Ho Chi Minh City

The City That Refuses to Answer to One Name

Residents of Ho Chi Minh City largely still call it Saigon. Official government correspondence uses Ho Chi Minh City. Signs say both. Taxi drivers type District 1 into their GPS and the app routes them to the same streets their grandparents rode cyclos through. The name was changed in 1975 after the fall of the South Vietnamese government, as a deliberate statement by the victorious North. Fifty years on, the original name has more traction in daily life than the official one. Understanding this duality is a reasonable starting point for a city that operates on multiple simultaneous timelines.

The name itself has deeper roots. Before French colonisation, the site was known as Prey Nokor (a Khmer settlement meaning “forest city”) and later as Gia Dinh under Vietnamese rule. The name Saigon likely predates French arrival. The French adapted it to Saigon for administrative purposes after taking the city in 1859. The city became the capital of their Cochinchina colony and a significant port within French Indochina. The architecture of the colonial period, the post office, the Opera House, Notre Dame Cathedral, remains visible in District 1 and is the reason Saigon looks so markedly different from Hanoi.

What to See

The War Remnants Museum in District 3 is the obvious start for anyone interested in the conflict that defined the 20th century in this country. It is confronting in the way it should be. Allow two to three hours and do not visit immediately before or after eating. Admission is around 40,000 VND for foreigners.

The Reunification Palace (formerly the Independence Palace) is where South Vietnamese President Duong Van Minh surrendered on 30 April 1975 when North Vietnamese tanks drove through its gates. The building is preserved largely as it was in 1975, with the war room bunker intact below ground. It offers a strange time-capsule experience, including vintage communications equipment and the presidential helicopter on the roof.

The Jade Emperor Pagoda (Phuoc Hai Tu) in District 3 is the most atmospheric temple in the city. It was built by the Cantonese community in 1909, is genuinely active as a place of worship, and fills with incense smoke throughout the day. Entry is free. Go on a weekday morning and treat it as a functioning religious space rather than a set piece.

Ben Thanh Market is worth 30 minutes for orientation and sensory context but is priced for tourists and not the place to buy anything you could find elsewhere. The area around it, particularly the street food lanes of Ben Thanh Street Food Market nearby, is more interesting for eating.

The Cu Chi Tunnels

The Cu Chi Tunnels, 50 km northwest of the city, are a 250-kilometre network of underground passages used by Viet Cong forces during the war as living quarters, supply routes, field hospitals, and command centres. The scale is extraordinary: the system included multiple levels, had ventilation shafts disguised as termite mounds, and housed thousands of people for years.

Two sites are open: Ben Dinh (closer to the city, the most visited) and Ben Duoc (30 minutes further, significantly less crowded). Ben Duoc is the better choice for anyone who values space over proximity. Admission is around 90,000-125,000 VND per person. Day tours from Ho Chi Minh City run $15-30 USD and include transport and a guide.

The tunnels are narrow; they were built for people of much smaller average size than modern Western tourists. Visitors can enter a short expanded section, but even this requires crouching. The experience of spending five minutes in the dark underground gives a calibration point for understanding how thousands of people spent years there.

Getting from the Airport

Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) is approximately 7 km from District 1. During peak hours, the journey can take 45-60 minutes. Grab (the regional equivalent of Uber) is the most practical option from the arrivals hall, typically costing 100,000-200,000 VND (USD 4-8). Bus 109 runs from the airport to Ben Thanh Market for 20,000 VND and takes 30-45 minutes depending on traffic. It is efficient for travellers without large luggage.

Metered taxis outside arrivals are available but negotiate or ensure the meter is running; airport zones historically attract drivers who prefer to name a price.

Where to Eat

Com tam (broken rice with grilled pork, fried egg, and pickled vegetables) is the quintessential Saigon breakfast and available from street stalls across Districts 1 and 3 from 6am for under 50,000 VND. It is the meal most visitors overlook in favour of pho, which is a northern dish and fine here but not indigenous to the south.

Banh mi in Saigon is the superior version: the baguettes are crispier (the dough uses less wheat, which creates a more shattering crust), the fillings are more varied, and good examples are available from push carts for around 30,000-40,000 VND. Huynh Hoa on Le Thi Rieng Street is frequently cited as the city’s best banh mi, with queues to match.

For a more formal dinner, Anan Saigon in the Old Market area serves a tasting menu that reinterprets street food dishes with serious technique. It is priced around 3.5 million VND per person for the full menu. Hoa Tuc in District 1, set in a restored opium refinery building, offers contemporary Vietnamese cooking in a setting with more atmosphere than most restaurants in the country.

Pizza 4Ps is worth mentioning not as a compromise but as an honest recommendation: the chain makes its own cheese at an organic farm, uses wood-fired ovens, and applies Japanese attention to detail to Italian food. The result is genuinely good and a useful option if your group has differing preferences.

Where to Stay

District 1 is where most visitors base themselves, close to the main landmarks, restaurants, and the river. The Reverie Saigon and Park Hyatt Saigon are the flagship luxury options; the Park Hyatt’s location on Lam Son Square opposite the Opera House is hard to beat for access to the French Quarter area. The Hotel des Arts Saigon (mid-luxury boutique) is consistently well-reviewed.

Budget accommodation concentrates in the Bui Vien backpacker area in District 1, which is convenient but loud at night. Pham Ngu Lao Street nearby has quieter options at similar price points.

Practical Notes

Vietnamese Dong (VND) is the currency; at the time of writing, roughly 25,000 VND equals 1 USD. ATMs are widely available. Card payment has expanded significantly in recent years but cash is still expected at street food stalls and smaller local restaurants.

The climate is tropical and hot year-round, with a dry season roughly November to April and a wet season May to October. The wet season brings afternoon downpours that clear in an hour, not all-day rain. The dry season is peak tourist period; December through February is the most comfortable for walking around.

Grab handles motorbike and car hailing and is the simplest transport solution in the city. In areas of heavy traffic, motorbike (Grab Bike) is significantly faster. The experience of a motorbike ride through Saigon traffic is worth doing at least once if only to understand why the traffic moves the way it does.