Tourists who have not been too zealous to attend geography lessons at school, the colorful and many-sided Ho Chi Minh City can be mistaken for the capital. The largest metropolis in the south of Vietnam at the end of the 19th century. was the main city of French Indochina and has not lost its importance today. The Vietnamese stubbornly call it Saigon, which has preserved many attractions since colonial times, so that numerous tourists will always find something to see. In Ho Chi Minh City, old quarters are alive, where everything - from sounds to smells - absolutely corresponds to the idea of Southeast Asia. The modern city is also very attractive for travelers and attracts guests with new shopping centers and entertainment venues for every taste and budget.
TOP 10 attractions in Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam History Museum
An excursion to the Museum of the History of Vietnam will help you learn everything about the history of the country. Founded in 1929, it is the most complete collection of exhibits that tell about the stages of development of the state, from the Paleolithic era to the present day.
In the halls of the museum are collected historical relics found during archaeological excavations and ethnographic expeditions. Visitors are invariably attracted by authentic items dating back to the period of the struggle for independence from China in the 10th century, the era of the Li dynasty in the 11th-13th centuries. and later Tai Son - in the XVIII-XIX centuries. The collection of ancient ceramics of various eras and sculptures of Buddha made of clay, bronze, wood and glass are of considerable historical and aesthetic interest.
Ticket price: $ 1.
War Victims Museum
The exposition of this museum in Ho Chi Minh City allows you to look at the terrible evidence of the civil war that was waged in Vietnam in the 50-70s of the last century. The United States took a significant part in this war, and it is their tragic role in the modern history of Vietnam that the museum's collection is mainly devoted to.
The exhibit exhibition is divided into several thematic sections. You will see captured military equipment of the US Air Force and ground forces, unexploded ordnance and tiger cages from which the South Vietnamese military held prisoners from the North Vietnamese troops.
In one of the halls, the effects of the use of napalm, phosphorus bombs and defoliants are demonstrated, spraying which, the aircraft destroyed tropical forests and fought the partisan movement. Among the creepiest exhibits are the guillotine through which the South Vietnamese executed prisoners, and evidence of genetic mutations in unborn children as a result of the use of chemical weapons.
Ku Chi Tunnels
The network of underground tunnels used by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam during the civil war has been preserved near Ho Chi Minh City and is on display to visitors interested in the country's history.
The Cu Chi tunnels allowed the Viet Cong to wage a guerrilla war with the US Army quite successfully. Unadapted to the conditions of the hot and humid tropics, the soldiers of foreign armies received tangible and sudden blows, and the enemy remained practically unnoticed and invulnerable.
The tunnels in the Ku-Chi area are still of great interest to those interested in military history:
- The total length of the labyrinths is over 180 km.
- It took the Vietnamese almost 15 years to build a network of underground passages.
- The system has all the infrastructure necessary for life - utility rooms, residential bunkers, warehouses, hospitals, command posts, catering facilities and workshops where weapons were made and repaired.
- The main underground artery is reinforced from above with brickwork, the thickness of which reaches 4 m in places.
- The depth at which the residential infrastructure, classrooms and medical premises were located is 10-15 m.
- In total, the system of underground fortifications of Saigon could accommodate up to 16 thousand people.
Today, tourists are given the opportunity to "wander" through the labyrinths, but it should be borne in mind that in some places their width barely reaches 60 cm, and therefore it will be very difficult for a large European to do this.
Tour price: from $ 6.
Skyscraper Bitexco
The symbol of modern Ho Chi Minh City is called the Bitexco Tower, inaugurated in 2010. It was built by the company of the same name, and during the year the skyscraper was the tallest building in the country. Then another record holder appeared in Hanoi, and today the symbol of business Ho Chi Minh remains only the tallest class A office building.
The architects are said to have been inspired by the lotus flower. One can argue or agree with this, but the skyscraper turned out to be quite recognizable and peculiar. The building consists of 68 floors, the last one is located at a height of 262 m. High-speed elevators take visitors to the very top in just 45 seconds. The originality of the design is given by the helipad, hovering above the ground at the level of the 50th floor. There, in the restaurant, you will be offered to dine while looking at the parked helicopters. You can look at Ho Chi Minh City from the height of the 49th floor: a circular panorama of the city opens from the observation deck.
