Historic places in Ho Chi Minh City

Historic places in Ho Chi Minh City

1. Buy

   Diamond Plaza

   A department store behind Notre Dame Cathedral, across the street diagonally.

2. SeeMuseum

   FITO Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine

   A small museum owned by the FITO company (they produce traditional pharmaceuticals) about the history of traditional medicine in Vietnam. The rooms are filled with items ranging from ingredients to tools used to produce and prepare Vietnamese medicine. Each ticket includes an informative tour of the museum and the opportunity to sample some products. The bottom floor also has a gift shop with competitively priced and high-quality traditional remedies.

   Daily 08:30-17:00·120,000 dong

3. SeeMuseum

   Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts

   Museum displaying art mainly from the 20th century by Vietnamese artists. Two floors of permanent collections are in the main building and the first floor of the second building has a special exhibitions space. The architecture of the French colonial buildings that house the museum is another impressive feature. They were designed by a French architect for the Hua family.

   Tue-Sun 08:00-18:00·30,000 dong · Heritage listed

4. SeeMemorial

   Ho Chi Minh Museum

   The museum, housed in a French colonial-era building, narrates the history of Ho Chi Minh City from pre-history to the present and also has exhibits on local culture and traditions. Outside, on the museum grounds, you will find cars and military vehicles of historical significance. The museum also relates the life of the modern-day father of Vietnam. The exhibits include various personal possessions of Ho Chi Minh but are mainly photographs. You may find it a little jingoistic.

   Closed · opens 7:30 am·30,000 dong (Feb 2020) · Heritage listed

5. SeeMuseum

   Independence Palace

   Also known as Reunification Palace

   This is a restored 4-floor time warp to the 1960s left largely untouched from the day Saigon fell to the North; construction started in 1962 and finished in 1966. It was South Vietnam's presidential palace. The war ended on 30 Apr 1975 when Tank 843 crashed through the gate. A replica of that tank is now parked on the lawn outside. Be sure to check out the aggressively 1960s recreation room on the third floor, featuring a circular sofa, and the eerie basement, full of vintage 1960s phones, radios and office equipment, supposedly left exactly as it was found when the North took over. There is also a photo gallery and a propaganda film recounting how the South Vietnamese supporters and American imperialists succumbed to Ho Chi Minh's indomitable revolutionary forces, at which point the South Vietnamese supporters were forgiven and everyone lived happily ever after. Free guided tours and an audio guide are available (90,000 dong). The audio guide is extremely informative, but not necessary. There is a nice outdoor café on the grounds outside the palace.

   Daily 07:30-11:00, 13:00-16:00·40,000 dong · Heritage listed

6. SeeHistory museum

   Museum of Vietnamese History

   The museum has a fine collection of Vietnamese antiquities. Read up on Vietnamese history first or you'll have no idea what you're looking at. Outside, the Botanical Gardens are very nice and a good place for a cheap lunch away from the crowds. Six times a day, you can see a 20-minute water puppet show (adult 50,000 dong, child 35,000 dong). It's quite amusing, even for adults.

   Daily 08:30-11:30, 13:30-17:00·30,000 dong · Heritage listed · Built 1929

7. SeeAttraction

   People's Committee Hall

   Built as the Hôtel de Ville, it's a striking cream and yellow French colonial building beautifully floodlit at night. No entry, but the statue of Uncle Ho in front is a very popular place for photos.

   Closed · opens 7:30 am·Built 1898 · Heritage listed

8. EatRestaurant

   Quan An Ngon

   Two different restaurants operate with the same name within a few blocks of each other, one at 160 Pasteur Street, and the other on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia across from the Reunification Palace. Set in atmospheric old French villas, with similar menus Vietnamese food, including regional specialities prepared in numerous independently-operated food stalls around the perimeter. Both are popular and both tend to be jammed at peak hours requiring a wait for a table. (The name literally means "restaurant of delicious eating".) The one on Pasteur has dozens of kerosene lamps burning for ambience at night, so if you have asthma or pulmonary issues or feel you've had enough pollution already, better to try the other one.

   Mains from 45,000 dong

9. SeeAttraction

   Saigon Opera House

   Nhà hát Thành phố or Opéra de Saïgon

   An opera house built by the French during the colonial period, and without a doubt one of the finest performance venues in Southeast Asia. In modern times it is home to the critically acclaimed AO show, an acrobatic show that fuses Vietnamese traditions with modern Cirque Nouveau performances. Occasionally hosts classical music performances when the AO show is not being performed.

