Парк Александра Йерсена Нячанг

The park runs along the seafront at the north end of the city, near the foot of the Trần Phú bridge, and it is a promenade rather than an enclosure: free, open at any hour. At its centre stands the white stone statue of Alexandre Yersin looking out over the bay, and beside it a large stone tablet carrying his life in both Vietnamese and French, dated 1863–1943.

Why Nha Trang has a park named after a Swiss-French scientist: Yersin lived here from 1891 until his death, founded the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang, introduced rubber and cinchona to Vietnam, and identified the bacterium that causes plague. He is buried at Suối Dầu in Cam Lâm, and locally he is still called "ông Năm". His collection and study are at the Yersin museum inside the Pasteur Institute on Trần Phú. A different place a few kilometres away.

As somewhere to walk, the park suits early morning: Nha Trang faces east, so the sun comes up out of the sea in front of you, and that is the view: flat water, islands faint in the distance, locals walking the railing. Set back from it is grass with stone benches under trees, shaded enough to sit through midday. At night there are lamps along the railing and towers behind. This is not somewhere to spend a morning. It is fifteen minutes on the way to Hòn Chồng or Ponagar.