A Sightseeing Guide to Ho Chi Minh City
Two buildings on the same small square in District 1, a post office and a cathedral, carry between them one persistent myth and one genuine change worth knowing before you arrive.
The Post Office and Notre-Dame, side by side
The Saigon Central Post Office, at 2 Cong Xa Paris, was designed by French architect Alfred Foulhoux with Marie-Alfred Bourdon and completed in 1891, not by Gustave Eiffel, despite how often that claim gets repeated online. It is free, open Monday to Saturday 07:30-18:00 and Sunday 08:00-17:00, and still functions as a working post office under its barrel-vaulted ironwork and 1892 wall maps. Across the square, Notre-Dame Cathedral has been under restoration since 2017, and while the building is still years from its 2027 completion target, the picture has genuinely changed: new gold-plated crosses went up on the twin towers in March 2026, and the red-brick facade is re-emerging as scaffolding comes down. The interior stays closed to casual visitors regardless, open only for worshippers and a Sunday 9:30am bilingual Mass that welcomes respectful visitors.
Ben Thanh Market, worth a look, worth a caveat
Ben Thanh Market’s 1914 hall, with its clock tower and 1,400-plus stalls, is worth walking through as a sight, and the street-food night market that forms around it after 6pm is genuinely good. What it is not is a good place to shop: asking prices inside run high enough that even haggling down to half still typically overpays. Saigon Square, with fixed or near-fixed prices and air conditioning, and Binh Tay Market in Cho Lon, far less tourist-facing, are the honest alternatives for actual shopping.
Pagodas and two skylines
Jade Emperor Pagoda at 73 Mai Thi Luu, built in 1909 by the Cantonese community, is free, open daily 07:00-18:00, and quiet enough most mornings to actually look at the Hall of the Ten Hells and the courtyard turtle pond. For a modern contrast, Landmark 81’s SkyView on floors 79-81 is Vietnam’s tallest viewpoint at over 380 meters; pricing is disputed across sources, running roughly 300,000 VND for a standard adult ticket up to around 810,000 VND for some combo packages, so check the venue’s own booking channel before assuming a figure. Bitexco’s Saigon Skydeck, lower at 262 meters for about 240,000 VND, has a real edge in its 50th and 52nd-floor rooftop bar: a drink with the view often beats the standalone deck ticket at a similar price.
Search Ho Chi Minh City tours and tickets on GetYourGuide for current Landmark 81 and Skydeck pricing, and check the city’s official tourism site for any holiday closures before you go. Nguyen Hue Walking Street, free and best after dark for the fountain and street performers, connects City Hall to the riverfront and makes a good final stop after either tower.
For the family angle on Notre-Dame and the market district, see the family-friendly guide ; for a hands-on morning between sights, the activities guide covers cooking and coffee classes nearby.
Do the Post Office and Notre-Dame exterior early, before the square fills with tour groups, and save Ben Thanh for the evening market rather than daytime shopping.