Pagode Hông Hiên Tu, Buddhist temple in Fréjus, France

Pagode Hông Hiên Tu is a single-storey Vietnamese temple at 13 rue Henri Giraud in Fréjus, raised on a base reached by a few steps. Its tiled roof keeps a hipped form with superimposed pavilions, upturned corners and carved wooden dragon acroteria. The garden holds about ten animal statues, including dragons, elephants, tigers and horses, plus four scenes of the Buddha's life.

Built in 1917 by Indochinese colonial troops stationed at the Gallieni camp in Fréjus, the pagoda was inaugurated on 6 April 1919. It is the oldest Buddhist pagoda in France, though the Buddhist temple of Saint Petersburg (1913) predates it. Abandoned after World War I, it was revived in 1954 by Vietnamese refugees and restored from 1967 by the Franco-Vietnamese Buddhist Association.

The temple keeps Vietnamese Buddhist traditions alive through celebrations that visitors can experience throughout the year. These gatherings show how the community maintains its connection to spiritual practices and its homeland.

The temple opens for visitors on specific days of the week, so checking ahead about timing is helpful before you go. When you arrive, showing respect through your behaviour and paying attention to signs helps you understand how to move through the sacred spaces properly.

The large bell was cast after the model of the great bell of Huê and installed in 1988, the same year the An Lạc stupa was built to hold the dead. The garden also holds about ten animal statues and four scenes of the Buddha's life added in the 1972 renovation.