Aerial view of central Saigon with the lotus-bud Bitexco tower and the Saigon River at sunset
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Ho Chi Minh City in 2 days

  • 2 days
  • 8.7 km on foot
  • 18 stops
  • Audio guide

Two days is just enough for Saigon to stop overwhelming you. The first stays in the colonial centre, with two indoor museums for the hottest hours and the legends after dark; the second covers the twentieth century in the morning, then heads out to Chợ Lớn, the Chinese quarter, among incense and sacks of spices. There's time to sit down for lunch, and for more than one iced coffee.

Day 1Markets, museums and spies

Set off early with “Saigon highlights: from the market to the river”, from the Ben Thanh Market clock to the Opera House and the Hotel Majestic, and pick up a bánh mì at Như Lan by the Bitexco. Spend the hottest hours, and the downpour if it's the season, indoors: the Fine Arts Museum is a short walk from the market, and the City Museum a few blocks from the Opera House. As the light fades, “Spies, dragons and weeping statues” starts at the Hotel Continental, passes Turtle Lake and ends in Tân Định, near the bánh xèo on Đinh Công Tráng.

  1. Morning

    Saigon highlights: from the market to the river

    Mixed · 2.6 km · 1 h 40 min

    1. Ben Thanh Market (Chợ Bến Thành)The 1914 market whose clock is the city's unofficial symbol, built on top of an old marsh.
    2. Bitexco Financial TowerA 262-metre skyscraper inspired by a lotus bud, with a helipad jutting out halfway up.
    3. Nguyễn Huệ BoulevardA canal that became a boulevard and, in 2015, the city's great pedestrian square, with an apartment block full of cafés.
    4. Saigon Opera House (Nhà hát Thành phố)A theatre of 1900 inspired by the Petit Palais in Paris, which served as South Vietnam's parliament and became a theatre again in 1976.
    5. Hotel MajesticThe hotel the tycoon Hui Bon Hoa opened in 1925 on the riverfront, where the old rue Catinat ends.
    6. Mê Linh Square and Bạch Đằng WharfA square that has changed statues several times, and a general who since 1967 has been pointing at the river.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Bánh mì at Bánh mì Như Lan. Đường Hàm Nghi, 50

  3. Afternoon

    Fine Arts Museum

    It fills the mansion that the family of tycoon Hui Bon Hoa, the man behind the Hotel Majestic, built in the early 1930s, complete with stained glass and tiled floors. Inside you'll find Vietnamese lacquer and silk painting and ancient sculpture. It's a few minutes' walk from Ben Thanh Market.

    Directions

    City Museum (Gia Long Palace)

    A neoclassical palace from the late nineteenth century, designed by Alfred Foulhoux, which became President Ngô Đình Diệm's residence after the presidential palace was bombed in 1962. Today it tells Saigon's story, and its staircases are the city's favourite backdrop for wedding photos.

    Directions

  4. Early evening

    Spies, dragons and weeping statues

    Mysteries & legends · 2.8 km · 1 h 50 min

    1. Hotel ContinentalFor a century, Saigon's oldest hotel was the best place to find out everything, and for others to find out about you.
    2. 22 Gia Long Street (22 Lý Tự Trọng)The rooftop in the most famous photo of the fall of Saigon, which for decades was thought to have been taken at the US embassy.
    3. The weeping Virgin (Notre-Dame Cathedral)A Carrara marble statue, a pedestal left empty for fourteen years and tears that drew thousands of people in 2005.
    4. Turtle Lake (Hồ Con Rùa)A roundabout with a 1960s monument and a geomantic legend: a turtle to hold down a dragon's tail.
    5. Jade Emperor Pagoda (Chùa Ngọc Hoàng)A Cantonese temple full of smoke, turtles and fertility goddesses which, according to a Vietnamese scholar, also hosted secret meetings.
    6. Trần Hưng Đạo TempleThe temple of the general who defeated the Mongols, turned by popular devotion into a saint who can drive away evil spirits.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  5. Dinner

