Quy Nhon

Chùa Hiển Nam

Medium-sized Buddhist temple a 4-min walk from Coopmart just west of Nguyễn Tất Thành Street.

daily from morning to evening

Chùa Long Khánh

Large and very important Buddhist temple in Quy Nhơn city and Bình Định province. The temple was first constructed in the early 1700s, but nothing of the original structure remains. The current main building was erected in 1956, and the Buddha statue and lotus pond were completed in 1972. The 1.7 m (5.6 ft) high, 700 kg (1,500 lb) bell was believed to have been cast in 1805. Inside is a statue of Avalokiteśvara, the embodiment of infinite compassion of all Buddhas, who uses his thousand arms to reach out to help the suffering masses. To the side of the temple is a 17 m (56 ft) bluestone statue of Amitābha (Vietnamese: A-di-đà), the celestial Buddha, resting upon a 5 m (16 ft) lotus base. Entrance is free every day from early morning until late evening.

Chùa Minh Tịnh

Large and active Mahayana Buddhist pagoda complex in the city centre a 10-minute walk west of Coopmart. Founded in 1917 outside the city, it was moved in the 1960s to its current location to make room for the expansion of the airport during the Vietnam-American war. The well-maintained temple, which is surrounded by spacious and peaceful grounds with many colourful statues, is an active and working centre of spiritual studies, community outreach, and charity activities. Visitors are welcome daily from morning to evening.

Chùa Phổ Minh

Impressive and little-visited Buddhist temple of 800 m² (8,600 ft²) set on tranquil riverside grounds of 1,800 m² (19,000 ft²). Work began on the site in 2011. Soon after, five workers were gravely injured in a major accident when the concrete and steel of the third floor collapsed. Construction was suspended, but with the prayers of the monks and the enthusiastic support of the injured workers, the community overcame its grief and the temple was finished in 2013.

Chùa Trúc Lâm

Well-maintained six-storey Buddhist temple in the northern end of the city centre. Open to visitors daily from morning to evening.

Chùa Tâm Ấn Tự

Active Mahayana Buddhist temple on a tranquil 2,000 m² (21,000 ft²) site. A small hut on the grounds began serving as a spiritual home for monks in the 1920s but was destroyed during war activities in the 1940s. The temple was restarted under new spiritual advisers in 1955, and the structure was built out very, very slowly. After 40 years of glacial progress, construction on the current temple picked up pace in the 1990s and was finished in 1995. The well-maintained temple boasts a 150-kg (330-lb) bell. Open to visitors daily from morning to evening.

Chùa Tịnh xá Ngọc Nhơn

Buddhist temple in the northwest of the city. Nestled amidst the trees and set back against the mountain, the temple's 2,500 m² (27,000 ft²) grounds are a surprisingly peaceful contrast to the bustle of the heavily trafficked street outside. It was built in 1959 and was restored from 1995 to 1999. Open to visitors daily from morning to evening.

Doi Cham Towers

Tháp Đôi / Twin Towers

The Tháp Đôi are the most accessible Cham towers in the country. The Hindu Cham people started construction on the two 20-metre (65 ft) towers in the 11th century after establishing Vijaya as the capital of their empire and the port city of Quy Nhơn as its economic engine. Three towers were planned, but for unknown reasons, only two exist, and the site became known to the Vietnamese as Tháp Đôi ("The Twin Towers"). Unusually for Cham architecture, the Twin Towers eschew the traditional multi-storey square construction in favour of a large rectangular base topped by a carved pyramid structure. The towers were built from brick in the typical Cham style in which pieces were tiled closely together and then baked into a solid block, with the unusual addition of crushed stone for support. The outer structure and external sculptures were made from sandstone. The art and architecture share many characteristics with Angkor sites in present-day Cambodia thanks to the frequent exchange — in both peace and war — between Champa and the Khmer kingdom. This later Cham period is particularly characterized by the intricate and ornate animal statues and carvings which the Cham adopted after moving their capital to Bình Định. The holy bird Garuda rests on top of the vegetation-covered roofs, protecting the towers from evil forces, while below are detailed carvings of giant lotus bases, elephants, lions, monkeys and humans dancing. The towers were restored in the 1980s and 1990s with help from a Polish archaeological team, and the area around them has been developed into a small park, with trees and grass surrounding the archaeological site and shielding it from the traffic outside (ironically, one of the only noisy stretches of road anywhere in the city is Trần Hưng Đạo street directly in front of the towers). The neighbourhood just to the north of the towers is a pleasant and quiet residential area on the banks of the river, with a few local cafes and restaurants. Unlike the Cham tow

