The city has many tourist attractions with famous landmarks both in and around the city. Some of the notable places includes, Prakasam Barrage, the barrage across the Krishna river, built by "Sir Arthur Cotton". Krishnaveni Mandapam, also known as "River Museum" is situated beside Prakasam Barrage, houses vivid history of Krishna river. The Krishnaveni statue at the Prakasam barrage is the idol for the river Krishna. As, the river is also referred to as "Krishnaveni" in its original nomenclature. Kanaka Durga Temple, located on Indrakeeladri hill at the banks of Krishna river, is famous for Vijayadashami festival celebrations. Hazarat Bal Mosque, a holy relic of the Prophet Mohammed and Gunadala Mary Matha Church installed by St. Joseph's Orphanage at Gunadala are other religious landmarks.
Gandhi Hill is the first Gandhi Memorial in the country, constructed on a hill, located at an elevation of 500 ft (150 m) in the city. Victoria Jubilee Museum is an archaeological museum which has preserved collections of ancient sculptures, paintings, idols, weapons and inscriptions. Many beautiful parks are located in the city to protect the environment such as Rajiv Gandhi Park with a mini zoo in the city is under Vijayawada Municipal Corporation. Many more parks are also located such as, Dr.B.R Ambedkar & Raghavaiah park, Mahatma Gandhi park etc.Bhavani Island is one of the largest island, located in midst of the Krishna River. It is at the upstream of Prakasam Barrage of the city which is being developed by APTDC into a tourist spot and a Riverfront resort.
Nearby landmarks in the surrounding suburbs include Mogalarajapuram Caves (5th century A.D.), Undavalli Caves (7th century A.D. Buddhistlandmark), Kondapalli Fort (7th century A.D.) in Kondapalli village etc., Lord Narasimha temple in Mangalagiri, located 14 km from the city, is the abode of Lord Narasimha. Kondapalli Forest, located 20 km from Vijayawada, is spread over 121.5 square kilometres (30,000 acres). The fauna include of this forest include leopards, wild dogs, jackals, wild boar, wolves etc.