Ho Chi Minh City
Saigon's signature dish exists because the broken rice grains were the ones nobody could sell, so they went to labourers in the 1920s. They are now the thing to order.
Ho Chi Minh City in a nutshell
Ho Chi Minh City: what to expect
Vietnam's largest city and its commercial engine, on the Saigon River about 50 km from the Mekong delta. Called Saigon until 1976, and still called Saigon by most people who live there, the airport code is SGN and the river never changed its name
The 1 July 2025 administrative reform abolished the district system. The 22 districts were replaced by 168 commune-level units, 102 of them inside the old city; Bình Dương and Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu provinces were merged in, roughly tripling the area and taking the population from 9.9 million to over 14 million. Neighbourhood names survive intact: Thảo Điền is still Thảo Điền, and old district numbers remain in everyday speech, but the frame around them changed, [commercial: vietcetera.com, commercial: en.vietnamplus.vn, commercial: en.sggp.org.vn]
Every source leads with the traffic, and it is the honest framing rather than a flourish: roughly seven million registered motorbikes, crossing the road described as a game of Frogger, and bikes riding on the pavements
Who Ho Chi Minh City is for
Food travellers
and specifically anyone who wants southern Vietnamese cooking rather than the northern dishes the country is famous for
Anyone interested in the war
which is the reason most first-time visitors come and what three of the city's four headline sights are about
Budget travellers
on the €17–22 a day, with dorm beds from about €4.50
Digital nomads and long-stayers
Our own data's own traveller types, and our sources note the trade-off honestly: prices in the nomad districts have risen faster than local ones
First-timers from the south
since it is the natural entry point for anyone flying into the country's biggest airport
When to go to Ho Chi Minh City
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What not to miss in Ho Chi Minh City
The Cu Chi Tunnels
250 km of Viet Cong tunnels 1.5–2 hours out, with a widened section visitors can crawl through, the trap exhibits and the tyre-rubber sandals made to print backwards. Every source calls it the one thing not to skip
The War Remnants Museum
three floors, graphic, and openly one-sided; the outdoor yard of captured American aircraft and armour is free to walk around. Ninety minutes and it is heavy
Reunification Palace
the South Vietnamese seat of government, left as it was in 1975 with the tank that broke the gate on the lawn and the command bunker underneath. Free guided tours run
Getting lost in the hẻms
the alley networks behind the main roads, where the traffic noise stops and the city becomes a series of front rooms. Our sources name specific entrances off Phan Xích Long and Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai
Chợ Lớn
Bình Tây Market, the Thiên Hậu and Quan Âm temples, and Vietnam's best Chinese food, in a quarter almost no first-time visitor reaches
A night motorbike food tour
riding pillion through the traffic between stalls; XO Tours, Back of the Bike and Vespa Adventures are the operators our sources name
The neighbourhoods of Ho Chi Minh City
District 1
first stay
The commercial and historic core, now split into the Sài Gòn, Bến Thành, Tân Định and Cầu Ông Lãnh wards. Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame, the Central Post Office, the Opera House and Bến Thành Market all sit within a few blocks, with the Nguyễn Huệ pedestrian boulevard running down to the river. Contains Phạm Ngũ Lão and Bùi Viện, the backpacker streets.
Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum and Bến Thành Market in a few blocks.
District 3
eating
Immediately inland from D1 and now the Bàn Cờ, Xuân Hòa and Nhiêu Lộc wards. Residential and commercial rather than touristic, and where our sources and our own data both send you for local restaurants. Holds the Jade Emperor Pagoda, the pink Tân Định church, Turtle Lake and its cafés, and the walkable Nhiêu Lộc–Thị Nghè canal.
The Jade Emperor Pagoda, the pink Tân Định church, and where the city eats.
Cho Lon (District 5)
food
Vietnam's Chinatown, settled by ethnic Chinese since 1778 and restored to the name Chợ Lớn, "big market", by the 2025 reform. Bình Tây Market, the Thiên Hậu, Quan Âm and Phước An Hội Quán temples, and the best Chinese food in the country. Very few hostels.
Bình Tây Market, the Thiên Hậu temple and the best Chinese food in the country.
