2 Best Sights in The South-Central Coasts and Highlands, Vietnam

The Lake of Sighs, northeast of town, takes its name from a tale of two star-crossed lovers, Hoang Tung and Mai Nuong. According to legend, Hoang Tung joined the army, but Mai Nuong thought she had been abandoned. Out of despair, she killed herself by jumping into the lake. On discovering her body, her lover did the same. Access to the lake is via a kitschy theme park that may entertain children for several hours. The extensive grounds contain flower gardens, statues designed for photo-posing, coffee stalls, concrete animals, and replica village huts.

Circumscribed by a walking path, Xuan Huong Lake is a hub of leisurely activity, including swan-shape paddleboats. Although there's traffic nearby, the lake provides a pleasant place to walk and bike. The dam-generated lake takes its name from a 17th-century Vietnamese poet known for her daring attacks on the hypocrisy of social conventions and the foibles of scholars, monks, mandarins, feudal lords, and kings.