A tour around Ho Chi Minh City

If it is the first time you’ve been to Ho Chi Minh City, you should spend a full day exploring the city center highlights such as: Bến Thành Market, The Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Post Office or the War Remnants Museum. With a map, you can travel on foot around the city downtown on your own. A package tour is also available at any tourism agency if you want a tour guide to explain about these places. 

Your first destination can be Bến Thành Market located right at the city center.  In Bến Thành Market, you have various choices for your breakfast: all kinds of noodles such as: Phở (the most famous Vietnamese cuisine), hủ tiếu and bún. Besides, you can also try bánh xèo (Vietnamese Crunchy Pancakes) or bánh ướt, bánh bèo and many other dishes. Then, you can go shopping around in Ben Thanh market. Do not forget to look at some signs “Fixed price” above your head which implies you cannot bargain in these kinds of stores. If there is not any “Fixed price” sign, remember to bargain to get a good deal.

The Opera House and the Peoples’ Committee Building, located on Đồng Khởi street, can be your next stop as they are within walking distance from Bến Thành Market. Then, you can either walk or take a taxi to the Notre Dame Cathedral which is 1.5 kilometers away from the Opera House. The Notre Dame Cathedral is famous for its French colonial architecture. Nearby, you may have a look at Saigon Post Office, one of the oldest and largest post offices in Ho Chi Minh City.

From Saigon Post Office, it takes you about 10 minutes to walk to the Reunification Palace on Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai-Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa crossroads. The last impressive place you should not miss is the War Remnants Museum on Võ Văn Tần Street.

In the evening, you can experience Ho Chi Minh City nightlife by walking around Bến Thành Market which you might surprisingly find quite different from what you see in the morning. Street vendors and street food stores open making the atmosphere more exciting. If you do not mind sitting at a small table or sharing a table with other people, you should try some dishes here! You will never regret.

Source: Vietnamonline