Binh Thanh
longer stays
Between D1 and the river, mixed residential with the Văn Thánh park and its public pool, and the Thanh Đa peninsula where mud lanes, rice paddies and mangrove survive inside the city. Landmark 81, Vietnam's tallest building, is here.
Landmark 81 and the Thanh Đa peninsula, where rice paddies survive inside the city.
District 7 (Phu My Hung)
families
A planned Korean- and Taiwanese-influenced new town south of the centre, wide streets and international schools. Our sources name it as the expat nightlife alternative to the backpacker strip.
A planned new town of wide streets, and the nightlife alternative to Bùi Viện.
Phu Nhuan
foodies
Northern inner city, the Phan Xích Long strip of restaurants and cafés, and one of the densest hẻm networks in the city. Almost no tourists.
The Phan Xích Long restaurant strip and a dense hẻm network with almost no tourists.
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Where to stay in Ho Chi Minh City
Which street you pick inside old District 1 matters more than which property. Đồng Khởi is the historic, expensive, quiet end; Phạm Ngũ Lão and Bùi Viện are cheap, loud and full of hostels, and they are ten minutes apart
District 1
The commercial and historic core, now split into the Sài Gòn, Bến Thành, Tân Định and Cầu Ông Lãnh wards. Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame, the Central Post Office, the Opera House and Bến Thành Market all sit within a few blocks, with the Nguyễn Huệ pedestrian boulevard running down to the river. Contains Phạm Ngũ Lão and Bùi Viện, the backpacker streets.
District 3
Immediately inland from D1 and now the Bàn Cờ, Xuân Hòa and Nhiêu Lộc wards. Residential and commercial rather than touristic, and where our sources and our own data both send you for local restaurants. Holds the Jade Emperor Pagoda, the pink Tân Định church, Turtle Lake and its cafés, and the walkable Nhiêu Lộc–Thị Nghè canal.
Cho Lon (District 5)
Vietnam's Chinatown, settled by ethnic Chinese since 1778 and restored to the name Chợ Lớn, "big market", by the 2025 reform. Bình Tây Market, the Thiên Hậu, Quan Âm and Phước An Hội Quán temples, and the best Chinese food in the country. Very few hostels.
Binh Thanh
Between D1 and the river, mixed residential with the Văn Thánh park and its public pool, and the Thanh Đa peninsula where mud lanes, rice paddies and mangrove survive inside the city. Landmark 81, Vietnam's tallest building, is here.
District 7 (Phu My Hung)
A planned Korean- and Taiwanese-influenced new town south of the centre, wide streets and international schools. Our sources name it as the expat nightlife alternative to the backpacker strip.
Phu Nhuan
Northern inner city, the Phan Xích Long strip of restaurants and cafés, and one of the densest hẻm networks in the city. Almost no tourists.
What to eat in Ho Chi Minh City
Fractured rice grains with grilled pork chop, shredded pork skin, a steamed egg-and-pork cake and pickles. Sold to labourers in the 1920s because broken grains were the cheap ones; now the city's signature plate and a breakfast dish
The French baguette rebuilt as a Vietnamese sandwich: pâté, cold cuts, pickled carrot and daikon, coriander, chilli
Clear pork broth, thin chewy noodles, prawn, liver and minced pork: Cambodian-Chinese by origin and a Saigon lunch staple, eaten dry or in soup
Robusta dripped through a phin onto condensed milk, then ice
Condensed milk with a little coffee rather than the other way round: created by Chinese residents of Chợ Lớn in the early 20th century, and the city's own drink
Sea snails and shellfish grilled or stir-fried with chilli, lemongrass and butter, eaten in the evening with beer
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Cultural highlights & etiquette
Do
- Cross the road at a slow, steady walk without stopping. The motorbikes flow around you; hesitating is what causes the accident
- Say Saigon. Locals do, and "Ho Chi Minh" on its own is heard as the man rather than the city
- Sit down at the plastic stools. Grandmothers running a noodle stall are visibly pleased when a foreigner eats there
- Learn một, hai, ba, vô! for a toast: one, two, three, drink, and trăm phần trăm if you intend to empty the glass
- Cover shoulders and knees at pagodas, including the Jade Emperor and the Chợ Lớn temples
