Top 5 things must do in Ho Chi Minh City

Top spot in town for opera and classical music

Built in 1897 by the legendary French architect Eugène Ferret, Saigon Opera House (Opėra de Saigon) is widely considered as one of the best representations of French colonial architecture in Saigon.

• Address: 7 Công trường Lam Sơn, Bến Nghé, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam.
• Open hours: Make sure you check the official site for show times and schedules and you can also buy tickets online as well.
• Entrance price: Prices range from 504,000 VND – 1,176,000 VND for show tickets.
• How to get there: The Opera House is located on the prestigious Dong Khoi street

Representation of Catholicism in the largely Buddhist Vietnam 

The Notre Dame Cathedral shows the pinnacle of French Colonialism in Ho Chi Minh. While not as grand as the Notre Dame in Paris, this Cathedral is still beautiful and well worth a look around. Built between 1877 and 1883, the Cathedral is of neo-Romanesque design, with red brick imported from France and two towers containing six bronze bells. Look over the beautiful stained glass windows and the statue of its name sake outside on the lawn, which was said to have shed tears in 2005. The Cathedral is still in use and Mass is held there every Sunday.

• Address: Bến Nghé, tp. Hồ Chí Minh, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
• Open hours: 8 am – 11 am in the morning and 3 pm – 6 pm in the evening on weekdays only (on Sunday, there’s an official mass that begins at 9:30 am that you are free to attend)
• Entrance price: Free
• How to get there: From the Independence Palace, walk northeast through the park directly to the cathedral. It’s located on the northwestern side of Dong Khoi street, adjacent to the old post office.

Stark naked truth of the Vietnam War

Definitely not a fun experience, but worth every single second. It is a place to remember the atrocious and horrible effects that come as a result of war. Most of the inside of the War Remnants Museum is filled with photography, shown in exhibitions, about various events of the Vietnam War. You are free to walk around the various photo and journalist displays.

Be prepared for quite a heavy and saddening experience

• Address: 28 Võ Văn Tần, Phường 6, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
• Open hours: 7:30 am – 12 noon in the morning and 1:30 pm – 5 pm in the afternoon, daily
• Entrance price: 15,000 VND per person
• How to get there:
  The War Remnants Museum is located just northwest of the Independence Palace, you can walk from there in about 10 minutes.

Another great architecture designed by the legend, Gustave Eiffel 

Definitely not a fun experience, but worth every single second. It is a place to remember the atrocious and horrible effects that come as a result of war. Most of the inside of the War Remnants Museum is filled with photography, shown in exhibitions, about various events of the Vietnam War. You are free to walk around the various photo and journalist displays. 

Be prepared for quite a heavy and saddening experience

• Address: 28 Võ Văn Tần, Phường 6, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
• Open hours: 7:30 am – 12 noon in the morning and 1:30 pm – 5 pm in the afternoon, daily
• Entrance price: 15,000 VND per person
• How to get there:
  The War Remnants Museum is located just northwest of the Independence Palace, you can walk from there in about 10 minutes.

Representation of the Chinese community in Saigon 

You’re going to hear most about Ben Thanh Market. But Binh Tay Market offers a more local experience (and better price), overall a little less touristy geared. 

Binh Tay Market is one of the major official markets, located in the Cholon area of Ho Chi Minh City aka the Chinatown of Saigon. It has a similar feel to it as Ben Thanh, and even many of the products that are sold – from clothes to food – are basically quite similar.

• Address: Bình Tây Market, 57 Tháp Mười, 2, Quận 6, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
• Open hours: 6 am – 7 pm daily for the main indoor market section, 5 am – 9 am or so for the outdoor wet market
• Entrance price: 15,000 VND per person
• How to get there:The market is located in District 5, and it’s easiest to just jump in a taxi to get there. From Ben Thanh Market it cost me 110,00 VND, and the ride took about 15 minutes.

Premium dental services that costs a fraction of your home dentist. 

Serenity International Dental Clinic in Ho Chi Minh offers a full range premium dental services from a simple routine checkup and cleaning to complex full mouth restoration.

• Address: 214/B7 Nguyen Trai Street, Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward,District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Open hours: 8.30 am – 12.00 pm and 2.00 pm – 6.00 pm on Monday – Saturday
• Price: A third of your dentist’s price back home.
• How to get there:The clinic is 2km away from Ben Thanh Market and the taxi ride costs 40,000 VND within 10 minutes.