a weekend guide for ho chi minh city, vietnam

a historic cafe in District 1 that was a secret meeting place for Communist special forces plotting against the United States military in the 1960s.

A very quiet cafe that may be hard to find the first time (you need to enter through an art passage and climb some stairs). It’s also located above the much more well known L’Usine.

This crab paste noodle soup specialist has been doling out its namesake dish for more than four decades.

A refugee returns to his homeland to open Ho Chi Minh City’s first Michelin-starred restaurant.

Vietnam’s everyman “broken rice” dish is given one major upgrade at this humble institution.

For a taste of Vietnamese gastropub culture, look no further than this convivial seafood joint that stays open till midnight.

One of the city’s busiest areas, the market and the streets around it are where you’ll find street food, souvenirs, clothing and footwear piled high. It should absolutely be on your list of places to see, but the goods inside are better priced elsewhere. If you must shop here, be prepared to bargain. And keep your wits about you when walking around.

takes visitors on the back of scooters to captivating street-food eateries and markets in five districts during a 4.5-hour excursion.

a pedestrian boulevard stretching to the Saigon River, teems with street performers and promenading locals and tourists.

This gallery and museum is set within a fine colonial-era house. The building itself is reason to pay the small entrance fee (it houses what was the city’s first elevator), but the modern and traditional art and sculptures (most of it inspired by the war) are also excellent.

The French post office from 1886 is still busy to this day (although tourists are mostly to blame for this). Designed by Gustave Eiffel (yes, that one) it’s filled with maps of the area on its walls and is as grand a building as you’ll find in the city. Check out the replica of Notre Dame in the square outside, too (but believe us, it’s not worth going inside).

Have fun at the world's first Buddhist waterslide park.

Artifacts and memories from the Vietnam war, located in a place that experienced it first hand.

A memorial to the monk who set himself on fire to protest the persecution of Buddhists in Vietnam.

Chinatown area, there is a mosque as well there!

Global Magazine Timeout has recently named Ho Chi Minh City’s District 3 among top 50 coolest neighbourhoods in the world.

Walk out of district 1 on a Friday evening and join the first roadside karaoke party you see

For local local crowd, check out Loco complex. They have a soju style bar on the bottom floor and a hip hop club on the top floor.

can also go during the day as well