About 6km south of central Nha Trang, tucked into the green of Mount Canh Long, stand five French-era villas. Known as the Cau Da Villas, they were used as a summer retreat from 1940 to 1945 by Bao Dai, the last emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, and Empress Nam Phuong. Two of the villas, closed for more than a decade, opened to visitors in April 2026, and on August 16 the newspaper Tuoi Tre reported on the interiors with photos. For travelers who want Nha Trang to be more than just beaches and seafood — who want to walk through a tangible piece of modern Vietnamese history — there's now one more place to add to the itinerary.
This article is written for people planning a trip to Nha Trang and for residents living in Khanh Hoa. Rather than a flashy theme park, it lays out how to spend half a day touching the end of a dynasty on a quiet hilltop.
Built by the French in 1923, it became the emperor's summer residence 17 years later
The villas were built in 1923, originally for the French. The emperor didn't begin using them until 17 years later, in 1940. Bao Dai, who ascended the throne in 1926 and reigned until 1945 as the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, spent his final years before abdication on this hill in Nha Trang. Records show Empress Nam Phuong stayed here as well. The choice to base their summer retreat on a headland jutting into the sea — rather than in Hue, seat of the royal court, or later in Da Lat, where they also kept a villa — hints at how the royal family of the time viewed a seaside escape.
The site sits beside a harbor called Cau Da, and the villas themselves have come to be known by the same name — the Cau Da Villas. Stone staircases built in the 1920s under French rule, large windows that let the breeze through, and well-tended garden trees all remain intact, carrying the atmosphere of a hundred-year-old summer retreat into the present. Beyond serving as the emperor's private residence, the buildings can also be read as an example of the colonial architecture built along the southern coast at the time.
The buildings have been designated a "historical, cultural, and scenic site" by the Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee. It's worth knowing before you go that this isn't a reconstruction built for tourism — it's the real thing, officially recognized as a heritage site by the local government. There's no flashy presentation, but that leaves more room to quietly face the history.
Two of Five Villas Open — "Vong Nguyet" and "Nghinh Phong" — the Other Three Still Behind Closed Doors
Of the five villas, the two now open to visitors are Vong Nguyet Pavilion and Nghinh Phong Pavilion. Buildings that had been closed for more than a decade have been restored, and their interiors now display period furnishings and historical materials. The remaining three villas are still closed to the public, and their names haven't even been released. In other words, what you can currently see is only part of the complex — the whole site hasn't opened at once. Visitors who go without knowing that only two buildings are open may be thrown off by the gap between expectation and what's actually there.
What's more valuable than the buildings themselves is the location. From the height of the headland, you can take in Nha Trang Bay, Cau Da Port, and even Hon Tre Island offshore. The experience of looking down at the sea from abovea Nha Trang Bay cruise, which lets you tour the islands at sea level, pairs with it — giving you a way to experience the same bay from both land and sea. For those chasing a view from above,The Seaplane Plan for Khanh Hoa's Three Baysonce that becomes possible, you'll have all three angles covered — hill, sea, and sky.
Why It's Worth a Half Day for Japanese Travelers
1945, the year Bao Dai abdicated, is the same year Japan lost the war. The emperor spent this period — one that overlapped with the Japanese military's occupation and the independence movement that followed — in a villa built under French colonial rule. Seen that way, this hill reads as a place where modern Southeast Asian history and Japanese history intersect. The biggest significance of these two villas is that they let you step beyond a trip that leaves you with nothing but beach-resort memories and actually stand at the site where a dynasty came to an end. Vietnam's modern history can feel distant to Japanese travelers, but with the shared reference point of 1945, the hillside villas suddenly become something personal.
It's practical, too. At just 6km from the city center, you can pair a morning at the villas with an afternoon of beach and seafood. If you time it with the summerNha Trang Sea Festival, you can go back and forth between festival crowds and hillside quiet in a single day.
Three Things to Check Before You Go
- Open Monday through Friday. It's closed on weekends, so a weekend-centered itinerary won't get you in. The Cau Da area is about 15 minutes from the center by taxi or Grab.
- Only two villas, Vong Nguyet and Nghinh Phong, are open. Don't go expecting to see all five. Always check current signage or the latest information for admission fees and opening hours.
- There's little shade up on the hill. Bring a hat and water, and aim for early morning or the softer light of evening — the bay view comes out beautifully then too.
Nha Trang has long been known as a beach city, but with these two villas now open, it has a new entry point: "the hill where the Nguyen Dynasty's last emperor looked out at the sea." Next time you visit Nha Trang, head up to the villas on Mount Canh Long before you head down to the beach. From there you get a view of the bay and Hon Tre Island at an angle you'd never see from sea level.
