Cố Viên Lầu old houses Cố Viên Lầu

Yard of old northern village houses beside the pier

Yard of 22 old village houses rebuilt beside the pier, a short walk before or after the boat. Walk through timber houses with fish-scale tiles and old furniture, and see Lý ceramics and Gia Long dragon jars inside. Skip it if the boat and Bích Động already fill your day.

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Tiled roofs of the old houses, with the karst behind

Photo: Kien1980v · Public domain

TimeCheck on arrival

FeeCheck on arrival

Get thereBeside the Tam Cốc pier, on the road to Thái Vi

Best monthsRipe-rice days at the end of May

Sông Ngô Đồng

Photography

Cố Viên Lầu is a yard of about 20,000 m² with 22 old houses collected from villages in Ninh Bình and the northern delta and rebuilt beside the Tam Cốc pier. Most date from the Nguyễn period onward. It joined the Tam Cốc–Bích Động site in 2008.

A small tiered stone pagoda on a walled bank by the river, with limestone hills in mist behind — The Cố Viên Lầu pagoda in mist on the river

The Lưu Phương house, from Kim Sơn, has five bays in forest xoan wood, fish-scale tiles, and handmade red brick floors, and now serves as the reception. The Ý Yên house, built in 1883, shows Lý-dynasty ceramics from the 12th and 13th centuries. The Thọ Xuân house holds more than 100 dragon jars from the Gia Long era, the tallest 65 cm.

The yard sits between the pier and the road to Thái Vi, with the Ngô Đồng on its west side, so it fits before or after the boat.

Getting there and around

The yard is next to the Tam Cốc pier in thôn Văn Lâm, bordered by the pier to the south, the road to Thái Vi temple to the east, and the Ngô Đồng to the west.