Cần Thơ is referred to as the largest city in the Mekong Delta. In the past, it used to be the capital of the water area and everything elegant, charming, and majestic was supposed to belong to this rich land. Nowadays, Cần Thơ City has caught the attention of many tourists and travelers all over the world. If the city still keeps traditional cultures of the wet area, development in its economy and infrastructure has become more and more apparent.
Cần Thơ City is approximately 165 km from Ho Chi Minh City – the political, economic and cultural center of Vietnam. And it just takes about 3-4 hours to get there. The destination is evidently where to learn more about the history and culture of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.
1. Cái Răng Floating Market
Some part of the world enables you to know what a floating market is and how people do in the tourism industry, but coming to Cái Răng Floating Market, you will get a different idea about this cultural feature. The Mekong Delta is famous for floating markets where the locals’ authentic life is right in front of your eyes. They don’t establish and develop those floating markets for tourism, but everything is for earning their living.
Cái Răng Floating Market – the biggest and most renowned floating market in Cần Thơ was once a wholesale one where people gathered and traded their commodities and agricultural products, ranging from rice to fruits, which were provided throughout the country and even for Cambodia. Nowadays, the market doesn’t serve as a wholesale one anymore, but the locals still work every day; they transport a small number of fruits and other products to other places by boat or sell some to travelers and tourists.
A visit to Cái Răng Floating Market will help you discover and immerse yourself into the daily life of locals early in the morning. Besides that, the special food and drink you must have a try are a unique kind of Vietnamese coffee (cà phê kho or cà phê vợt), and “shaking rice noodle soup” (hủ tiếu lắc – you enjoy rice noodle soup on a boat which is sometimes slightly shaking).
Address: Hai Bà Trưng Street, Ninh Kiều District, Cần Thơ City
2. Mỹ Khánh Tourist Village
Enter Mỹ Khánh Tourist Village and you will experience fascinating different activities, such seeing around lush orchards, cycling along the village’s paths, walking along tiny flower beds and feel a sense of the quiet. Despite the fact that the area is fairly tranquil and peaceful, what to do there is not boring at all for sure.
Mỹ Khánh Tourist Village is an attraction fascinating enough but not crowded, entitling you to step out of the busy life and find yourself in the space of simple beauty and innocent people. You unwind yet learn more about the cultural charm of this land.
Address: Mỹ Khánh Commune, Phong Điền District, Cần Thơ City
3. Trúc Lâm Phương Nam Monastery
Among various intriguing destinations in Cần Thơ City is Trúc Lâm Phương Nam Monastery, which is also referred to as a religious place of people in the Mekong Delta. The monastery occupies an area of up to 38,016 m2 and its architecture is in the style of Buddhism Lý – Trần Dynasty. This design is far different from that of Khmer pagodas following Theravad Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism in the Mekong Delta.
The main gate of Trúc Lâm Phương Nam Monastery stands out by dragon heads, is painted in delicate brown and made of precious wood. Besides that, there are many exquisite marble statues and sculptured figures inside. All these things make the monastery remarkable among the quiet and calm of the wet area.
Address: Mỹ Nhơn Hamlet, Mỹ Khánh Commune, Phong Điền District, Cần Thơ City
4. Bình Thủy Ancient House
During the journey to explore the Mekong Delta, Bình Thủy Ancient House is seen as a must-visit place because it’s the proud of the local people. The ancient house is certainly overwhelming and bears marks of the glorious era; that’s why it deserves to be witnessed when you visit Vietnam’s wet area.
This 100 year-old house was built in a unique architectural style and belonged to the Dương family. The structure marked the fusion of the typical architectural styles of 2 centuries. Nowadays, it contributed to research on the traditional culture and customs of people in the contemporary South. With its stunning design, it has become the setting of many celebrated films.
Address: 144 Bùi Hữu Nghĩa Street, Bình Thủy District, Cần Thơ City
5. Cồn Sơn Tourist Attraction
Cần Thơ is today a city with upgraded infrastructure and a more modern face than itselt in the past. However, this face seems not to conceal cultural features of the Mekong Delta, a water area of Vietnam. Those cultural qualities are presented by rural destinations for travelers and tourists, one of which is Cồn Sơn Islet. What you can do in Cồn Sơn Islet is seeing the authentic life of people, simple rural scenes, and dipping yourself into the tranquility. Moreover, the most exciting thing is to witness hundreds of white and black storks flying for their prey and back home. It’s a completely awesome experience for those who love nature and rural life.
