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Ho Chi Minh City

No reviews yetCity Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), VietnamSaigon Hi Tech Park, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), VietnamHo Chi Minh City during sunset (50332857462), Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), VietnamHo Chi Minh City Opera House (53668610660), Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), VietnamParque Tao Dan, Ciudad Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 2013 08 15, DD 03, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

About Ho Chi Minh City

Motorbikes stream around French-era boulevards, glass towers rise over the Saigon River and street stalls serve broken rice and banh mi on almost every corner: Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam's largest city and its commercial engine. Most people still call it Saigon, the name it carried until 1976.

The colonial period left the red-brick Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office and the Opera House, all within walking distance of each other in the old District 1. The city's turbulent twentieth century is told at Independence Palace, where the Vietnam War ended in April 1975, and in the sobering galleries of the War Remnants Museum. To the west, Cholon, the historic Chinese quarter, is full of assembly halls, temples and wholesale markets.

Evenings belong to Nguyen Hue Walking Street and the bars of Bui Vien. Day trips head to the Cu Chi Tunnels on the city's northwestern edge or south into the canals and orchards of the Mekong Delta. Heavy but usually short afternoon downpours are common in the rainy season, roughly May to November.

Best seasonDecember to April, the dry season
Ideal stay3-4 days, plus a day trip to Cu Chi or the Mekong Delta
ArrivingTan Son Nhat International Airport, a short taxi or bus ride north of the centre

Why People Love Ho Chi Minh City: 12 Things to Discover

Landmarks 2

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon

Built by the French between 1877 and 1880, this cathedral is the city's most recognisable silhouette, with two bell towers rising...
Saigon Central Post Office, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

Saigon Central Post Office

Right beside the cathedral, this post office was completed in the early 1890s and is still in daily use. Under its long arched iro...

History 2

Independence Palace, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

Independence Palace

Also called Reunification Palace, this modernist building by architect Ngo Viet Thu was the seat of South Vietnam's president unti...
Cu Chi Tunnels, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

Cu Chi Tunnels

In Cu Chi, on the city's northwestern edge, a vast network of tunnels was dug by hand and used by guerrilla fighters during the wa...

Museums 1

War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

War Remnants Museum

Few museums in Southeast Asia leave a stronger impression. Captured American aircraft, tanks and artillery fill the courtyard, whi...

Shopping 2

Ben Thanh Market, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

Ben Thanh Market

The market's clock-tower gate has been a symbol of the city since the hall opened in 1914. Inside, tightly packed stalls sell fabr...
Binh Tay Market, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

Binh Tay Market

The main market of Cholon dates from 1928, a low building with tiled roofs set around a central courtyard and clock tower, paid fo...

Arts 1

Saigon Opera House, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

Saigon Opera House

Opened in 1900 as the Municipal Theatre, this ornate building facing Lam Son Square was designed in the style of French theatres o...

Temples and Shrines 2

Jade Emperor Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

Jade Emperor Pagoda

Built in the early twentieth century by the city's Cantonese community, this Taoist temple in Da Kao is crowded with carved wooden...
Thien Hau Temple Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

Thien Hau Temple Cholon

On Nguyen Trai Street in Cholon, this assembly hall of the Cantonese community honours Thien Hau, the goddess of the sea who prote...

Neighborhoods 1

Nguyen Hue Walking Street, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

Nguyen Hue Walking Street

Running from the yellow City Hall, built as the French Hotel de Ville, down towards the Saigon River, this wide pedestrian bouleva...

Entertainment 1

Bui Vien Walking Street, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam

Bui Vien Walking Street

The heart of the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker quarter turns into a pedestrian zone at night, packed with plastic stools, street food ca...

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