Between two palm-speckled hills – Big Mountain and Small Mountain – and a bay of pearly blue water, the buzzing port of Vũng Tàu is a whole load of things packed into one. Perhaps most notably, it's a favourite escape for the urbanites of Ho Chi Minh City come the weekend, when a blast of salt water and fresh sea air is just what's needed to counter those scooter-clogged streets. It's also a hub for Vietnam's oil industry. And it's a place laced with a charming touch of French colonial style – the reason for those wide boulevards and handsome palatial buildings.

The first place that Vũng Tàu tour guides are likely to lead you to is the coast. There's a duo of main beaches within city limits here, conveniently named Front Beach and Back Beach. The first is laced with big hotels and buzzing bars, making it a prime spot to watch the sunset come evening. The latter is for watersports and sunbathing, with rows of deckchairs and whizzing parasailing folk up its length.

When you need a break from the rays, be sure to delve into the heady haze of veg sellers, soy-sizzling noodle stands and spice hawkers that is Chợ Vũng Tàu bazaar. Beyond that, culture vultures should check off the whitewashed Villa Blanche and its elegant Francophone balconies, along with the mysterious Thắng Tam Temple, where legends of Vũng Tàu's three founding villagers are narrated between smoking stacks of incense sticks.