Don't
- Don't use your phone at the kerbside: snatching from a passing motorbike is the specific risk here
- Don't let money out of your sight. The 500,000 and 20,000 dong notes look alike and swapping them is a standard scam
- Don't rent a motorbike as your first riding experience
- Don't drink the tap water
Daily budget in Ho Chi Minh City
Budget
€17–22
Hostel dorm, street food and markets, public transport, the free and cheap sights
Mid
€30–34
Double room, a rented motorbike, restaurant meals, paid tours
Comfortable
€60+
Đồng Khởi or Thảo Điền hotel, rooftop bars, private guides
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Fun facts about Ho Chi Minh City
The Central Post Office was not designed by Gustave Eiffel. It is the work of Marie-Alfred Foulhoux, chief architect of the colony, built 1886–91 and his last building. The Eiffel attribution is repeated everywhere, and is wrong, [official: en.wikipedia.org, commercial: atlasobscura.com, commercial: roamer.travel]
Cơm tấm exists because the broken grains were the cheap ones. Fractured rice was sold to labourers in the 1920s because it could not be sold whole; the dish built on it is now the city's signature, [commercial: guide.michelin.com, commercial: vietnamairlines.com, commercial: seriouseats.com]
Bạc xỉu was invented in Chợ Lớn by the quarter's Chinese community in the early twentieth century: condensed milk with a little coffee, made for people who did not drink coffee
Đồng Khởi street has been renamed twice for regime change: Rue Catinat under the French, Tự Do ("Freedom") under South Vietnam, Đồng Khởi ("Total Revolution") after 1975
Metro Line 1 took twelve years longer than planned and opened in December 2024 as Vietnam's first urban railway
Cao Đài, the religion that fuses Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity and Islam, was founded near here in 1926, and its Tây Ninh temple: statues of Muhammad, Julius Caesar, Jesus and Buddha under one roof, is a standard pairing with the Cu Chi day trip
Local tips for Ho Chi Minh City
Metro Line 1 is Vietnam's first
it opened in December 2024:, 19.7 km and 14 stations from Bến Thành northeast to Suối Tiên, three of them underground in the centre. Trains every ~10 minutes, 05:00–22:00 Monday to Thursday and to 23:00 Friday to Sunday; it carried about 52,000 riders a day in its first year. Line 2 is scheduled for 2030
Terminal 3 opened in 2025
Tân Sơn Nhất's newest, on 17 April and handles domestic flights; a free shuttle runs T1–T2–T3 from 04:30 to 00:30. Allow for it when connecting
The taxi scams are named
Use Vinasun (red) or Mai Linh (green), check the logo against fakes, make sure the meter starts at zero, or avoid the question entirely with Grab
Theft and scams, not crime
serious crime against visitors is uncommon, and our sources are unanimous that pickpocketing and bag-snatching are the real risks
Bag-snatching is the crime
from passing motorbikes. Do not wear a bag on the outside arm while riding pillion or in a cyclo, and do not wear a strap across the neck where a snatch would pull you off the bike
Frequently asked questions about Ho Chi Minh City
Three days, and for once our own data agrees: the typical stay is 3 nights and 32.9% of stops are exactly three.
Our sources are genuinely split: one Dutch publisher argues most people leave too early, another argues Hanoi is the better city. Both agree that what makes Saigon worth staying for is outside the tourist quarter.
Old District 1: Đồng Khởi if you want quiet and history, Phạm Ngũ Lão if you want cheap and loud.
In speech, yes. Legally, no, the district system was abolished on 1 July 2025 and replaced by wards.
Not as a tourist. It has been closed for restoration since 2017, due to finish around 2027; the grounds are open and Sunday mass continues.
Yes, since December 2024: one line, Bến Thành to Suối Tiên. Guides published as recently as 2026 still say there is not.
The Cu Chi Tunnels, on every source's list without dissent.
December to April. February is the driest month; September the wettest.
Bus 152 for about 6,000 VND, bus 109 for about 10,000, or Grab in 20–30 minutes.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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