Ho Chi Minh City Trip Overview
• Discovery of Ho Chi Minh City with English tour guide
• Examples of French colonial architecture in the city center
• Insight into war history at Independence Palace & War Museum
• Time for shopping in Chinatown & massive Ben Thanh Market
• Enjoy a delicious Vietnamese coffee and lunch at a local restaurant included
Additional Info
Duration: 8 to 10 hours
Starts: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Trip Category: Shore Excursions >> Ports of Call Tours
Explore Ho Chi Minh City Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Vietnam
• Discovery of Ho Chi Minh City with English tour guide
• Examples of French colonial architecture in the city center
• Insight into war history at Independence Palace & War Museum
• Time for shopping in Chinatown & massive Ben Thanh Market
• Enjoy a delicious Vietnamese coffee and lunch at a local restaurant included
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Phu My, Phu My, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province
Pick up at infront of Phu My Port main gate
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: The Independence Palace, 106 Nguyen Du District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000 Vietnam
Independence Palace was the base of Vietnamese General Ngo Dinh Diem until his death in 1963. It made its name in global history in 1975. A tank belonging to the North Vietnamese Army crashed through its main gate, ending the Vietnam War. Today, it’s a must-visit for tourists in Ho Chi Minh City. The palace is like a time capsule frozen in 1975. You can see two of the original tanks used in the capture of the palace parked in the grounds. Independence Palace was the home and workplace of the French Governor of Cochin-China. It has lush gardens, secret rooms, antique furniture, and a command bunker. It’s still in use to host important occasions in Ho Chi Minh, including APEC summits.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, 01 Cong xa Paris Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000 Vietnam
Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, built in the late 1880s by French colonists, is one of the few remaining strongholds of Catholicism in the largely Buddhist Vietnam. Located in Paris Square, the name Notre Dame was given after the installation of the statue ‘Peaceful Notre Dame’ in 1959. In 1962, the Vatican conferred the Cathedral status as a basilica and gave it the official name of Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica. Measuring almost 60 metres in height, the cathedral’s distinctive neo-Romanesque features include the all-red brick façade (which were imported from Marseille), stained glass windows, two bell towers containing six bronze bells that still ring to this day, and a peaceful garden setting in the middle of downtown Ho Chi Minh City District 1.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Central Post Office, 125 Hai Ba Trung, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 70000 Vietnam
The Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh is a beautifully preserved remnant of French colonial times and perhaps the grandest post office in all of Southeast Asia. Located next door to Notre Dame Cathedral, the two cultural sites can be visited together and offers visitors a chance to imagine life in Vietnam during the times of the Indochinese Empire. The building was designed by Alfred Foulhoux and features arched windows and wooden shutters, just as it would have in its heyday in the late 19th Century.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: War Remnants Museum, 28 Vo Van Tan Ward 6, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City 700000 Vietnam
The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City first opened to the public in 1975. Once known as the ‘Museum of American War Crimes’, it’s a shocking reminder of the long and brutal Vietnam War. Graphic photographs and American military equipment are on display. There’s a helicopter with rocket launchers, a tank, a fighter plane, a single-seater attack aircraft. You can also see a conventional bomb that weighs at 6,800kg. American troops had used these weapons against the Vietnamese between 1945 and 1975.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: People’s Committee Building, 86 Le Thanh Ton Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 70000 Vietnam
The People’s Committee Building Saigon in central Ho Chi Minh City features well-preserved French colonial architecture in a spacious garden landscape. Originally constructed as a hotel in 1898 by French architect Gardes, it now serves as a city hall and one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Saigon Opera House (Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theater), 07 Lam Son Square Street District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000 Vietnam
The Saigon Opera House in Ho Chi Minh is an elegant colonial building at the intersection of Le Loi and Dong Khoi Street in District 1, very close to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral and the classic Central Post Office. The restored three-storey 800-seat Opera House was built in 1897 and is used for staging not only opera but also a wide range of performing arts including ballet, musical concerts, Vietnamese traditional dance and plays. Performances are advertised around the building and information can be found in the state-operated tourist information centre close by.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Chinatown (Cho Lon) – District 5, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City’s Cholon is Vietnam’s largest Chinatown with roots dating back to 1778; it’s also a place of great historical and cultural importance. Chinese minorities hid here from the Tay Son and subsequently had to rebuild the area twice following attack with as many as 70% estimated to have died trying to escape on boats. Those who survived settled and began selling a variety of Chinese products.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Ba Thien Hau Temple, 710 Nguyen Trai Cho Lon, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam
Chinese-influenced Thien Hau Temple Ho Chi Minh´s temples offer an essential insight into the beliefs and customs of the Vietnamese, and this beautiful temple is no exception! This National Architectural Heritage Site, apart from housing beautiful art pieces and antiquities, gives an important insight into Vietnamese folk religions for locals and tourists alike.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Ben Thanh Market, Le Loi, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000 Vietnam
Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 is a great place to buy local handicrafts, branded goods, Vietnamese art and other souvenirs. Here, you’ll find eating stalls inside the market where you can get a taste of hawker-style Vietnamese cuisine or simply cool off with a cold drink when the bargaining becomes too much. The market is big, difficult to navigate at times and certainly best avoided during the hottest part of the day but all the same its well worth a look. When night falls, restaurants around the perimeter of the market open their doors creating a vibrant street side scene filling the air with the scents of wok-fried noodles, barbecued fish and meats. One of Saigon’s oldest landmarks, Ben Thanh offers a great atmosphere that is absolutely authentically Vietnamese.
Duration: 30 minutes
