Ho Chi Minh City (local people normally call Saigon) is the economic and financial center of Vietnam. This city is used to being compared as Paris of the South East Asia. The city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the national leader of Vietnamese Communism - Ho Chi Minh, but local residents still called it Saigon. Saigon has gone though long history of fighting for independence. The Khmers originally settled the region, with the Vietnamese taking over in the 17th century. The French conquered Saigon in 1859, and made it the capital of Cochinchina in 1862, which resulted in numerous elegant architecture and broad boulevards that are well preserved till this day. 

Today, Ho Chi Minh City is a popular tourist destination due to its fascinating culture, classic French architecture, and skyscrapers as well as ornate temples and pagodas. Here is the list of the famous attractions of this city that you cannot miss.

Ben Thanh Market is located in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. The long-lasting market is famous for the variety of products can be bought here from the traditional handicrafts and paintings, accessories made by famous brands and souvenirs. Coming into the market, visitors will also discover a lot of food stalls setting up under the same roofs with other stores so that you can experience the exquisite taste of Vietnamese’s street culinary culture, or just to enjoy a cup of ice tea or cold beer while shopping around the market. 

Ben Thanh Market covers a large area, therefore, it is not easy to locate where you are at while inside the market, so avoiding going to the market in the rush hours (11.00 am to 13.00 pm or 16.00 pm to 18.00 pm) is highly advised, however going during the crowded hours doesn’t lower the excitement. In the evening, many larger food stalls will start opening in the surrounding area of the market, forming a very dynamic and energetic atmosphere with the dishes’ fragrance spreading across the street, including stir-fried noodles, grilled fish or pork, … Recognized as a witness of history through many decades, Ben Thanh Market has become one of the iconic symbol of Vietnamese culture.  
 

If you are interested in trying the local’s street food menu, then arriving at Ben Thanh Market in the evening is the best time. Remember to empty your stomach before heading to the place, because you would not want to miss any dish. The domestic atmosphere, which the market generated, is incredible as you will be blending in with endless lines of locals coming here to enjoy the dishes after a long day working or studying.   

If you are planning going to the market for shopping purpose, the ideal time is early in the morning when you may find discounted handmade wooden or bamboo crafts, accessories. The other accessories can be found here are clothes, silk, backpacks, suitcases, watches or electronic households. The attractive smell of spices, nuts and other fruits floating across the market will certainly make the place more appealing, along with the noises heard from the tourists’ conversations or the local people bargaining. Do not forget that many items’ prices are fixed, so only pay for what you want at a reasonable price. 
 

 

Placed in the central area of district 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, in the middle of the big streets Le Loi, Ham Nghi, Tan Hung and Le Lai, stores will not stay open in the evening so remember to go shopping as early as possible, before the rush hours arrive. 

Every single taxi driver would know the market’s location, as it is one of the most popular destination in Ho Chi Minh City. However, be sure to check the map and see if you can go to the market on foot from your current location, as the market is located in the center of the town and easily reached. 

 

The Turtle Lake of Ho Chi Minh City (Ho Con Rua in Vietnamese) was formerly called Cong Truong Quoc Te – a square that sits between Vo Van Tan, Pham Ngoc Thach and Tran Cao Van Street in District 1. The lake was artificially made including a small pool, fountains, a few monuments and a tower that carries the form of a lotus. When talking about the place, people will usually ask why this lake was named the Turtle Lake, even when there is no actual living turtle in the area. Moreover, what time was the lake built and for what reason was it constructed here? Only a few known about the intriguing backstory of this particular lake. 

The lake was named Turtle Lake (or Ho Con Rua) because of a statue of a turtle was placed on the lake many years ago. The place had a strong connection with Dinh Doc Lap (the Independence Palace). Some people stated that president Nguyen Van Thieu himself had made the decision to build the lake back in 1967. As Nguyen Van Thieu was elected to the vacant President seat of Republic of Vietnam in southern Vietnam, he asked a Chinese man with expertise in Feng Shui (geomancy) to take a look at the Independence Palace and have a quick analysis. The experienced feng shui master then stated that the place was built on a “dragon current”, or as known as lung-mei. He also told the president that Independence Palace was placed directly on the dragon’s head and its tail lies at Cong Truong Chien Si, about 1 kilometer away from the Palace. That led to many people calling the Independence Palace under the name Phu Dau Rong (Dragon’s Head Palace). The Chinese expert had also informed Nguyen Van Thieu, that the dragon reflected the future of the Republic of Vietnam. The dragon was feeling asleep back then, but whenever it woke up and whipped its tail, Southern Vietnam’s governing body would falter. Therefore, President Nguyen Van Thieu had made the order to build an artificial lake, placing a statue of a turtle at the exact spot where he was told the tail of the dragon lied. Its purpose was to prevent the dragon from whipping its tail even when it came out of the sleep. Despite the efforts, Republic of Vietnam was eventually defeated and no longer exist nowadays.

