7 DIFFERENT PLACES TO VISIT IN Ho Chi Minh | [Guide]

In this post we want to show other corners of the city ​​of Ho Chi Minh, perhaps less touristy but with a lot of charm, different places to visit in Saigon. Sometimes it is good to leave the established path to discover new places that we had never seen before and that, in the same way, represent the essence of this city. One of the most important things in visiting ho chi minh is finding apartment for rent in ho chi minh. So you should do your homework befoe you actually leave for it.

Before starting we want to emphasize that during the post we will use Ho Chi Minh and Saigon indistinctly to refer to the great metropolis of southern Vietnam. 

Why this city has two names? Officially, the current name of the city is Ho Chi Minh in honor of the politician (among many other facets) who led the troops of North Vietnam in the conquest of the south of the country at the end of the Vietnam War. In 1975, after expelling the Americans and part of the Vietnamese population that worked with them or was related to the government of South Vietnam, the new communist government decided to change the traditional name of Saigon by Ho Chi Minh in honor of its leader.

1. Markets

It is well known that the Vietnamese markets (where you will find almost everything) do not leave anyone indifferent. Saigon was not going to be less.

Surely you have read that the most visited market is the Cho Ben Than . Our alternative to this is the Cho Dan Sinh also known as the war market. As the name itself indicates, this place holds numerous items that are apparently relics belonging to ex-combatants of the Vietnam War . We have to say that, although there were many who unfortunately fought in this conflict, we do not believe that articles are an inexhaustible source; We say it because almost 50 years have passed since the end of the war and it seems that objects multiply like loaves and fish.

2. Museum

The War Museum and the Independence Palace (presidential residence converted into a 'museum') are probably the two most visited places by tourists who spend a few days in Saigon.

We want to recommend another interesting museum: the FITO Museum or Museum of Traditional Medicine . Here you can take a tour through the history of traditional Chinese medicine that the Vietnamese adopted, an important and widespread practice in Asia. Concretely, the Vietnamese trust more in natural / traditional medicine than in the one we conceive in the West.

3. Pagodas

80% of the Vietnamese population is Buddhist, so you will find numerous pagodas throughout the country and, of course, Saigon would not be less.

One of the most visited is the Ba Thien Hau pagoda (district 5). This building is a legacy of the passage of the Chinese people during the more than one thousand years that occupied Vietnam. However, the tourist claim of this pagoda tarnishes in some way its authenticity.

4. Churches

If 80% of the population is Buddhist, what happens to the remaining 20%? Catholicism has a notable presence in Vietnam and therefore in Saigon, so you will find several churches scattered throughout the city. The architectural legacy left by the French also has to do with the above. They built a 'replica' of the Notre Dame Cathedral , which still exists.

5. Food

In general, tourists usually stay in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh, so it is here where more Vietnamese and Western restaurants are concentrated.

Our two recommendations are also in District 1, but it will be difficult for you to find them on Trip Advisor. Especially the first, since it is a restaurant / street food stand serving a single dish called bun th ị t n ướ ng . This position is located at the corner of Nguyen Trung Tuc and Le Loi , right next to a jewelry store located in that same corner. We love it (this is Emilio's favorite dish) and for 50,000 VND (€ 2) you will enjoy a delicious Vietnamese dish in the street atmosphere that Saigon locals like so much.

6. Coffee shops

Saigon is one of those cities where you will find coffee shops with that retro air in its decoration that is now so fashionable in Spain (' I found it in the garbage, I retouched it a bit and it looks great here '). They are charming places that make you feel almost at home with its dim light, bookshelves with old books, art of all kinds and, above all, good coffee.

7. Rooftops

It is difficult to define a city that is in constant change. The modern and the colonial dispute the reign of Saigon and from where we can best appreciate this transformation is from the rooftops. These bars-restaurants-terraces on the heightshave become very fashionable in the city and there are many buildings that, regardless of their number of floors, have a space to relax watching the movement of the city from a bird's eye view.