If you’re reading this post, then you’re probably well into choosing Vietnam for your next destination, particularly Ho Chi Minh City which is the country’s largest city. For culture travelers, the city boasts lots of traditional and cultural attraction as well as historical places of interest. The number of possible things to do while visiting the city is countless. Below we’ve handpicked the top 5 destinations not to be missed to get you started.
Top 5 Attractions
First and foremost, don’t miss the War Remnants Museum. The museum showcases the consequences of war and invasion on Vietnam ranging from artifacts, photographs, collection and preservation of materials. The museum attracts both local and international visitors; receiving no less than 500,000 visitors each year.
Next is another museum: FITO Museum. After all, Vietnam is rich in culture and history. Besides nature, that is one of the top reasons travelers visit the country. This one is slightly different though and is all about Vietnamese traditional medicine. If you are into health and medicine, especially the history of medicine, you’ll find FITO Museum very appealing. With about 3,000 items related to traditional Vietnamese medicine since the Stone Ages ranging from grinders, mortars, printing mold, spirit gourd, books and documents to modern audio-visual technology.
If you’re up for a live show then head over to Saigon Opera House for Hon Viet – The Soul of Vietnam, a unique cultural show that takes place every 15th and 23rd of the month. Highly professional yet affordable, Hon Viet introduces first-time travelers to Vietnamese music and culture. While you’re at it, do some exploring of the Saigon Opera House which hosts the city’s premium shows such as Orchestras and high quality shows.
And for something a bit more of today’s world: Bitexco Financial Tower Skydeck, which offers an observation deck (Saigon Skydeck) that gives you a 360 degrees view of Ho Chi Minh City, and the city’s tallest building. Spend some time observing the entire city from above with amazing views of the city scape and the Saigon River.
Now that we have the recommended attractions covered, where is the best place to stay if you want to visit all these places? Transportation in Vietnam is not as spares as you would have been made to believe by pictures of nature and hiking trips. On the contrary, the city area caters well to foreign travelers. Here are some of our hotel picks: Hotel Nikko Saigon, Caravelle Hotel, Dich Duyen Hotel, Sofitel Saigon Plaza and Pullman Saigon Centre; with the latter two our recommended picks.
Both Sofitel and Pullman are international brands so for first-time travelers as the less seasoned, staying at a hotel known worldwide already guarantees several things such as service standards, hygiene and facilities. Pullman Saigon Centre in particular, is the city’s newest international 5-star hotel and offers the latest technology so if you’re going to be visiting Vietnam for the first time, might as well do it in style and stay at a newly launched hotel. Sofitel Saigon Plaza has been around longer and is one of the hotels travelers tend to consider booking a room at. The hotel is located in the business district so patrons are a mix of both tourist and business travelers.
Attractions and dining is an important part of any travel experience but could be easily ruined by a bad hotel experience. We recommend the international branded hotels and there are quite a number available. This is not to say that local hotels shouldn’t be considered but perhaps not for your first trip to the beautiful Ho Chi Minh City.
Mary Belluni loves traveling to Asia. Traveling to Ho Chi Minh City for the first time, she booked a 5 star Ho Chi Minh hotel that was close to various sightseeing locations in town. Experiencing the best of Vietnamese culture in the form of attractions, cuisine and music, Mary's favorite place is the Saigon Opera House.