In May and June, Hai Phong bursts into red: flame trees bloom along the avenues, and Vietnam's third-largest city becomes, as locals call it, the "city of scarlet phoenixes." The rest of the year, this major port on the Gulf of Tonkin lives to the rhythm of its cranes, its markets and its sidewalk cafés, far from the usual tourist circuits. It's a gateway, and a place that deserves more than a quick pass-through.

An Industrial Docking, a City Within Reach

Cruise ships dock in the commercial port area, with little immediate appeal: a shuttle or taxi is the way to reach the centre, a few kilometres away. Once there, everything changes. Hai Phong's colonial centre preserves a fine collection of early-twentieth-century French buildings, including an Italian-style municipal theatre built on the model of the opera houses back in France, facing a flower-filled esplanade where locals come to dance and play shuttlecock as soon as evening brings some cool air. The ochre façades, shutters and ornate balconies recall the era when the city served as Tonkin's maritime outlet.

Pagodas and Markets

Du Hang Pagoda, just minutes away, has watched over its neighbourhood for more than three centuries behind its triple-roofed gateway. Bonsai trees, lacquered statues and the smoke of incense make for a peaceful stop. Tam Bac Market, by contrast, plunges you straight into daily life: mountains of fruit from the delta, fish from the gulf, fabric stalls, vendors in conical hats weighing, cutting and calling out in a cheerful din. Don't leave without trying the local culinary pride, banh da cua, a brown noodle soup with rice-field crab, served in steaming bowls from the morning on. The people of Hai Phong defend it with a hometown pride that brings a smile to the whole north of the country.

Hanoi, the Flagship Excursion

Many passengers use the stop to reach Hanoi, about two hours away by highway. The capital unfolds its Old Quarter of thirty-six guilds, where every street still bears the name of the trade once practised there, Hoan Kiem Lake and its temple on the water, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Temple of Literature, the country's first university, founded in 1070. The day is long but packed: market lanes, cyclo rides, egg coffee enjoyed on a tiny stool right at street level. Those who prefer the sea head instead for Ha Long Bay and its limestone peaks, about an hour and a half away by road, for a few hours' cruise among the karst towers rising from the emerald water, protected by UNESCO since 1994.

Practical Tips

Choosing Your Vietnam

The call presents a pleasant dilemma: a thousand-year-old capital, a legendary bay, or a true, living port city? All three have their merits. Staying in Hai Phong means seeing a working Vietnam, sipping drip-filtered coffee and crossing its avenues through waves of motorbikes; venturing out means touching the images that have always fuelled the imagination. The length of the call and your appetite for the road will settle the choice.

On the way back, from the deck, the ballet of container ships and sampans tells the same story as the flame trees: that of a city full of energy, rooted in its delta, facing out to the open sea. Hai Phong doesn't put on a show. It simply lives, and you will have shared a few hours of that life.