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The Pearl of the Far East

Ho Chi Minh City architecture

Ho Chi Minh City — still widely known by its former name, Saigon — is Vietnam's largest and most energetic city. An estimated 8 million motorbikes share its streets, creating a constant fluid river of two-wheelers that visitors must learn to navigate on foot by walking slowly and steadily into traffic. The city's café culture is legendary — Vietnamese iced coffee (cà phê sữa đá), made with strong robusta beans and sweetened condensed milk, is one of the world's great coffee drinks.

  • 5Landmarks
  • 1880Oldest · Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon
  • 60 mTallest · Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon
  • 5Architects

Before you go

  • Fly intoTan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN)

    Tan Son Nhat Airport, still identified by the IATA code SGN from its days as Saigon, is Vietnam's busiest airport. It sits remarkably close to the city center, just a few kilometers from District 1, making the taxi ride in one of the shortest of any major Asian city. A long-planned second international airport at Long Thanh is under construction to handle the country's explosive growth in air travel.

  • CurrencyVietnamese Dong (₫)
  • LanguageVietnamese

    Vietnamese is a tonal language with six distinct tones, meaning the same syllable spoken at different pitches carries entirely different meanings. It uses a Latin-based alphabet (quốc ngữ) developed by 17th-century missionaries, making it more immediately readable to Western visitors than most Southeast Asian scripts. Southern Vietnamese as spoken in Ho Chi Minh City has a warmer, more melodic quality than the northern Hanoi dialect.

  • Getting aroundBuses & Grab Motorbikes

    Ho Chi Minh City's public bus network covers the entire city, but the most practical transport for visitors is Grab — Southeast Asia's dominant ride-hailing app — which offers both car rides and motorbike taxis. Metro Line 1 connecting Bến Thành Market to the eastern suburbs opened in late 2024, marking a landmark step in modernizing the city's transit infrastructure.

5 landmarks in Ho Chi Minh City

  1. Reunification Palace
    Photo: Balon Greyjoy, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Reunification Palace

    135 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa, Bến Thành Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    The former Presidential Palace of South Vietnam and the site where the Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, preserved exactly as it was on that day.

    Built
    1966
    Architect
    Ngô Viết Thụ
    Style
    Modernist / Asian influenced
    Height
    26 m (85 ft)
    Stories
    4
    Today
    Museum / historical site
  2. War Remnants Museum
    Photo: Prenn, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    War Remnants Museum

    28 Võ Văn Tần, Võ Thị Sáu Ward, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Vietnam's most visited museum, documenting the consequences of the Vietnam War through powerful photography, military equipment, and firsthand accounts.

    Built
    1975
    Architect
    Various
    Style
    Various / exhibition halls
    Height
    10 m (33 ft)
    Stories
    3
    Today
    Museum (active)
  3. Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon
    Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon

    1 Công xã Paris, Bến Nghé Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    A Roman Catholic cathedral built by French colonists between 1863 and 1880, constructed entirely from materials imported from France.

    Built
    1880
    Architect
    Jules Bourard
    Style
    Roman Revival / French colonial
    Height
    60 m (197 ft)
    Stories
    2
    Today
    Cathedral (active)
  4. Bến Thành Market
    Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Bến Thành Market

    Lê Lợi, Bến Thành Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Ho Chi Minh City's most iconic market, built in 1914 and symbolized by its distinctive clock tower — a hub for local produce, street food, and Vietnamese handicrafts.

    Built
    1914
    Architect
    French colonial engineers
    Style
    French colonial
    Stories
    1
    Today
    Public market (active)
  5. Cu Chi tunnels
    Photo: Lars Curfs (Grashoofd), CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, via Wikimedia Commons

    Cu Chi tunnels

    Phú Mỹ Hưng, Củ Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    An underground network of over 250 km of tunnels used by Viet Cong forces during the Vietnam War, now an evocative war memorial and museum.

    Built
    1948
    Architect
    Viet Cong forces
    Style
    Underground tunnel system
    Stories
    1
    Today
    War memorial / museum

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