Ho Chi Minh City, still widely known as Saigon, is Vietnam's most populous city and its business capital, on the Saigon River in the south. Once a Khmer settlement and then the Vietnamese town of Gia Định, it became the capital of French Cochinchina and later of South Vietnam, and was renamed in 1976, after the war.
The city mixes French-era boulevards and a red-brick cathedral with Buddhist pagodas, the Chinese temples of Chợ Lớn, streets full of motorbikes and a skyline that keeps rising. Visitors come for food from pavement stalls and markets, for museums that tell the story of the Vietnam War, for café culture and nightlife, and for trips to the Củ Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta. Serviced apartments and condos are common in the centre and in Thảo Điền, so the city works for short visits and longer working stays alike. In 2025 it absorbed the neighbouring provinces of Bình Dương and Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu.
The old District 1, now divided into wards such as Sài Gòn and Bến Thành after the 2025 reform abolished the city's districts, is still where most visitors stay: the cathedral, the Opera House, Bến Thành Market and the riverside are all within walking distance. Its backpacker quarter around Phạm Ngũ Lão and Bùi Viện streets is loud until late.
The former District 3, just west, is leafier and more residential, with French villas, cafés and local eateries. Across the river, Thảo Điền, in the former District 2, is a green expatriate area of villas, apartments and international restaurants, with its own metro station. Phú Mỹ Hưng, a planned urban area in the south, has wide streets and parks that suit families on longer stays.
Vietnamese law requires a foreign visitor's temporary stay to be declared to the local police, which hosts normally do using your passport, so expect to show it on arrival.
Many of the main sights are a short walk apart. The Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, built of red brick in the late 19th century, faces the Central Post Office, completed in 1891 to a design by Alfred Foulhoux, with its vaulted hall and painted maps. Nearby are the colonial Opera House and the former City Hall, and Nguyễn Huệ boulevard is a pedestrian promenade leading down to the river.
The Independence Palace, also called the Reunification Palace, is where North Vietnamese tanks broke through the gates on 30 April 1975, ending the war; its 1960s interiors are preserved. The War Remnants Museum documents the conflict, including the effects of Agent Orange, in often harrowing detail. Bến Thành Market, under its clock tower, is a busy covered market of food stalls, fabrics and souvenirs.
Chợ Lớn, the old Chinese quarter in the west of the city, grew up as a separate trading town and still has communal assembly halls and temples such as Thiên Hậu Temple, dedicated to the sea goddess, as well as the big wholesale Bình Tây Market. The Jade Emperor Pagoda, north of the centre, is filled with carved figures and incense smoke.
Food is one of the city's great pleasures. Phở is everywhere, but southern favourites include cơm tấm (broken rice with grilled pork), bánh mì from street carts, hủ tiếu noodle soup, bánh xèo (crisp rice-flour pancakes) and fresh spring rolls. Coffee culture runs deep: try cà phê sữa đá, iced coffee with condensed milk, sitting on a low plastic stool on the pavement. The food streets of the old District 4 are a good place to graze in the evening.
The Củ Chi tunnels, a network of about 120 kilometres dug in the north-west of today's city and used by Viet Cong fighters during the war, can be visited at two sites: Bến Dược, which keeps part of the original tunnels, and Bến Đình, closer to the city, with reconstructed sections enlarged for visitors. Most trips take half a day.
The Mekong Delta begins south-west of the city, a landscape of rivers, canals, fruit orchards and floating markets; Mỹ Tho and Bến Tre are the nearest areas for a day trip, and Cần Thơ suits an overnight stay. South-east of the centre, the Cần Giờ mangrove forest, about 40 kilometres away, is a UNESCO biosphere reserve, and the seaside town of Vũng Tàu, now part of the city, is a long-standing weekend escape.
Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport (SGN), the busiest airport in Vietnam, lies within the city to the north of the centre; the ride to the old District 1 usually takes between half an hour and an hour, depending on traffic. Taxis, ride-hailing cars and buses make the trip.
The city's first metro line opened on 22 December 2024 and runs for about 20 kilometres from Bến Thành to Suối Tiên in Thủ Đức, with stations near the Opera House and in Thảo Điền. Ride-hailing apps for cars and motorbikes are the usual way to get around, and metered taxis are easy to find. Motorbikes dominate the roads: cross at a slow, steady pace so riders can flow around you, and only rent a scooter if you hold a licence that is valid in Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh City has a tropical savanna climate, warm all year, with two seasons. The dry season, from December to April, brings sunny days, with December and January feeling a little fresher and the weeks before the rains the hottest. The rainy season, from about May to November, brings heavy afternoon downpours that usually pass quickly but can flood low-lying streets, and the city receives roughly 1,800 to 2,000 millimetres of rain a year.
Tết, the Lunar New Year in January or February, is the biggest festival of the year: Nguyễn Huệ is turned into a street of flowers, but many shops and restaurants close for several days and transport is crowded as people travel home. Plan around it if you need services, or enjoy the quieter streets.
Both names are used. The city was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1976, but Saigon remains common in everyday speech, and since 2025 Sài Gòn is also the official name of the central ward around the old city centre. Tân Sơn Nhất airport keeps the code SGN.
First-time visitors usually stay in the old District 1, now the Sài Gòn and Bến Thành wards, within walking distance of the main sights. The former District 3 is quieter and more local, Thảo Điền suits longer stays with a green, international feel, and Phú Mỹ Hưng is popular with families.
Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport (SGN) is inside the city, north of the centre. The trip to the old District 1 usually takes half an hour to an hour by taxi or ride-hailing car, depending heavily on traffic, and city buses also run from the terminals.
The dry season, from December to April, is the most popular, with sunshine and little rain; December and January are slightly cooler. From about May to November, short and heavy afternoon storms are common, but mornings are often clear and the city stays busy all year.
Two or three days cover the cathedral, post office, Independence Palace, War Remnants Museum, Bến Thành Market and plenty of street food. Add a day for the Củ Chi tunnels and another for the Mekong Delta, or longer if you plan to stay overnight in Cần Thơ.
The tunnels lie in the north-west of the city and can be visited at Bến Dược, with original sections, or Bến Đình, closer to the centre, with reconstructed tunnels. Most visitors join a half-day tour by road or boat, or go by car with a driver. Wear clothes you do not mind getting dusty.
Vietnam uses the đồng (VND). Cards and QR payments are widely accepted in shops, cafés and restaurants in the centre, but cash is still needed at markets, street stalls and many small eateries. Notes come in large denominations, so check the number of zeros carefully when paying.
Researched and written with AI assistance, then fact-checked against the sources below. Last checked .