   Heritage listed

10. See

    Southern Women’s Museum

    Often overlooked by tourists, this museum celebrates the women’s role in the society, economy, and revolutionary history of the southern part of the country. It offers informative exhibits that include photographs, historical documents, and artifacts such as statues, combat equipment used by women, paintings and dioramas, tools used in the traditional production of textiles, and ao dai worn by famous women. As of a February 2018, the second floor had an exhibit on the history of the ao dai and another on textile production, the third floor detailed women’s revolutionary contributions, and the fourth floor was under renovation.

    Daily 07:30-11:30 and 13:30-17:00 daily·free admission

11. See

    The Geological Museum of Vietnam

    A rare gem and a must see for geology & natural history enthusiasts. This 3-story building houses a collection of earthly artifacts (and even some non-earthly ones), including a few rare examples. Sadly in a state of neglect with poor lighting and little to no interpretive text. You can read more about it here.

    Mon-Fri 08-16:30 (closed during lunch 11:30-13:00)·free

12. SeeWar museum

    War Remnants Museum

    The museum was opened in a hurry, less than five months after the fall of the South Vietnamese regime. It has moved to new premises with 3 storeys of exhibits and various US military hardware (tanks, jets, helicopters, howitzers) on display outside the building. This disturbing display of man's cruelty during the Vietnam (American) War includes halls full of gruesome photographs, a simulated "tiger cage" prison and jars of deformed foetuses attributed to contamination by Agent Orange. An exhibit on the 3rd floor tells the story of the war journalists from all over the world who documented, and often disappeared or died in the war. Watch out for the amputees who will try to sell you their wares on the museum grounds, though largely their wares take the form of only somewhat overpriced books on historical topics relevant to the museum, and are less of a scam than more of an informal gift shop. The museum is a short walk from Reunification Palace — see the museum pamphlet for a map.

    Open daily 07:30-12:00, 13:30-17:00, last admission 16:30·Entry 40,000 dong

13. Drink Not mapped

    Cafe Napoly

    The decor is Roman ruins-lite (they meant "Napoli"), but the menu is typical for an upscale Vietnamese cafe: coffee, fruit drinks, ice cream, and a simple menu including eggs and rice dishes. Piped music is nice, not too loud by day (though louder at night), prices are decent. Outdoor terrace in the front, air-con section on the ground floor, and evening lounge-bar on the upper floor. Next door to the louder, more trendy and possibly pretentious Cafe Nam Sao.

14. SeeMemorial

    1964 Brink Hotel Bombing Memorial

15. SeeMonument

    Bia Truyền thống Vườn Lài

16. SeeMemorial

    Bia Tưởng Niệm Trận Đánh Tòa Đại Sứ Mỹ

17. SeeMemorial

    Bia ghi công Mặt trận Cầu Kiệu

18. SeeMemorial

    Bia tưởng niệm Nam Bộ Kháng chiến

19. SeeHistoric site

    F5E Fighter Aircraft

20. SeeMemorial

    Hiền tài là nguyên khí quốc gia

21. SeeMemorial

    Independence Day Memorial Stele

22. SeeRuins

    Lăng Lê Văn Duyệt

    Phan Đăng Lưu

23. SeeHistoric site

    Mong Bridge

    Heritage listed

24. SeeRuins

    Nhà đèn Chợ Quán

25. SeeHistoric site

    Notre Dame Cathedral

    Nhà thờ Đức Bà or Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame

    A French-built Catholic cathedral in the city center.

    It is closed for renovations as of Feb 2020·Free · Heritage listed

26. SeeMemorial

    Quach Thi Trang

27. SeeMonument

    Ring

28. SeeHistoric site

    Saigon Central Post Office

    2 Công trường Công xã Paris

    Closed · opens 7 am·Built 1891 · Heritage listed

29. SeeMemorial

    Statue of Mary

30. SeeMemorial

    Statue of Saint Matthew Lê Văn Gẫm (1813-1847)

31. SeeRuins

    Tamil Pigeon Cases since 1920

32. SeeMemorial

    Tran Van On's Statue

33. SeeMonument

    Turtle Lake

34. SeeMemorial

    Tượng Bồ Tát Thích Quảng Đức

35. SeeMemorial

    Tượng Đài Tượng Niệm - Công Viên Văn Lang

36. SeeMemorial

    Tượng Đức Bà Hòa Bình

    Công Xã Paris

37. SeeMonument

    Tượng đài Công Nông Binh

38. SeeHistory museum

    Vân Đường Phủ (Nhà cụ Vương Hồng Sển)

    11 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật

39. SeeMemorial

    Đài Kỷ Niệm Thích Quảng Đức

40. SeeMemorial

    Đài tưởng niệm Liệt sỹ Bình Thạnh

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Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Ho Chi Minh City (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).