- Com tam at Com Tam Ba Ghien: broken rice with grilled pork chop.
- Banh mi Huynh Hoa: the famously overstuffed Saigon baguette.
- Hu tieu Nam Vang in Cholon: pork and seafood noodle soup.
- Bui Vien and Vinh Khanh (District 4) for evening street seafood.
Ho Chi Minh City Guide
Inside Ben Thanh Market, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Ho Chi Minh City, still called Saigon by everyone who lives there, is Vietnam's commercial capital: nine million people, millions of motorbikes, and an energy Hanoi never attempts. The French left boulevards and the Opera House; the war left the Reunification Palace and the tunnels at Cu Chi.
District 1 holds the essentials: Ben Thanh Market, the War Remnants Museum, the Reunification Palace, and Dong Khoi's colonial facades. The backpacker strip of Pham Ngu Lao and the rooftop bars of Bui Vien run late; Cholon's pagodas and Binh Tay Market show the Chinese-Vietnamese city underneath.
What to do in Ho Chi Minh City
District 1
- 1
Ben Thanh Market The 1914 market hall: food, textiles and the city's front door. - 2
War Remnants Museum The essential, sobering museum of the American war. - 3
Reunification Palace The 1960s time capsule where a tank crashed the gates on 30 April 1975. - 4
Bitexco Financial Tower The 262-metre lotus-bud tower; the Saigon Skydeck on the 49th floor.
Neighbourhoods
- 1
Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien The backpacker quarter: hostels, street bars and late nights. - 2
Cholon (Chinatown) Binh Tay Market and the Thien Hau Pagoda in District 5. - 3
Notre-Dame Cathedral and Post Office The 1880 cathedral and the vaulted colonial post office across the square. - 4
Jade Emperor Pagoda The atmospheric Taoist pagoda Obama visited in 2016.
Ho Chi Minh City Hotel Guide
How to choose the best places to stay in Ho Chi Minh City. Verified properties below; for the full list, search live availability on Booking.com.
Luxury
The Reverie Saigon
The flamboyant Italian-designed tower hotel in the Times Square building.
View on Booking.com
Mid-range
Silverland Sakyo Hotel
Japanese-style service on Le Thanh Ton, a reliable District 1 pick.
View on Booking.com
Budget-friendly
The Common Room Project
The well-designed hostel in the backpacker quarter.
View on Booking.comWhere to eat
Getting there and around
Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) is 8 km from District 1; the new Long Thanh airport is under construction. Saigon Station serves the north-south railway. District 1 is walkable; Grab cars and bikes cover everything else.
Eating in Ho Chi Minh City
Fledge Food has a full guide to how Ho Chi Minh City eats: its defining dishes and how to order them, street food decoded, the markets, and the neighborhoods to eat in.