The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has had a turbulent past, but visitors will find it a colourful, warm country to visit, with a tropical climate and rich history.

With a population of around 83 million, Vietnam lies on the eastern part of the Indochinese peninsula and borders China, Laos and Cambodia. Despite its recent past, Vietnam has started to modernise and liberalise its economy and has become more open in recent years.

Vietnam has a tropical climate and monsoon seasons, which differ in the North and South. The climate remains temperate most of the year and the tropical forests and mist-capped mountains provide a dreamy background to a holiday inland.

Vietnam was settled during the Bronze Age by the Viet tribes and is now made up of 54 different ethnic groups. It became part of French Indochina in 1887 until 1954 when the Communist forces under Ho Chi Minh took control of the North. The United States intervened in the conflict throughout the 1960s. A ceasefire agreement was finally drawn up in 1973 and the North took power, unifying the country in 1975.

The Vietnamese capital Hanoi has a lengthy history, visible immediately in the ornate pagodas and dynastic temples. It is a relatively gentle city and provides an excellent starting point for any visit to the country.

The busier Ho Chi Minh City, which means 'bringer of light', is named after the first president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The city, once Saigon, is surprisingly modern, bustling and full of charming hotels.

Vietnamese people are friendly and welcoming, though there is a stark divide between rich and poor. Life in Ho Chi Minh takes place on the street and the city is a confusion of bicycles and motorbikes, street food, market stalls and people.

A visit to Vietnam must include a trip to see one of the many beautiful pagodas and the country also has a host of ancient temple sites, including the Cham temple ruins at My Son, where the impressive palaces, temples and mausoleums are a must see.

The Mekong Delta near Ho Chi Minh is a stunning, natural tonic after the bustle of the city and one of the best ways to visit the deltas is by boat, cruising past lush rice fields and orchards and stopping into quaint towns and villages.

Performance, in particular music and dance, are an important part of Vietnamese culture and visitors can choose from religious or contemporary dance, fascinating water puppetry, traditional Cheo theatre and elaborate classical opera.

With a 3,260km coastline, Vietnam is also a great country to go on a beach holiday, with stretches of quiet sands and a growing number of very reasonable luxury resorts springing up. The country is increasingly attracting tourists, with its dramatic mountainous and hilly landscapes and white beaches.

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), in place between North and South from 1954 to 1975, is a reminder of Vietnam's past as the most heavily bombed country in history and travellers can also pay a visit to the Viet Cong's network of tunnels and bunkers under Ho Chi Minh.

Rice forms the centrepiece of Vietnamese cuisine and many of the traditional dishes are vegetarian and basic. There are some interesting meat dishes, such as spicy nem ran and gio lua, a paste cooked in banana leaves, with fresh seafood being a key staple.

Shopping is a must for travellers and the list of intricate gifts and handicrafts on offer is overwhelming, from traditional pottery, copper goods, wood carvings and lacquer, to rich and ornate embroidered silks and jewellery.