Ho Chi Minh City

Culture

Flavours, spaces and rhythms of life.

Editor-curated lists — suggestions for first-time visitors.

01 · Cuisine

Top 10 cuisine not to miss.

10 postsUpdated 06/2026

Sweeter broth, herb platter, Cantonese sauces — distinctly Southern

Southern-Style Pho

When Northerners migrated south after 1954 they brought their beloved pho, but Saigon's palate quietly transformed it into something distinctly its own. The broth runs sweeter — enriched with daikon radish and rock sugar — and each bowl arrives with bean sprouts, Thai basil, sawtooth herb, and Cantonese-style hoisin and chili sauces on the side. Venerable shops like Pho Hoa on Pasteur Street in District 3, open for over 60 years, keep the legend of Saigon's original "pho street" alive.

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Fermented fish broth, Mekong water-vegetables, seafood abundance

Mekong Delta Fermented Fish Hotpot

Lau mam is a culinary symphony rooted in Mekong Delta folk traditions, drawing on Vietnamese, Chinese, and Khmer influences. The broth is built on fermented ca sac fish — a Mekong specialty — and loaded with pork belly, snakehead fish, shrimp, and squid, served alongside a heaped platter of fresh water-vegetables. Brought to Saigon by Mekong migrants, the dish has been served here since at least 1949 at the legendary Phuoc Thanh on Le Thi Rieng Street.

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Three-layer bean dessert — Vietnam's sole entry in Asia's Top 100

Saigon Three-Color Dessert

Che ba mau is a tropical dessert born from cultural crossroads: a layer of soft-braised red beans, smooth blended mung bean paste, and pandan-green jelly, all crowned with rich coconut milk over shaved ice. Originating in Cantonese tong sui tradition, it was brought to Saigon by Cholon's Chinese community and adapted to Southern Vietnamese tastes across generations. In 2023, Taste Atlas ranked it among Asia's top 100 desserts with a 4.1/5 score, placing Saigon on the global dessert map.

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Saigon's defining street snack — sour, spicy, sweet, salty in one bag

Saigon Mixed Rice-Paper Snack

Banh trang tron started as a frugal habit of mixing rice-paper scraps in Tay Ninh province, then hitchhiked with students and street vendors into every alley in Saigon to become the city's defining snack. Dew-dried rice paper cut into thin strips is tossed with shredded green mango, Vietnamese coriander, Tay Ninh shrimp salt, scallion-peanut oil, quail eggs, and beef jerky — a pocket-sized symphony of sour, spicy, salty, and sweet. Nguyen Thuong Hien Street in District 3 is the city's undisputed mecca for this beloved sidewalk treat.

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Grilled pork · shredded skin · egg cake

Saigon Broken Rice

The soul of Saigon cuisine — sticky broken rice with charcoal-grilled pork chop, shredded pork skin, steamed egg cake, and fragrant scallion oil, served with sweet-sour fish sauce.

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Pâté · Vietnamese sausage · pickles

Saigon Bánh Mì

The perfect French-Vietnamese fusion: a crispy baguette with pâté, Vietnamese sausage, cold cuts, pickled daikon and carrot, coriander, and a dash of chili sauce.

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Khmer–Chinese noodle heritage

Nam Vang Noodle Soup

Crystal-clear noodle soup with shrimp, pork liver, minced pork, and quail eggs — culinary heritage of the Cholon Chinese community, served wet or dry.

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Fresh roll · fried roll

Fresh Rolls & Fried Spring Rolls

Two sides of the same spirit: light gỏi cuốn with shrimp, pork, vermicelli, and fresh herbs — or crispy golden chả giò. Both dipped in sweet-sour fish sauce.

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Slow drip · condensed milk

Phin-drip Iced Coffee

Saigon sidewalk coffee culture — low plastic stool, noisy traffic, waiting for each drop of phin-brewed coffee to fall into a glass of rich condensed milk.

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Rice flour · turmeric · shrimp & pork

Mekong Sizzling Crepe

A platter-sized golden sizzling crepe — turmeric rice batter fried crispy, filled with shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, and wrapped in lettuce with over a dozen fresh herbs.

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02 · Places

Top 9 places not to miss.

9 postsUpdated 06/2026

District 1 · Evening until midnight

Nguyen Hue Walking Street

Once Saigon's widest boulevard — now a pedestrian zone with a light square, fountain, weekend street performances, and a dazzling flower street during Tết.

District 1 · Open since 1914

Ben Thanh Market

The iconic golden clock tower market — thousands of stalls with regional specialties, handicrafts, clothing, and a lively night food court.

District 4 · HCM Museum branch

Nha Rong Wharf — Ho Chi Minh Museum

The old port where Nguyen Tat Thanh departed in 1911 to seek national salvation — now the Ho Chi Minh Museum branch, a sacred and unmissable address for every visitor.

District 5 · Teochew & Fujian quarter

Cholon Chinatown

Ancient Chinese temples, hủ tiếu, dim sum, and red lantern light — a completely different Saigon bustling since the 18th century. Highlight: Thien Hau Temple (1760).

