Haiphong: Temples, Opera House and Cuisine

Haiphong can be explored through many different facets: historic temples and pagodas, a Baroque opera house, old streets and a distinctive cuisine give the city plenty of tangible points of interest. When planning your trip, you can decide whether cultural sites, urban architecture or local dishes should shape your days. These priorities can also help you tailor your holiday apartment search to your travel group’s interests.

Temples, Pagoda and Traditional Craftsmanship

Đình Hàng Kênh in Lê Chân District was founded in 1719 and rebuilt from 1841 to 1850. Its rare boat-shaped floor design is particularly notable. It also features striking architecture and a tradition of woodcarving. Visitors interested in historic architectural forms and artisanal details will find a different focus here than at the city’s religious sites.

Đền Nghè is a historical and cultural monument in central Haiphong, dedicated to the general Lê Chân. Its wood and stone carvings depict, among other things, dragons, unicorns, turtles and phoenixes, as well as the four symbolic plants. The Đền Nghè Festival takes place from the eighth to the tenth day of the second lunar month. Visitors come to see the monument and commemorate Lê Chân. If the festival is important to your travel plans, take the lunar calendar into account when scheduling your trip.

Dư Hàng Pagoda offers another way to explore Haiphong’s history. Its defining architectural features include a seven-bay Buddha hall, a three-storey bell tower and a large bronze bell. Its traditional furnishings also include old bells, Khánh gongs, bronze incense burners, and handicrafts made of ceramic and green stone. An old collection of Āgama scriptures is also part of the pagoda. It is also historically connected to the Trúc-Lâm Zen tradition.

Opera House and Historic Streets

Haiphong Opera House was built between 1904 and 1912 in the Baroque style, modelled on the Paris Opera. It is classified as a national architectural and artistic monument. Haiphong is one of three cities in Vietnam with an opera house built during the French colonial period. This architectural history makes the building a distinctive landmark for anyone interested in architecture and urban history.

Tam Bạc Old Town also retains a historic architectural character, with buildings that are nearly a century old. Tam Bạc Street is an old street in the city centre and runs along the right bank of the Tam Bạc River. According to city information, downtown check-in spots are located within an approximate radius of 800 metres of the Opera House; they are therefore well suited to exploring the city’s historical and cultural stories.

Hai Phong Museum preserves more than 22,000 artefacts. It displays 1,736 artefacts, along with 840 pictures and documents. The museum thus offers a distinct way to explore the collections as you choose cultural stops, while the Opera House, temples and pagoda showcase different architectural and artistic traditions.

Taste Haiphong and Choose Your Starting Point

The port city’s well-known specialties include Bánh đa cua, Bánh mì cay, crab spring rolls and sweet soups. The tourism sector has developed culinary tourism for visitors. Many young people choose the Haiphong Food Tour as their first activity when they arrive. So if sharing meals is part of your travel group’s plans, you can make local cuisine a focus of your trip alongside the cultural sites.

Your arrival also offers a practical point of reference: Haiphong Railway Station is on Lương Khánh Thiện Street; its front building is yellow and has two storeys. From the station, visitors can explore the city by taxi or rented motorbike. When searching for a holiday apartment, you can first decide whether to plan your trip mainly around cultural attractions, historic urban architecture or culinary discoveries. These interests provide a basis for your choice without requiring you to commit to just one kind of visit.

For the broader travel overview: Lê Chân.