s Ancient Whale Temples Are Helping Science

For centuries, hundreds of shrines have preserved crucial information about the marine mammals' diversity and distribution.
by Anne Pinto-Rodrigues
An artist’s rendering of the moment an ancient crocodilian really stepped in it.

An Ancient Croc Stepped in Poop and Created a Portal to the Past

Scientists braved rain, mud, and a close encounter at a crocodile farm to learn what fossilized feces reveal about life 33 million years ago.
by Kate Golembiewski
A springy bamboo pole helps a villager lighten his load.

How Bamboo Sticks Help Vietnamese Villagers Shoulder Mighty Loads

It's a matter of simple physics.
by Isaac Schultz
A strong solar flare from 2012.

The Sun Set Off 4,000 Sea Mines During the Vietnam War

Only now do scientists fully understand just how strong a 1972 solar storm was.
by Sarah Laskow
Solid proof the muntjac is still around.

Found: A Rare Tiny Deer in Vietnam

It's called a muntjac, and the last time it appeared was nearly two decades ago.
by Christina Ayele Djossa
This perfect flower was injected right into the jelly.

The Beautiful Cakes Injected Full of Flowers

Watch as jelly masters create 3-D designs with needles and syringes.
by Anne Ewbank
The elfin mountain toad.

Found: Tiny ‘Elfish Eyebrow Toad’

It is very small.
by Sarah Laskow

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