Vietnam's tallest building (461 m) — Saigon's 21st-century icon

Landmark 81 & Vinhomes Central Park

Standing 461.3 m tall with 81 floors modeled on a bundle of bamboo shoots, Landmark 81 is Vietnam's tallest building and ranked among the world's top 20 skyscrapers at its 2018 inauguration. Anchoring the Vinhomes Central Park waterfront development along the Saigon River in Binh Thanh District, it symbolizes the city's ambition to become a leading Southeast Asian metropolis. From the Vinpearl Sky 81 observation deck, visitors command a 360-degree panorama of a 10-million-person megacity.

Over 25 million visitors — one of Asia's most important history museums

War Remnants Museum

Founded on 4 September 1975 at 28 Vo Van Tan Street (District 3), the War Remnants Museum holds over 20,000 documents and artefacts documenting the Vietnam War — from warplanes, artillery pieces, and tiger cages to landmark photo essays on Agent Orange. In 50 years it has welcomed more than 25 million visitors, the majority international tourists.

250 km of hand-dug tunnels — the "Iron Land" of the Southern Resistance

Cu Chi Tunnels

Located about 70 km northwest of central HCMC, the Cu Chi Tunnels are a labyrinthine network of nearly 250 km of hand-dug passages that served as the command headquarters and living quarters for thousands of Resistance fighters across decades of war. Today two preserved sites — Ben Duoc and Ben Dinh — are open to the public; the nighttime "Moonlit Resistance Zone" tour launched in 2022 is the most sought-after experience.

District 1 · Special National Relic

Independence Palace

Site of the April 30, 1975 event — today a rare museum of modern architecture, with every meeting room, war room, and secret underground bunker preserved intact.

District 1 · French colonial architecture

Central Post Office & Notre-Dame Cathedral

Two French colonial landmarks facing each other on Paris Commune Square — the Post Office designed in Gustave Eiffel's style (1891), the Cathedral built with red bricks from Marseille (1880).

03 · Festivals

Top 2 festivals not to miss.

2 postsUpdated 06/2026

First full moon of lunar year · District 5 · National Intangible Heritage 2020

Cholon Lantern Festival (Nguyen Tieu)

Rooted in the 17th-century Chinese Cantonese community of Cholon, the Nguyen Tieu Lantern Festival marks the first full moon of the lunar new year and is celebrated most spectacularly in District 5, HCMC, with thousands of costumed marchers, lion and dragon dances, and the procession of Guan Di through the district's historic assembly halls. Recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2020, it draws tens of thousands of visitors each year to Nguyen Trai and Trieu Quang Phuc Streets.

14th–16th of 8th lunar month · Can Gio District · National Heritage since 2013

Nghinh Ong Sea Festival — Can Gio

Dating to 1913, the Nghinh Ong Festival takes place on the 14th–16th of the 8th lunar month in Can Gio District — HCMC's only coastal area. Fishermen escort an effigy of Ong Nam Hai (the whale deity) to sea aboard a colourfully decorated fleet, praying for national peace, calm waters, and abundant harvests. Recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013.

04 · Customs

Top 2 customs not to miss.

2 postsUpdated 06/2026

Slow living amid the rush — the pavement as Saigon's living room

Saigon Sidewalk Coffee Culture

Since the late 19th century when French colonists introduced coffee to Saigon, a morning cup became an essential urban ritual. Sidewalk coffee culture — low plastic stools on the pavement, drip-filter phin coffee or a shared pot of tea — is how Saigonese kickstart their day, negotiate deals, play Chinese chess, or simply watch the city flow past. This 'ca phe coc' (roadside cafe) tradition has spawned a philosophy of its own: slower, more real, and closer to people in a city that never truly sleeps.

Day 10 of Tet — Saigonese queue from dawn to buy gold and invite wealth

God of Wealth Day (10th Day of Lunar New Year)

On the 10th day of the first lunar month, gold shops across HCMC open to queues of hundreds stretching from dawn, as residents rush to buy a piece of gold to invite wealth and good fortune for the year. The custom originated with Cantonese merchant communities in Cholon who venerated the God of Wealth (Than Tai), then spread city-wide and beyond. Alongside gold purchases, families prepare offerings of grilled snakehead fish, roast pork, and fresh fruit for the household Wealth God altar.

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Ho Chi Minh City — Southeast.

Flavours, spaces and rhythms of life.

Top 10 cuisine not to miss.

Southern-Style Pho

Mekong Delta Fermented Fish Hotpot

Saigon Three-Color Dessert

Saigon Mixed Rice-Paper Snack

Saigon Broken Rice

Saigon Bánh Mì

Nam Vang Noodle Soup

Fresh Rolls & Fried Spring Rolls

Phin-drip Iced Coffee

Mekong Sizzling Crepe

Top 9 places not to miss.

Nguyen Hue Walking Street

Ben Thanh Market

Nha Rong Wharf — Ho Chi Minh Museum

Cholon Chinatown

Landmark 81 & Vinhomes Central Park

War Remnants Museum

Cu Chi Tunnels

Independence Palace

Central Post Office & Notre-Dame Cathedral

Top 2 festivals not to miss.

Cholon Lantern Festival (Nguyen Tieu)

Nghinh Ong Sea Festival — Can Gio

Top 2 customs not to miss.

Saigon Sidewalk Coffee Culture

God of Wealth Day (10th Day of Lunar New Year)

Know an event we're missing?