Ho Chi Minh city (Formerly Saigon) is mixture of traditional and modern life.
Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral
Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam, located in the south of the country. Renamed after the Vietnam War, some locals still refer to the city as Saigon, especially in relation to the tourist centre. This action packed city has all but let go of its war torn past only one generation ago, and is now a bustling metropolis, getting larger, more modern and more expensive every day.
A vibrant metropolis, SAIGON teems with energy, activity and motion. Everywhere you look, you see the meeting of traditional and modern life. The emerging modern skyline stands cheek by jowl with colonial buildings and traditional temples. Outside on the streets, young professionals zip by on motorbikes, chatting on cellphones; inside the quiet temple courtyards, worshippers pray amidst clouds of incense.
The climate is tropical wet and dry so there are no four seasons in this part of the world, just the wet and dry season. It is hot all year round.
The old French colonial heart is today’s downtown core and commercial centre. Dong Khoi Street, formerly Rue Catinat, connects Notre Dame Cathedral and the Saigon Central Post Office down to Majestic Hotel at the river. Historic buildings like the Saigon Opera House and Caravelle Hotel are now interspersed with high-end department stores and shopping malls. One street parallel is Nguyen Hue Boulevard, now a walking street, dominated at the top by the former Saigon City Hall and a statue of Ho Chi Minh.
With one day Saigon oriental tour, you have the opportunity to visit the controversial War Remnants Museum, Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and the historic post office. Explore Dong Khoi Street, the city’s most upscale shopping boulevard with boutiques selling clothes and accessories by Vietnamese designers, hill tribe crafts, high quality linens and house wares. Don’t miss Ho Chi Minh City’s atmosphere by night. This city lives up to its exciting and often mischievous reputation.