The building of the lake was handled by Nguyen Ky – a quite popular architect during that time. The most impressive structure is the tower with five supporting pillars looking like five giant swords pinning down the ground. Some says it has more similarities to a huge blooming lotus, grows beyond the city. In front of the place is a fountain with four curved sprinklers running to the central area. There used to be a statue of a turtle made out of iron with its back carved from stones right in the central area of the lake. The turtle was destroyed later in 1978 by a group belonged to Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as it represented the remnants of an old empire. The lake covers a width of about 100 meters and ever since it was built, the place has always been one of the most attractive destination for travelers in both Saigon and Ho Chi Minh City. The place was largely untouched and remained the same, making it one of the iconic historical area in the South of Vietnam.
 

 

The Turtle Lake is surrounded by a number of universities, so don’t be surprised when a lot of students and youngsters can be seen here. They are here to walk, enjoy the scene and chill under the shades after a long day studying. Many outstanding photos were captured here. At present day, plenty of small food stalls or snack carts are set up around the place, so you don’t have to be worry about the prospect of being exhausted because the lack of food and water. There are specific carts that sell their unique dishes, which attract many food lovers to the spot. Some of the food you may find here are Grilled Rice Cake, mixed rice paper, banh bao, stir-fried/grilled/boiled corn or meatballs on a stick, … along with many tasty beverages like iced sugarcane juice, iced coconut water with kumquat, salted lemon juice, coconut water, coffee. 

The lake only a few hundred meters away from the holy Notre Dame Cathedral and the beautiful Saigon Central Post Office, making it one of the best travelling spots in town, mainly due to its magnificent scenery, the tranquilizing surroundings and the fascinating street cuisine culture. A trip to Turtle Lake is absolutely worth your time, in order to truly learn its backstory as well as hanging out and chilling in a simple and easy way. 

The grand opening of the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City occurred in 1975. During that time, the museum was named “Museum of American War Crimes”, served as a horrific reminder of the long-lasting bloody Vietnam War. The place displays many photos taken by journalists then, along with the US military’s battling gear, supplies and machinery. Some of the most notable weapons includes the M101 and M114 cannons, the iconic self-propelled M107 gun, the notorious M41 “bulldog” tank, and other combat aircrafts such as the F5-E jets, the A-1 Skyraider or heavy transporting copters CH-47. Visitors can also witness an unexploded bomb that weighs about 7,000 kilograms. These were the most popular machineries that the US army troops had used to lay waste to Vietnam for 30 years from 1945 to 1975. 
 

 

When someone mentions the Vietnam War, everybody will be reminded of the “tiger cages”. Those cages were the places the political prisoners in southern Vietnam being held captive by Ngo Dinh Diem’s government. Stories were told that the cages can fit up to 14 people at the same time. A guillotine originated from the French government is also being displayed, which were used to execute prisoners until 1960. Moreover, visitors can observe the shocking photos of people who were infected by the toxic dropped by the US Army called “Agent Orange”. A huge number of 4.8 million locals were exposed to highly toxic pesticide and lethal chemical weapon. Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has predicted the number as high as 500,000 children were born naturally disabled. The War Remnants Museum is located in 28 Vo Van Tan street, 3rd district, Ho Chi Minh City, opens every day from 7.30 am to 17.00 pm. It is worth noting that the contents from this museum is very disturbing to many people. While the children are completely allowed to come into the museum, we strongly recommend against the idea.

Saigon Central Post Office is the largest post office in the southern Vietnam, which is also the city’s iconic building with complicated architectural design. Built between 1886 and 1891, during the French colonization, the complex has really inherited the modern western design along with the delicate oriental ornament.

