Saigon Opera House (Nhà hát Thành phố)

In front of you is the Nhà hát Thành phố, the Municipal Theatre, which everyone calls the Saigon Opera House. Its great entrance arch is one of the city's grandest set pieces.

1A small Petit Palais

The French brought theatre companies to Saigon from 1863 onwards and, after several temporary venues, put up this building between 1898 and 1900 to a design by the architect Félix Olivier. The façade recalls the Petit Palais in Paris, built the same year. Not everyone liked so much decoration: in 1943 some of the ornaments were removed to give it a more modern look, and in 1944 Allied bombing raids against Japanese forces damaged it.

2From stage to parliament

In 1954, after the Geneva Accords, it sheltered French civilians arriving from the north. From 1956 it was the seat of South Vietnam's National Assembly, and later of its lower house. In 1976 it became a theatre again. In 1998, for Saigon's three-hundredth anniversary, the façade was restored, recovering some of the lost decoration. Today it hosts concerts, ballet and contemporary circus shows.

For twenty years, no operas were sung here: laws were voted on instead.

3What to look for

• The great arch of the façade, with its stained glass.
• The female figures flanking the entrance.
• The view along Lê Lợi, which ends at the theatre.