    Try Bánh xèo at Bánh xèo 46A. Đường Đinh Công Tráng, 46A

Day 2From the 1975 palace to Chinatown

Give the morning to “From Saïgon to 1975: the century that changed the city”. If you want to go inside the War Remnants Museum, start as soon as it opens, then carry on past Independence Palace, the cathedral and the post office to Nhà Rồng Wharf. For lunch, a short Grab drops you at Chị Tuyền's bún thịt nướng stall on Cô Giang. Afterwards, another Grab to Chợ Lớn: Bình Tây Market first, as it winds down late in the day, then the Thiên Hậu Pagoda, wreathed in coils of incense.

  1. Morning

    From Saïgon to 1975: the century that changed the city

    History · 3.3 km · 2 h 5 min

    1. War Remnants MuseumVietnam's most visited museum tells the war from the Vietnamese point of view, and its name has changed three times.
    2. Independence Palace (Dinh Độc Lập)South Vietnam's presidential palace, where the war ended with two tanks at its gates around noon on 30 April 1975.
    3. Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of SaigonA red-brick cathedral the French built in three years, now undergoing a restoration that has lasted almost a decade.
    4. Saigon Central Post OfficeA colonial post office often credited to Eiffel, though its real architect was Alfred Foulhoux, and it still sells stamps.
    5. Former City Hall (Hôtel de Ville)The Hôtel de Ville the French took eleven years to build is now the seat of the city's People's Committee.
    6. Nhà Rồng Wharf (Dragon House)A French shipping company's headquarters with dragons on the roof, whose wharf the young man who became Hồ Chí Minh left in 1911.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Bún thịt nướng at Bún thịt nướng Chị Tuyền. Đường Cô Giang, 175C

  3. Afternoon

    Bình Tây Market

    Chợ Lớn's great wholesale market, built in the late 1920s by the Chinese merchant Quách Đàm, with Chinese-style roofs and a central courtyard. It smells of spices, tea and dried fruit and nuts. It's about twenty minutes from the centre by Grab.

    Directions

    Thiên Hậu Pagoda

    A Cantonese community temple dedicated to Thiên Hậu, goddess of the sea and protector of sailors, and one of the oldest in the city. Huge incense coils that burn for days hang from the ceiling. It's a fifteen-minute walk from Bình Tây.

    Directions

The map

Ho Chi Minh City in 2 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed Mysteries & legends History Extra sight

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Before you go

Tips for Ho Chi Minh City in 2 days

  • From May to November the rain usually arrives mid-afternoon, heavy and short-lived: that's why the museums come after lunch. The dry season, December to April, is the most comfortable for walking, although March and April are seriously hot.
  • To get to Chợ Lớn, book a Grab rather than hailing a cab on the street: the fare is fixed in the app. At Bình Tây Market pay cash, in dong and small notes, and haggle with a smile.
  • If you've still got energy after dinner, the night stalls that usually set up beside Ben Thanh Market and Bùi Viện Street, pedestrianised and loud after dark, show you the Saigon that never quite goes to bed.

Questions

Ho Chi Minh City in 2 days: your questions

Are 2 days enough for Ho Chi Minh City?

For the city itself, yes: the colonial centre, the history of the twentieth century, the temples, two good museums and Chợ Lớn. They won't stretch to the Cu Chi Tunnels or the Mekong Delta, which are organised half-day or full-day trips; if those appeal, add a third day.

How far will I walk in 2 days?

The routes add up to about 8.7 km: 5.4 km on day one (2.6 km in the morning and 2.8 km at dusk) and 3.3 km on day two. On top of that come the walks to the museums; Chợ Lớn is a long way from the centre, so go there and back by Grab.

Is Chợ Lớn worth it?

Yes, if you want to see another Saigon: that of the large Chinese community, with its clan-association temples, wholesale markets and traditional herbalists. It's less grand than the centre but far more everyday. The market is liveliest in the morning, so don't leave it until the end of the day.

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