The Saigon Central Post Office is located at 2nd Paris Commune Street, opposite to Notre Dame cathedral, represents the quality and spirits of 19th century western architectural designs.
 

 

The Central Post Office, along with Notre Dame Cathedral are the two most popular tourist attractions in Ho Chi Minh City. They simply can’t be excluded from any travelling reference notes. What makes the Post Office so special? It is because of the French hearts that had been blown into the design of the complex.

The identity of the engineer who designed the Post Office remains a mystery. Some believed that the one created the place was Gustave Eiffel, the same French architect that built the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Statue of Liberty in New York. Other sources stated that the building was designed by an architect called Villedieu, along with his assistant Foulhoux. Some even complicated the story by noting that Eiffel was the first to design and built the place, Villedieu and Foulhoux only reconstructed it afterwards. Either way, French’s iconic architectural designs can be seen through the curved windows or the large clock hanging high above the main gate.

The windows on both sides of the Post Office are curved. However, the main hall only consists windows with rectangular shapes. The decorations around the windows remind people of those beautiful train stations in Europe. The two rows of pillars standing on the front hall of the building were taken care of with artistic decorations. The main pillars with the task of supporting the second floor are specially beautified with rectangular stones, carved in the names of the scientists who had a major impact to the development of mankind such as Thomas Alva Edison, Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, …
 

 

The best thing about Saigon Central Post Office is the texture inside the building. Built with curved ceiling plus huge metal arches and wooden countertops on the side, the building gives tourists an overwhelming space, which has more things in common to a vintage train station than a normal post office. Two big maps are also displayed on the two sides of the corridor, one is the map of Saigon along with the outskirts area, the other describes the border lines between the south of Vietnam and Cambodia. A large picture of President Ho Chi Minh is placed at the back of the main hall. Business is still active until present day, with roughly 38 customer counters serving every day. 

All paintings here are original, with other accessories such as the vintage telephone booths, glue pots for sticking stamps and letter writing tables remain untouched, it is evident that time has no effect on this beautiful post office.

Saigon Opera House, in company with Hanoi Opera House, is the most popular destination in Vietnam for opera and other genres of classical music lovers. 

Saigon Opera House shows the magnificence of 19th century western architectural culture, being built with full supervisor from the French architect Eugene Ferret in 1897 under the name of Opėra de Saigon. Starting from early 1956, it was used by the State of Vietnam (later changed to Republic of Vietnam) as a Lower House. The complex then has gone through a few reconstructions and nowadays, the theater only open during special events. 

Between World War I and World War II, all costs of mobilization and demobilization as well as other costs for the theatre companies from France to Saigon were paid by the municipal government. Despite the fact that the theatre was planned as an entertainment venue for the growing middle class. Its audience declined as more and more night clubs and dance halls boomed in the city. During this period, performances were presented only occasionally, some being concerts and other Cai Luong programs.

In 1955, the theatre was restored as the seat of the Lower House of the State of Vietnam, then the Republic of Vietnam. After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, the building was restored to its original function as a theatre. In 1998, on the occasion of 300th anniversary of the founding of Saigon, the municipal government had the theatre façade restored.
 

Saigon Opera House only opens to the people when events being commenced here. Therefore, guests only have to pay for the tickets in order to discover the place, there is no extra payments whatsoever. The amount of money you have to pay for the show depends on which time the events are thrown, the size of the events and which seat you want to take.

Water puppetry is a tradition that dates back as far as the 11th century when it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam. Today's Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique variation on the ancient Asian puppet tradition. Nowadays, watching Water Puppet Shows are still preferred activities for most tourists coming to Vietnam, in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The best places to see a water puppet show in Ho Chi Minh City are The Golden Dragon Water Puppetry Theatre and the Villa Song Saigon (as known as Thao Dien Village).  Attendances can take a closer look at the old tales of Vietnamese culture through these shows, observing the skillful artists performing on a waist-deep pool with beautifully crafted wooden puppets. 

The shows are only performed in Vietnamese, however, this does not affect the experiences of the foreign attendances because of the lively and entertaining body language of the puppets is more than good enough for the audiences to keep up with the story. Musicians will play their instruments in the background to provide some sound effects or songs, meanwhile puppets in various forms like normal people, dragons, fairies, … telling the stories on stage. 
 

