2 days in Ho Chi Minh City

Day by day

1. Day 1: War Remnants Museum and Independence Palace

   War Remnants Museum, Independence Palace, Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon and Bến Thành Market, then Nguyễn Huệ walking street in the evening.

   1. Morning

      War Remnants Museum

      American tanks, aircraft and artillery stand in the courtyard.

   2. Late morning

      Independence Palace

      Its 1960s reception rooms, rooftop helipad and basement command bunker with maps and radios are preserved much as they were.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Broken rice

      Street stalls and specialist cơm tấm restaurants in every district, with the smoke of charcoal grills marking the best ones.

   4. Afternoon

      Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon

      It has been under a long restoration since 2017, with scaffolding and limited access at times.

   5. Late afternoon

      Bến Thành Market

      It is touristy but still a landmark, with the main Metro Line 1 station beneath the square outside.

   6. Evening

      Nguyễn Huệ walking street

      Come after sunset when it is cooler, and take the lift (for a small fee) or stairs up the café apartment block for a view of the boulevard.

2. Day 2: Saigon Central Post Office and Saigon Opera House

   Saigon Central Post Office, Saigon Opera House, Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts and Ho Chi Minh City Museum, then Landmark 81 SkyView in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Saigon Central Post Office

      Old wooden phone booths now house ATMs and souvenir counters.

   2. Late morning

      Saigon Opera House

      The Municipal Theatre, opened in 1900 at the top of Đồng Khởi street, is a flamboyant French colonial building that now stages concerts, ballet and the long-running AO Show, a bamboo acrobatics performance inspired by southern village life.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Bánh mì

      Street carts and famous bakeries across Districts 1 and 3; queues at the best-known ones move quickly.

   4. Afternoon

      Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts

      The building's tiled floors, stained glass and old cage lift are attractions in themselves.

   5. Late afternoon

      Ho Chi Minh City Museum

      The grand staircase and gardens are popular for wedding and graduation photos.

   6. Evening

      Landmark 81 SkyView

      Go late in the afternoon to see the city in daylight and after dark on one ticket.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 11–12 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 11.5 hours in December to 12.8 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Ride-hailing. Grab, Be and Xanh SM offer cars and motorbike taxis with fixed in-app fares; motorbike rides are the fastest way through traffic for short trips.

More or fewer days

• One day in Ho Chi Minh City
• 3 days in Ho Chi Minh City
• 4 days in Ho Chi Minh City
• 5 days in Ho Chi Minh City
• 7 days in Ho Chi Minh City

Questions travellers ask