The Reunification Palace is beautiful in its
ugliness, a 1960s monstrosity designed with the
help of Soviet architects. Most people will
remember the image of a North Vietnamese tank
crashing through the gates on 30 April 1975
signifying the fall of Saigon. The tank still
graces the front lawn. Rooms open to the public
remain exactly as they were in 1975, showing where
important meetings were held during the war, as
well as some of the private quarters of the
president and his family. Most fascinating are a
series of underground tunnels housing a
telecommunications centre.
Nam Ky Khoi Ngia,
District 1
Tel: (08) 822 3652.
Opening hours: Daily 0730-1100 and 1300-1600.
Admission: VND20,000 (including brochure).
Formerly known as the Museum of American War
Crimes, the name has been toned down so as not to
offend its US visitors and is now the War Remnants
Museum. This is not a museum for the sensitive as
it houses instruments of torture and hundreds of
photographs of atrocities committed during the
20th century and, in particular, the Vietnam War.
Visitors cannot fail to be moved as the exhibits
provide a context for a period of history many
only know from old newsreels and Hollywood movies.
At the front of the museum is a small collection
of military hardware and, most interestingly, the
mobile guillotine used by the French colonists to
dispense justice throughout the country before
World War II.
28 Vo Van Tan, District 3
Tel: (08) 930 5587.
Opening hours: Daily 0730-1145 and 1330-1715.
Admission: VND10,000.
The twin towers of Notre Dame Cathedral have been
a familiar landmark in Ho Chi Minh City since the
1880s. In front of the cathedral in a small garden
is a delicate statue of the Virgin Mary. The
interior of the cathedral is rather plain, unlike
most French cathedrals, with no stained glass but
it is a cool escape from the heat outside.
Dong Khoi, District 1
Opening hours: No formal times.
Admission: Free; donations appreciated.
Across from the Notre Dame Cathedral, the vast
Post Office was also built in the late 19th
century in European style. The interior has hardly
been touched since it was built and is dominated
by a huge portrait of Ho Chi Minh. The building
always seems busy but most people are just
visitors rather than customers.
2 Cong Xa Paris,
District 1
Tel: (08) 829 9615.
Opening hours: Daily 0630-2130.
Admission: Free.
Housed in the former building of the Government of
Cochinchina, the Ho Chi Minh City Museum (formerly
the Revolutionary Museum) contains artefacts, such
as weapons, uniforms, medals and old photos, from
the period of Communist struggle against the
French and the Americans. Unfortunately, the
exhibits are only labelled in Vietnamese but some
are self-explanatory. Outside the museum is a
collection of military hardware including a tank
and a helicopter.
65 Ly Tu Trong,
District 1
Tel: (08) 829 9743 or 829 9741.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1600.
Admission: VND10,000.
Located just inside the entrance to the Botanical
Gardens and Zoo, the Historical Museum houses a
collection of artefacts covering the last 2000
years of Vietnamese history including items
belonging to ancient cultures such as Dong Son, Oc
Eo and Cham. The museum was built in 1929 and the
collection assembled by the Ecole Francaise
d’Extreme Orient.
Nguyen Binh Khiem,
District 1
Tel: (08) 829 8146.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1120 and 1330-1620.
Admission: VND10,000.
Cholon is in District 5 and is a maze of narrow
streets, bustling with people. Most of Vietnam’s
ethnic Chinese live here and they are the largest
single ethnic minority group in the country.
Merchants began to settle in Cholon in the 1770s,
although many ethnic Chinese fled the country in
1975.
The Thien Hau Pagoda
is one of Cholon’s must-sees. It is dedicated to
the goddess Thien Hau, protector of the sea.
Photographers are spoilt for choice with the
ornate decoration inside the pagoda and the
statues of Thien Hau. It is popular with
worshippers (the air is always heavy with the
smell of incense) and there are regular festivals
during the lunar calendar.
Binh Tay Market
throngs with people from early morning and the
gloomy, narrow walkways are crammed with consumer
items and exotic foodstuffs. The sound of
bargaining, quite often in Chinese rather than
Vietnamese, and the calls of the vendors
constantly fill the air. This is one of the best
places to see the locals going about their daily
lives.
The Jade Emperor Pagoda is one of the most
attractive pagodas in the city. Dedicated to
various Chinese-Vietnamese divinities, in a
mixture of Taoist and Buddhist styles, the pagoda
houses numerous statues and delicate woodcarvings
with intricate tiles on the roof.
Mai Thi Luu, District
3
Opening hours: No formal times.
Admission: Free; donations appreciated.
Located three kilometres (two miles) from Cholon,
the Giac Lam Pagoda is believed to be the oldest
pagoda in the city and is a calm place to visit.
Families of the old and sick regularly go to the
pagoda to pin supplications to the large bronze
bell, in the belief that when it is rung the
messages will be sent to the heavens above.
Lac Long Quan,
District 11
Opening hours: No formal times.
Admission: Free; donations appreciated.
The Botanical Gardens were established by the
French in 1864 and once had the reputation of
being some of the finest in Asia. Now, however,
the area is just a pleasant one for a stroll in
the heart of the city, among tropical plants and
trees. The Zoo is not up to Western standards,
with poor enclosures.
Nguyen Binh Khiem,
District 1
Tel: (08) 829 3728.
Opening hours: Daily 0700-2000.
Admission: VND8000.
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