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| City Guide - Ho Chi Minh City - Key Attractions | ||
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Key Attractions Dinh Thong Nhat (Reunification Palace) The Reunification Palace is beautiful in its ugliness, a 1960s monstrosity designed with the help of Soviet architects. Most people will remember the image of a North Vietnamese tank crashing through the gates on 30 April 1975 signifying the fall of Saigon. The tank still graces the front lawn. Rooms open to the public are exactly as they were in 1975 and show where important meetings were held during the war as well as some of the private quarters of the president and his family. Most fascinating are a series of underground tunnels housing a telecommunications centre. Nam Ky Khoi Ngia, District 1 Tel: (08) 829 6231 or 823 4020 or 822 3652. Opening hours: Daily 0730-1100 and 1330-1630. Admission: VND20,000. War Remnants Museum Formerly known as the Museum of American War Crimes, the name has been toned down not to offend its US visitors and is now the War Remnants Museum. This is not a museum for the sensitive as it houses instruments of torture and hundreds of photographs of atrocities committed during the twentieth century and, in particular, the Vietnam War. Visitors cannot fail to be moved as the exhibits provide a context for a period of history many only know from old newsreels and Hollywood movies. At the front of the museum is a small collection of military hardware and, most interestingly, the mobile guillotine used by the French colonists to dispense justice throughout the country before World War II. 28 Vo Van Tan, District 3 Tel: (08) 825 8496. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0730-1130 and 1330-1630. Admission: VND10,000. Notre Dame Cathedral The twin towers of Notre Dame Cathedral have been a familiar landmark in Ho Chi Minh City since the 1880s. In front of the cathedral in a small garden is a delicate statue of the Virgin Mary. The interior of the cathedral is rather plain, unlike most French cathedrals, with no stained glass but it is a cool escape from the heat outside. Dong Khoi, District 1 Opening hours: No formal times. Admission: Free; donations appreciated. Post Office Across from the Notre Dame Cathedral, the vast Post Office was also built in the late nineteenth century in European style. The interior has hardly been touched since it was built and is dominated by a huge portrait of Ho Chi Minh himself. The building always seems busy but you will find many of these are just visitors rather than customers. 2 Cong Xa Paris, District 1 Tel: (08) 829 9615. Opening hours: Daily 0630-2230. Admission: Free. Revolutionary Museum Housed in the former building of the Government of Cochinchina, the Revolutionary Museum contains artefacts from the Communist struggle against the French and the Americans. Unfortunately, the exhibits are only labelled in Vietnamese but some are self-explanatory. Outside the museum is a collection of military hardware including a tank and a helicopter. 65 Ly Tu Trong, District 1 Tel: (08) 829 9743. Opening hours: Daily 0800-1600. Admission: VND10,000. Historical Museum Located just inside the entrance to the Botanical Gardens and Zoo, the Historical Museum houses a collection of artefacts covering the last 2000 years of Vietnamese history. The museum was built in 1929 and the collection assembled by the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient. Nguyen Binh Khiem, District 1 Tel: (08) 829 8146. Opening hours: Daily 0800-1130 and 1300-1700. Admission: VND10,000. Cholon (Chinatown) Thien Hau Pagoda This is one of Cholon's must-sees, dedicated to the goddess Thien Hau, protector of the sea. Photographers are spoilt for choice with the ornate decoration inside the pagoda and the statues of Thien Hau. It is popular with worshippers (the air is always heavy with the smell of incense) and there are regular festivals during the lunar calendar. Binh Tay Market The market throngs with people from early morning and the gloomy, narrow walkways are crammed with consumer items and exotic foodstuffs. The sound of bargaining, quite often in Chinese rather than Vietnamese, and the calls of the vendors constantly fill the air. This is one of the best places to see the locals going about their daily lives. |
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