 

Every week, people throw a water puppet show along with a delicious traditional Vietnamese meal in Ngon Restaurant at Villa Song Saigon. Same as water puppetry, the performances serve as a visual display of stories, tales, magical myths and also comedy shows. The shows are performed on a waist-deep pool covering an area of about 4 square meters with experienced and well-trained puppeteers hiding behind a bamboo curtain, painted with many colors. The puppets, which are made of wood, are controlled by long rods put inside them with complexity, performing actions as the story goes. Another location to see this special art is at the Golden Dragon Water Puppetry Theatre placed inside Tao Dan Park. The place has two shows every evening and is a very popular destination even for the locals, so it is crucial to pre-order tickets if you want to enjoy the shows here. Nonetheless, both places bring you the best experience into the traditional Vietnamese artistry and stories that has been recognized with many awards worldwide. 
 

Vietnamese Traditional Medicine Museum can be found in District 10 to the south of Ho Chi Minh City. The museum is a great location for travelers who are interested in traditional medication of Vietnam. More than 3,000 tools, statues, vases, kettles, scales, … some of them have been made thousands of years ago, along with the medicines that have been used for as long as since the Stone Age to the newly founded a few decades ago. 

Vietnamese traditional Medicine Museum is also called the FITO Museum, since it was constructed and now under the management of Fito Pharmacy Company Ltd. The museum comprises an acreage of 600 square meters, includes five floors with about 24 rooms in total, in which there are 16 rooms are now being used for exhibition purpose. There is a shrine placed on the highest floor, used to honor the two people who were recognized as the ones who invented Vietnamese traditional medication, one is Tue Tinh (born in 1330 and deceased around the 1400s), the other one is Le Huu Trac, or goes by the name Hai Thuong Lan Ong (1720-1791). The shrine made of wooden boards lying flat with parallel sentences carved on, painted with a red layer and decorated with gold – a really special way to honor the two healers and show how important they were to traditional medicine development. Visitors can also see the instructions on how to make the Vietnamese traditional medicine, step by step, by reading them on carved wooden walls and pillars inside the museum. 
 

 

There are approximately 3,000 items currently displayed in the museum, with each of them have their own use in the making of traditional medicine, some of them even existed since the Stone Age and are still being very well preserved. Different items are placed in different areas of the museum, most notable the tools that have been used to compose medicine for patients like the medicinal root slicer, the apothecary’s mortar – which has been around for about 2,500 years, made by different components and comes in many shapes and sizes.

There are two special sections named “Northern traditional medicine house” and “Southern traditional medicine house”, which were rebuilt and now are displaying a variety of priceless pharmaceutical. Tourists can try to be a healer by wearing the traditional healer’s suit, try making drugs with the tools and herbs provided, learn to feel a person’s pulse and predict whether he (or she) is sick or not. You can truly understand more the use of different medicine processing tools, for example pestles and mortars, the scales to measure medicines, various kinds of herbs and plants are used to make the cure and the medicine cooker, along with drawers which are used to contain the herbs. 
 

 

 

The fourth floor has a large wooden board on the walls, named “Vietnam’s famous physicians”. It is used to honor more than 100 healers living from the 12th century to the 20th century who played a major part in developing Vietnam’s traditional medication, with their names carved on the board. 

There is also a bookshelf displaying many medical books and notes, mostly written in Chinese and “chu Nom” (ancient language of Vietnamese), explaining the use of many traditional medicines, undeniably a priceless gift that the ancestors have left behind. 

An American visitor, named Anna, has shared her thoughts: “The items displayed here are truly amazing and one of a kind, they truly enlightened us about the long-lasting history of Vietnam’s medication treatment. 

Free herbal tea is served to the tourists before they end their trip into the museum. The quality of the tea was so great that it surely has a big positive impact on the visitors’ experience. 

Note when walking around

- Walking in Saigon on sunny days is one of the interesting experiences that tourists cannot miss. However, during these street walks, you should still have some small notes, such as choosing to walk on the open streets, less smoke.

- A common problem in the city is robbery, especially small bags, phones or jewelry. To ensure the safety of both people and belongings, you should be careful when walking, avoid exposing expensive jewelry or phones and always taking precautions.