Central post office
If you decide to send your friends a postcard from Vietnam, take a look at the Central Post Office of Ho Chi Minh City. The building was built at the end of the 19th century. designed by a Frenchman, and in his appearance the influence of both the Gothic architectural trend and the Renaissance style can be traced.
The main attractions of the Ho Chi Minh Post Office are two geographical maps, made in 1892, showing the telegraph lines of South Vietnam and Saigon and the surrounding area.
Jade emperor pagoda
The pagoda in Ho Chi Minh is dedicated to the supreme deity of the Taoist pantheon, the Jade Emperor Yu-huang-shandi. It was built in 1909 by representatives of the Chinese community. Today, this architectural landmark is of great importance for the followers of Taoism.
The Jade Emperor is presented as a dispassionate sage who rules over heaven and human affairs. His images adorn the interiors of the Jade Emperor Pagoda, built in the style typical of Chinese temples. The entrance to the pagoda is decorated with a carved ridge depicting mythical animals. You will see the same skillful woodcarving on the roof of the building.
In front of the entrance to the sanctuary of the Jade Emperor, there are ponds with lotuses and lilies, and around the pagoda there is a small cozy garden where you can spend time in the shade of tropical trees.
Cathedral of Our Lady of Saigon
Walking around Ho Chi Minh City, at some point you may decide that you are in Europe. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Saigon, built in the second half of the 19th century, looks exactly like its brothers in the Old World. The temple was founded by French colonialists, and in 1877 the first stone was laid in its construction.
In the appearance of Notre Dame de Saigon, the Romanesque-Gothic style is unambiguously guessed. The façade is decorated with two 57-meter bell towers, on the upper part of them there are crosses, the height of which is 3.5 m. All building materials needed for the construction of the temple were delivered from France. The base of the cathedral was ready to support the weight of the structure an order of magnitude more, but the colonists were forced to be content with the current size due to material problems. The work cost 2.5 million French francs, which at that time was a huge amount.
Gia Long Palace
A luxurious baroque mansion, elegantly complemented by elements of oriental architecture, was built in Saigon at the end of the 19th century. Frenchman A. Fulux. Particular attention is drawn to the decorative finishing of the facade, decorated with bas-reliefs and stucco moldings depicting animals, plants and mythological symbols that refer the viewer to ancient Greek traditions.
The Gia Long Palace, erected to house the exhibits of the Commerce Museum, soon became the seat of the local governor. During World War II, the Japanese governor lodged in the mansion, then the building was occupied by the Provisional Administrative Committee of South Vietnam. Later, the palace managed to visit the residence of the Prime Minister, the Supreme Court of the Republic and the Revolutionary Museum of Ho Chi Minh City. Today in Gia Long you can see an exhibition dedicated to the history of Ho Chi Minh City.
Three deep tunnels lead from the palace to other parts of the city, built by order of the first President of Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem. According to one of them, he fled during the coup d'état in 1963.
Bến Thành Market
The opportunity to plunge into an absolutely Vietnamese atmosphere for guests of Saigon is offered by the city central market. It is called Ben Thanh, and in its colorful rows you can buy absolutely everything - from exotic fruits, the names of which you have never even heard of before, to products of local artisans. Souvenir shops alternate on Ben Thanh with eateries, where you will be offered to taste the national cuisine, as they say, first-hand.
With the onset of dusk, restaurants open around the perimeter of the market, where it is pleasant to spend the evening and enjoy exotic dishes and views of the evening city.
Saigon Botanical Garden and Zoo
In the center of the historic part of Ho Chi Minh, there is a cozy Botanical Garden and a small zoo, where it is interesting to spend time with the whole family. On an area of 20 hectares, there are about 2,000 different trees, the collection of orchids in the park is one of the best in the region, and 120 species of animals and birds boast ideal conditions in spacious and clean enclosures.
In the park, you will find a bamboo garden, a traditional lake with lotuses, flower beds of blooming sunflowers, meet flocks of flamingos, meet Asian black bears and take photos of white tigers, which are often called the symbol of the animal kingdom of Southeast Asia.
Ticket price: $ 2, 5.
