What to do and eat in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

A trip to Vietnam would not be complete without a few days spent in this bustling and chaotic Southern city, also known as Saigon. The city is a mix of old and new, chaos and order and is packed to the brim with things to do and foods to eat. This is our guide of what to do in Ho Chi Minh City plus where to find great coffee and of course, amazing food.

After a long yet relatively painless Giant Ibis bus journey from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, we finally arrived in the bustling city of Saigon. It didn’t take long before we witnessed what everyone had warned us about – motorbikes absolutely everywhere. As Tony described it, it was total carnage. Mopeds in their hundreds pulled up to traffic lights or just went straight through them regardless of colour. As the saying goes in Vietnam – Green means GO, amber means GO, red means GO and it really is true. From every direction mopeds seem to whizz by with as many as 4 people on the back and occasionally even the odd animal or miscellaneous item – mattress delivery, anyone?

The pavements were just seen as an extension of the road and so the few people that were attempting to walk were constantly trying to dodge vehicles from every angle. Crossing the roads was an interesting game that required skill, great reactions and quite frankly, courage. If you waited for a clean break, you would be waiting forever so the only way to get across was to slowly but purposely weave through the oncoming traffic, something that in all honesty, I struggled with.

During the 5 nights we had in this bustling city we ate as much local food as possible, walked thousands of steps exploring everything we could, saw the top sights and found some hidden gems of our own. We absolutely loved our time in HCMC and of all the places we went in the country, it is one of the stops that we would love to go back to in the future.

If it’s your first time in the city, you will most likely, like us, stay in District 1, the tourist hub and busy centre of the city. Full of hotels, hostels, bars, restaurants and close to a lot of the top sights, it’s clear to see why so many stay there. However, unless you’re in the mood for partying until the early hours of the morning then do not stay on (or near) Bui Vien Walking street. We made the mistake of staying at the end of the street, down a small lane after we had to leave our booked hostel due to an unfortunate ant infestation (it’s a long story). The first few nights we had next to no sleep which made sightseeing and dodging mopeds a little trickier. However, a few cups of the local Vietnamese coffee always did the trick.

There is so much to see in the city but we knew for certain that we wanted to head to the War remnants museum to learn more about the war that affected not only Vietnam, but neighbouring Laos & Cambodia as well. The museum is in District 3 and acts as an educational facility as well as a shocking reminder of the long, brutal war. Entrance to the museum is very low at only 40,000 VND (£1.30) and includes all kinds of imagery from the war in addition to tanks, planes, weapons and other artillery. We found ourselves getting lost in the photographs that sat on the walls, some so iconic we had seen them countless times before and others that were a shock. Some particular rooms were very difficult to walk through, showing many photographs of the effects of agent orange that are still prevalent today.

Whilst walking around the city can be challenging, if you’re feeling daring then a DIY walking tour is always a great way to spend an afternoon. Bear in mind that walking around the city is somewhat similar to competing in an obstacle course, but if that doesn’t scare you off there are many sights to explore by foot. From the War Remnants Museum, the Independence Palace is only a short walk away. Also known as the Reunification Palace, it was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Entrance to the palace is quite low at only 40,000 VND and includes an audio guide.

Only a minute or so away from the Independence Palace sits the Notre Dame Cathedral. As we navigated our way across the road towards it we soon realised that it was under construction and so we could only see it from the outside. Even so, the 40m high towers and large Virgin Mary statue in front are really quite beautiful and make for a great photo. Across the road from the Cathedral sits the still functioning Central Post Office, an iconic French colonial landmark in the city designed by non other than Gustave Eiffel, the architect who designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

If shopping and cute cafes are more your thing then head over to Nguyen Hue walking street during the day. The street itself is not all that exciting until the evening rolls around but head up into the Cafe Apartments for boutique stores and more cafes than you can shake a stick at. The building was built in the 1960s as an apartment building but over the decades has turned into what is now one of the most unique shopping and cafes spots in the city. We stumbled on this by pure luck and spent over an hour walking up the stairs, browsing the stores and having some truly incredible iced teas and almond cookies in Orientea.

When it comes to markets, the Ben Thanh market only 10 minutes from Bui Vien walking street often springs to mind. However, when we visited it, we found the prices to be quite a bit higher than we expected. It seems that the market is more catered to tourists than the local Vietnamese people and the prices reflect that. In saying that, it is still absolutely worth a visit for the experience.