Daily 08:00–11:00 and 13:00–18:00·20,000 dong

ExploraScience

Part of the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE) complex, established to further science and research in Vietnam. ExploraScience hosts several exhibitions on Astronomy, Space exploration etc. suitable for children and adults alike.

Sat-Sun 08:30–17:00·Admission 120,000, purchased on-site only. Tickets are sold 30 minutues prior to opening. Visitors are advised to come early as there is a guided tour started upon opening hours, and there might be multiple tours for schoolchildren running concurrently

Municipal People's Government Offices

Imposing and stern complex of several multi-storey buildings housing the city-government offices built in classic communist architectural style. The largest of the buildings towers over the surrounding neighbourhood and is visible from the beach. Its stern architecture is the butt of many popular jokes among the less reverent locals. The complex is lit bright at night with white and red lights. As of 2023, inquiries for visiting the building must be made prior, and it is unclear whether they are granted.

Quy Nhơn Cathedral

Nhà thờ chính tòa Quy Nhơn

First built as a local parish in 1892, the church underwent a massive expansion in the 1930s when it became the seat of the regional Catholic Diocese. The 47-m (155-ft) spire houses a 1,800-kg (2-ton) bell donated in 1962 in Catholic outreach efforts by the predominantly Polish congregation of St. Pancratius Church of Chicago. During the war years in the 1960s, the Quy Nhơn Cathedral served as a refuge for displaced locals, and as a place of worship for American soldiers.

Tượng Phật đôi

Towering above the ocean on the Phương Mai Peninsula, this 30-m (100-ft) golden Avalokiteśvara, the embodiment of infinite compassion of all Buddhas, is the tallest Buddha statue in Vietnam. Constructed in 2014, the base is designed to hold the ashes of 8,000 local families.

Banh It Cham Towers

Tháp Bánh Ít / Silver Towers

This is one of the best large sites of Cham ruins still surviving, and certainly the most accessible and best restored in the countryside. A cluster of four towers built in the 10th–11th centuries on a hilltop overlooking the river. The Cham constructed the Bánh Ít site to fit in harmony with the environment, and while not as enormous as ancient sites in Angkor or Borobudur, the site even today is a beautiful medley of rolling countryside hills, river and towers. Although the site had nothing to do with silver, early French colonialists named Champa sites after minerals, and their name of "Silver Towers" stuck and is still used today by many foreign sources. The most common name used for the towers by the Vietnamese, Bánh Ít, is also the name of the local sweet cake specialty. Approaching from the east, the first tower is the 13-metre (42-foot) gate. Up the hill from the gate are the three larger towers. The biggest is 20 metres (65 feet) high, with intricate carvings of humans, birds, flowers, and the elephant god Ganesa and the monkey god Viyu in dancing pose. The architectural style is unique among Cham ruins for the vertical columns and grooved tiles, the use of sandstone for the roof edges, and false doors topped by soaring arches in the shape of spears. The site held many statues, but sadly, most of them were shipped off to Europe by French colonialists in the late 19th century. The most impressive of the artworks, an intricately-carved 11th-century statue of a three-eyed Shiva seated on a lotus, is held in the Musée Guimet in Paris, while copper statues of Genesha, Uma, and Brahma vanished into private French collectors' hands in the early 20th century. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, the undeveloped countryside around the main towers is full of small centuries-old ruins. Although only the four complete towers survive, the area had many more buildings, and poorly-funded archaeological surveys haven't had the resources to completely investigate the

Daily 07:00–11:00 and 13:30–17:00·Entry to the towers is 10,000 dong and parking 5,000 dong, but the site is little visited and it's possible you might enter and never see anyone or be asked for money

