By air
Tan Son Nhat International (SGN), ~7 km
Southeast Asia · Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Motorbike energy, markets and rooftop nights
Getting there
Best time to visit
December to April — the dry season
Don't miss
The War Remnants Museum
Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral
The Central Post Office
Ben Thanh Market
Things to do
A street-food tour by scooter
The Cu Chi Tunnels
A Mekong Delta day trip
Ben Thanh Market
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Pimnl · CC0
What to pack
Light clothes, a rain jacket for summer storms
A quieter corner
The café apartment building on Nguyen Hue, a tower of tiny cafés
Questions travellers ask
When is the dry season in Ho Chi Minh City?
December to April. Pack light clothes, and a rain jacket for summer storms.
What day trips can I take from Ho Chi Minh City?
Visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, or take a Mekong Delta day trip.
What should I try on a food crawl in Ho Chi Minh City?
Broken rice (com tam), banh xeo, and iced coffee with condensed milk. Or join a street-food tour by scooter.
Is there an unusual café spot in Ho Chi Minh City?
The café apartment building on Nguyen Hue is a tower of tiny cafés.
About Ho Chi Minh City
- Riverside
Where it is
Ho Chi Minh City, still widely called Saigon, is the largest city in Vietnam, spread along the Saigon River in the south of the country, north-east of the Mekong Delta.
History
Once the Khmer settlement of Prey Nokor, the area was settled by Vietnamese in the 17th century and organised under the Nguyen lords from 1698. The French took Saigon in 1859 and made it the capital of their colony of Cochinchina; it was later the capital of South Vietnam until 1975, and it was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1976.
People
The city draws people from across Vietnam, who speak the southern dialect of Vietnamese, and it has a long-established Hoa (ethnic Chinese) community centred on Cho Lon, along with Khmer and Cham communities. Life spills onto the streets, carried by motorbikes, pavement cafés and food stalls.
Known for
- The War Remnants Museum
- French-era buildings such as the Central Post Office
- Ben Thanh Market
- Street food, from banh mi to com tam
- The Cu Chi Tunnels nearby
Did you know?
Cho Lon, whose name means big market, was founded by Chinese settlers as a town of its own, officially a city from 1865, and was merged with Saigon only in 1931.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.