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Useful Info
Updated on Feb 18, 2020
Useful Info
Ho Chi Minh City - the complete guide to planning your trip 2020
Ho Chi Minh City (named Saigon until 1975) is the largest city and the economic heart of Vietnam. It is a very young and very dynamic city. Most expatriates choose to settle there rather than in Hanoi because the climate is more favorable and the job offers are more numerous. Tân Sơn Nhất in Ho Chi Minh City is the largest airport in Vietnam which receives more than half of the passengers from all Vietnamese airports and more than 60% of international passenger traffic from Vietnam. In order to get from the airport to downtown center, you can use SASCO Travel airport taxi transfer as well as buy 4G SIM card online to connect to the internet while staying in HCMC.
HCMC is also the gateway to the Mekong Delta and beautiful islands such as Phu Quoc and Con Dao in southern Vietnam.
A few lines on the history of HCMC
Generally, one can visit South Vietnam and HCMC in particular all year round. The climate is more favorable there than in the North.
The rainy season begins in May and ends at the beginning of October. It rains almost every day but there are short showers happening late in the afternoon. The landscapes of the Mekong Delta are magnificent during this season.
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Dong Khoi Street and its surroundings
Dong Khoi Street (formerly Catinat) is the heart of the French Quarter at HCMC. It is also the most prestigious and expensive street where 5-star hotels and luxury boutiques can be found. The cost of one square meter of land on this street can reach 8,000 usd.
Saigon Times Square, the third tallest skyscraper in HCMC, is located on this street. It is home to the 6-star The Reverie Saigon , one of the best hotels in the world, and the boutiques of Gucci, Dolce & amp; Gabbana, Bottega Veneta etc.
A walk in the street in the shade of the big trees is very pleasant.
If you like to walk, it is easy to visit the main attractions of the city on foot, from Đồng Khởi Street.
Walking tour of HCMC attractions
Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Saïgon
La poste centrale de Saïgon
Spectacle AO Saïgon
It is an interesting night activity, much appreciated by travelers.
It's a acrobatic and musical performance in a splendid setting. Acrobatics, dances and music are used to tell about everyday Vietnamese life . Tickets cost from 20 to 46 €. The shows take place in the Saigon Opera House.
Nguyen Hue pedestrian street before Têt festival 2017
This is a pedestrian street very well known to HCMC . The street is particularly beautiful one week before the Têt festival when it is decorated with thousands of colorful flowers coming from the Mekong Delta.
In the afternoon, there are often small shows organized by young Saigonnais. A stroll in the street is therefore relatively pleasant. Besides, young people prefer to admire the city from above, in one of the nice cafes in building number 42 on the street, called the paradise of cafes.
Le paradis des cafés et thés au 42 rue Nguyen Hue
Nguyen Hue Street runs parallel to Dong Khoi Street. It starts at the town hall and goes up to the Saigon river.
The Reunification Palace
It is an essential site, to better understand the history of HCMC and the reunification of Vietnam.
We will see the tools used in the daily life of the President of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War .
Vietnam War Remnants Museum
700m from the Reunification Palace is the Vietnam War Remnants Museum. It’s a place to remember, to remember the atrocious and horrible consequences of the war.
The museum is made up of two parts: one outside where one can see American planes, tanks, cannons, helicopters which were recovered from the battlefields; the other inside, which features numerous photos of war atrocities and abuses committed by the US military.
The photos are tough for young children. Parents can leave them in a playroom during their visit.
China Town of HCMC
China Town is one of my favorite places at HCMC, where the commercial activities are very lively, the colorful streets, the temples and pagodas are numerous and the food is good . China Town, or Cholon is a district of the Vietnamese community of Chinese origin.
Cholon was once a city separate from Saigon. The two cities were merged on April 27, 1931 under the name Saïgon-Cholon. This name was reduced to Saigon in 1956.
Once in Cholon, you can't miss the visit to the Temple of the Heavenly Lady , which plays an important role in the cultural and religious life of the Hoa (Vietnamese of Chinese origin). It is one of the oldest temples in HCMC. It is dedicated to Thien Hau, protector of sailors . Incense hanging in the temple gives us a mystical feeling.
Temple of the Heavenly Lady in China Town
5km from Dong Khoi Street is the Fito Museum. It includes a ground floor and 5 floors whose decor is mainly composed of wood in the pure Vietnamese style .
Through the establishment's 3,000 objects of collection, visitors can imagine the methods of examining patients, diagnosing, establishing prescriptions, composing a remedy, etc. carried out by doctors from the time </ strong>.
The museum is the work of the director of the Fito Pharmaceutical Company, Lê Khac Tâm. He has spent billions of dong and over ten years researching objects and documents relating to traditional medicine.
The visit to this museum is relatively interesting.
Fito Museum of Medicinal Plants
Ben Thanh is the well-known tourist market. It has existed for over 100 years and is an architectural symbol of the megalopolis of the south.
You can find everything there: souvenirs, clothes, shoes, food etc. It’s also a good place to practice the art of negotiation.
The prices are higher than in the other places because it is a market intended only for the tourists, the locals hardly ever go there.
Ben Thanh market
It is a hundred-year-old pagoda at HCMC, which hosted US President Barack Obama in 2016.
The pagoda is not large but its decorations are magnificent with wooden statues.
The Jade Emperor and the most imposing statue in the pagoda. Besides, the latter also worships the Goddess Kim Hoa Thanh Mau, the Goddess of childbirth, 12 midwives and nurses. For this, the pagoda attracts many infertile couples or pregnant women who come to pray for their future children .
You can't miss good food during your trip to HCMC. You will soon discover that almost all dishes are sweet. Here are some dishes with addresses to test:
Bánh xèo is the yellow Vietnamese pancake filled with minced pork or shrimp, onions and soybean sprouts.
Bánh xèo - typical dish of HCMC
Phượng beef soup at 25 rue Hoàng Sa, dist. 1
Saigonese soup
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HCMV regorge d’endroits pour aller faire du shopping, des marchés locaux aux centres commerciaux les plus modernes.
Some markets at HCMC for shopping:
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Some shopping malls for shopping at HCMC
Diamond Plaza Saïgon
The visit to the Cu Chi tunnels is relatively interesting and requires half a day.
Is it a huge system of underground tunnels first created by the Viet Minh under French Indochina and then developed during the Vietnam War? The network has reached some 250 km in length.
Access to visit tunnels is approximately 40 km from the city center. We often combine the visit to the tunnels with that of the seat of the Cao Dai religion in Tây Ninh.
Caodaism is a syncretistic religion founded in 1921 by a Vietnamese official. It brings all the others together: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Christianity into one universal religion.
The Holy See of Cao Dai is located approximately 100km from HCMC. It is a beautiful complex surrounded by a fence with 12 doors. You can visit this headquarters and the Củ Chi tunnels in one day.
siège Caodai à Tây Ninh
If you have more time at HCMC, you can visit its surroundings, such as the Mekong Delta.
It is an exceptional region where almost all the activities of the inhabitants depend on the river .
Most travelers spend 1, 2, 3 or even 4 days to visit the Mekong Delta.
Suspension bridge at Cantho, in the Mekong Delta
From HCMC, it is easy to reach a beautiful beach for lazing around.
Located a 4 hour drive from HCMC on the road to Dalat, Nam Cát Tiên National Park is a good destination for a getaway of a few days.
You can come across monkeys, wild peacocks, deer, bears ... and other animals in wildlife rehabilitation centers.
Leave a comment if you have any questions.