Address: Đỗ Trọng Văn Street, Bình Thủy District, Cần Thơ City
6. Love Bridge (Cầu Tình Yêu)
In recent years, another attractive spot for youngsters in Cần Thơ is Love Bridge. It’s really stunning at night and appeals to lots of people to visit. This is a footbridge and located next to Ninh Kiều Pier. The most special characteristic about the bridge is that it is illuminated by twinkling neon lights along its sides and lights from boats on the river, forming a romantic picture when the dark is coming.
Many locals often gather, enjoy cool breezes, chat together or take beautiful photos on the bridge; this has become a feature in their spiritual life and a part of their nightlife. You will get more understanding of their life while walking on the bridge. That’s why it’s a must-see thing when you come to Cần Thơ City.
Address: Tân An Ward, Ninh Kiều District, Cần Thơ City
7. Tây Đô Night Market
If you are a shopaholic or even just love window shopping, Tây Đô Night Market is actually what you are seeking when you explore Cần Thơ City. This market has been established and developed for a long time and next to Ninh Kiều Pier. It also used to be for trading various commodities from Cần Thơ to other parts of the world, so it was the biggest and most famous market many decades ago.
Today the gate is named Cần Thơ Market and in an exquisite and grand architectural style. Hence, it easily gets the attention of even those who don’t like shopping; they almost come there to witness its splendor. This marvelous feature makes the market a travel symbol of Cần Thơ City.
Address: Hai Bài Trưng Street, Ninh Kiều Pier, Ninh Kiều District, Cần Thơ City
8. Bình Thủy Temple
Bình Thủy Temple is an architectural and cultural heritage in Cần Thơ City. The temple witnessed the historic era where Vietnamese people colonized the Mekong Delta in the 19th century. The place is for not only worshiping deities, but also national heroes. It’s actually a chance for you to get insights into the history of Vietnam.
Based in the most favorable location in feng shui, Bình Thủy Temple is near a river, a market and a road. With its beautiful position, it’s easily noticeable to everyone and reached from any other place.
Address: Lê Hồng Phong Street, Bình Thủy Ward, Bình Thủy District, Cần Thơ City.
9. Bằng Lăng Stork Sanctuary
Don’t miss Bằng Lăng Stork Sanctuary when you visit Cần Thơ. This is the home of thousands of storks in various species. The image of the storks flying in the blue sky, creating an eye-catching long line will win your heart immediately. It’s great to take photos of the peaceful life of storks in the sanctuary as well as the quiet of the Mekong Delta.
It’s known that Bằng Lăng Sanctuary is one of the biggest bird habitats in the Mekong Delta as it occupies about 1.5 ha. A visit there entitles you to see a diversity of storks, including grey storks, black storks, and white storks.
Address: Thuận An Ward, Thốt Nốt District, Cần Thơ City.
10. Mười Cương Cacao Farm
Mười Cương Cacao Farm is one of the top destinations to visit in Cần Thơ and quite common among international tourists and travelers. They pay a visit to the farm to research on how to cultivate cacao and make Vietnamese traditional chocolate. It’s also the place where the first type of Vietnamese traditional chocolate of excellent quality was manufactured and highly rated.
In recent years, Mười Cương Cacao Farm has got the attention of many domestic tourists and travelers who would like to know more about Vietnamese traditional chocolate. For an excursion there, you will be introduced to the process of making chocolate and have a chance to experience some of its steps. Interestingly, the cacao is grown not only for chocolate, but also for wine, candy, and butter.
Address: Mỹ Ái Hamlet, Mỹ Khánh Commune, Phong Điền District, Cần Thơ City.
Here is the list of top 10 tourist attractions you are highly recommended to visit in Cần Thơ City. It’s easy to find out those top places appearing in popular itineraries of travel agents because they contain a lot of fascinating things to explore and soak into. If you intend to fuel yourself with new things from Asia, the above suggestions are surely what you need.
