Things to do in Ho Chi Minh City

The city took its present name in 1976, though many people still say Saigon. District 1 is the visitors' centre. Tours in Ho Chi Minh City are either half-day sightseeing or full days out of town.

District 1 and beyond

The old French core is small enough to cover on foot. Distances between the big sights are short.

• Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office. They stand side by side, both built by the French in the late nineteenth century. The cathedral's restoration began in 2017, so check what is open.
• Reunification Palace. Where a tank broke through the gates on 30 April 1975.
• War Remnants Museum. Photographs and military hardware from the war; some rooms are graphic.
• Cholon. The Chinese quarter, often the afternoon half of a full-day city tour.
• Places of worship. A half-day tour joins the pink Tan Dinh Church, the Saigon Central Mosque and the Mariamman Hindu Temple.

Days out of the city

Cu Chi and the Mekong dominate, and one tour joins them. That day lasts twelve hours.

• Cu Chi Tunnels. About two hours north-west by road. Fighters lived and fought in this underground network during the war.
• Cao Dai Temple. In Tay Ninh, home to a faith founded in the 1920s. Visitors watch the midday service from a gallery.
• Mekong Delta. My Tho and Ben Tre by motorboat and rowing boat, with coconut candy, honey tea and folk music. Longer trips of two to four days stay overnight in the delta and add cycling and kayaking.

Practical

• Weather. The dry season, December to April, brings highs of 32 to 35C. From May to November afternoon downpours arrive, with well over 200 mm a month from June to October. Most storms pass within an hour or two.
• Traffic. Motorbikes fill every road. Cross slowly and steadily, and let them go round you.
• Airport. Tan Son Nhat lies inside the city, about half an hour from District 1 by taxi.
• Temples. Cover shoulders and knees at the temples, the mosque and the Cao Dai temple.
• Evenings. A water puppet show with dinner takes about three hours.