Bình Định Museum

Bảo Tàng Bình Định

Located in the east of the centre near the Municipal People's Administrative buildings, this small building has a large collection of Cham artefacts making it more interesting than you'd expect for a small provincial museum. The museum's Cham collection has grown significantly over the last two decades as new expeditions jointly conducted with Belgian and Japanese archaeological teams and Polish restoration experts have excavated and preserved new pieces in the province. The museum, founded in 1980, also houses several American weapons, including a tank and howitzer artillery guns, which were captured in the province by the Vietnamese government in 1975. Oddly, the weapons are haphazardly interspersed amidst Cham artefacts, both inside the museum and in the surrounding outdoor gardens. An additional highlight of the museum, the currency collection, is continuing to expand as scholars work with Chinese experts to survey the artefacts. But unfortunately, the museum itself is underfunded, poorly maintained, and has very little useful information in English.

Tue–Sat 07:00–11:30 and 13:30–17:00·Entry ticket 5,000 dong

Duong Long Cham Towers

Tháp Dương Long

Three Cham towers built in the late 12th century, about 50 km (30 mi) outside Quy Nhơn. These impressive towers are the tallest Cham structures still remaining in Vietnam: the centre tower is 24 m (78 ft) high, while the two outside towers each measure 22 m (72 ft). The bodies of the towers are made from bricks, while the bases are built from massive carved boulders. Patterns carved into the bases show a glimpse of ancient Cham culture: flowers, gods, elephants, large human breasts, dragons. The towers were in the middle of a civic area, which now can only be seen in the ruins and artefacts strewn about on the surrounding grounds. The site feels abandoned and wild. Money for preservation and restoration was cut in the late 2000s, and except for the occasional presence of a caretaker, the site is utterly empty and you'll probably be alone as you explore the area. There is no information at the site.

Daily 07:00–11:00 and 13:30–17:00·Entry ticket — when the caretaker is present and awake — costs 3,000 dong

Quang Trung Museum

Bảo tàng Quang Trung

Emperor Quang Trung, also known as Nguyễn Huệ, is the most celebrated of the Tây Sơn brothers, rebels who led a peasant uprising in the 18th century which conquered feudal houses in the north and south and created a unified and independent Vietnam. He's a revered national hero who was — and still is — celebrated throughout Vietnam and the diaspora for his military victories and support of the common people. Quang Trung and his two brothers were born in Tây Sơn village, and the town's museum honoring him and his family is very important in national politics, with many past and present leaders having visited since its 1978 construction to pay their respects publicly. For Vietnamese — in Vietnam and in the diaspora — who spent their childhood learning his legends, the museum can be very interesting. But for foreigners who have never heard of him, it's less exciting. The complex houses artefacts from the battles as well as art, costumes, and original documents from the Tây Sơn period. But the collection is poorly displayed, there is little information in English, and the location is far enough from the city centre that it's only worthwhile on its own if you already are deeply interested in Quang Trung. But if you're already in the area exploring Cham ruins or travelling between Quy Nhơn and Pleiku, the grounds are very lovely and there are several martial arts performances each month. Special events are held each year on January 5, the anniversary of the Battle of Ngọc Hồi of 1789, when Quang Trung defeated invading Chinese troops after imploring his peasant troops to "fight to keep our hair long, fight to keep our teeth black." Renting your own motorbike is the cheapest and most convenient way to reach the museum. A taxi from the city costs 400,000–500,000 dong one-way. There is no bus. The museum can be combined with in a day trip to the Dương Long Cham Towers lying 10 km to the east.

Daily 07:00–11:00 and 13:30–17:00·Entry ticket 10,000 dong

Ghềnh Ráng Church

21 Tây Sơn

Giáo xứ Hòa Ninh

128 Nguyễn Huế

Quy Nhơn Evangelical Church

Chi Hội Quy Nhơn

71 Hai Bà Trưng

Binh Lam Cham Tower

Tháp Bình Lâm

Canh Tien Cham Tower

Tháp Cánh Tiên

Phu Loc Cham Tower

Tháp Phú Lốc

Thu Thien Cham Tower

Tháp Thủ Thiện