Bao Dai Villas Nha Trang

Five villas built by the French from 1923 on Cảnh Long hill, looking down over Nha Trang bay, about 6 km south of the centre. The name comes from 1940–1945, when Emperor Bảo Đại and Empress Nam Phương came here regularly. The buildings predate that by nearly twenty years.

Worth knowing before you go: the site was shut for more than ten years, sitting inside a company's development, and only reopened to visitors on 27 April 2026. Two of the five villas: Vọng Nguyệt and Nghinh Phong, have been repaired and given displays; the ground and first floors are open, the roof terrace is not.

Entry is free, with no ticket. But the opening hours are the thing most likely to spoil a visit here: Monday to Friday only, 7:00–11:30 and 13:30–17:30. Closed at the weekend, which is to say on exactly the two days most people have free.

It sits in the same Cầu Đá corner as the Oceanography Institute and the pier the island tours leave from, so one weekday morning covers both without much moving about. This is a place to look at the architecture and the position above the bay rather than a large museum. Knowing that in advance is what keeps it from disappointing.

In the same group: the Yersin museum and the Oceanographic Institute, both a few kilometres away.