Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, is a cathedral located in the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City. Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).
Inside the decor is relatively austere, but the church gets very full and lively during services. The cathedral hold special masses at Christmas and easter. During October 2005, the statue was reported to have shed tears, attracting thousands of people; but the top clergy of the Catholic Church in Vietnam confirmed that the Virgin Mary statue did'nt shed tears. 2D MAP

Saigon Central Post Office is a post office in the downtown Hochiminh City, near Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, the city's main church. The building was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina, and finish in 1891 by Gustave Eiffel, the renowned architect who gave his name to Paris Eiffel tower. This is the largest of Vietnam's post office. The building is exceptionally airy and spacious, and features an enormous picture of Ho Chi Minh overlooking proceedings! This unique post office can evoke the feeling of a train station, it has a Gothic architectural style and was designed in harmony with the surrounding area. 2D MAP

Construction of the zoo started in March 1865. The founder of the Botanic Garden was French botanist Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre (1833-1905). Originally, the garden was called Zoo, and occupied 12 hectares which contained several rare animals, and in which were planted precious and exotic trees.Today, within the zoo there exists a Hùng Vương temple, branch of Vietnam History Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (built in 1929) with 33,000 exhibits and artifacts. Ho Chi Minh City government has planned a new larger zoo project called Saigon Safari Park in Cu Chi county. Once completion, all animals in Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens will be removed to this new park while the existing botanic garden will be preserved.Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens is a member of ASEAN Association of Zoos. This garden is an attraction for tourists.

Reunification Palace formerly known as Independence Palace built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a historic landmark in Ho Chi Minh City. It was designed by architect Ngo Viet Thu as the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War and the site of the official handover of power during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. Currently the Reunification Palace complex is open to the public. Visitors can see the basement tunnels, the conference rooms, the Presidential Receiving Room, the telecommunications center and the war room. 2D MAP

Through the different exhibits that can be seen, the museum portrays Vietnam’s history from ancient times (approximately 3000 years ago) up to the 1930s, when Vietnam’s Communist Party was founded. The museum’s exhibits are divided according to the following topics:
- Rise of the Hung Kings
- Fight for Independence (1st-10th centuries)
- Ly Dynasty (11th-13th centuries)
- Tran Dynasty (13th-14th centuries)
- Le Dynasty (15th-18th centuries)
- Tay Son Dynasty (18th-19th centuries)
- Nguyen Dynasty (19th-middle of the 20th centuries
Other part of the museum displays specific characteristics of the southern area of Vietnam such as the Oc-Eo culture, the ancient culture of the Mekong Delta, Cham art, the Ben Nghe Saigon art, the Vietnamese ethnic minorities, and ancient pottery of various Asian countries.

Housed in a rambling new concrete, pagodalike structure, the museum presents a clear picture of Vietnamese history, with a focus on the south. There is an excellent selection of Cham sculpture and the best collection of ancient ceramics in Vietnam. Weaponry from the 14th century onward is on display; one yard is nothing but cannons. One wing is dedicated to ethnic minorities of the south, including photographs, costumes, and household implements. Nguyen Dynasty (1700-1945) clothing and housewares are also on display. There are archaeological artifacts from prehistoric Saigon. Its 19th- and early-20th-century histories are shown using photos and, curiously, a female corpse unearthed as construction teams broke ground for a recent housing project. There are even some general background explanations in English, something missing from most Vietnamese museums.

The War Remnants Museum, or War Crimes Museum, is a must see for anyone interested in late 20th century history. The tanks, helicopters, planes and arms on display are not what makes of this such an important visit. What draws most visitors here are the images on display. Visitors can see the effects of the weapons of mass destruction used by the Americans during The Vietnam War (or American War, as locals call it).Be advised that some of the pictures on display are impossible to forget. Mostly the deformed bodies affected by the Agent Orange. Here you can also see reproductions of the cells where Viet cong soldiers were kept.

The Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum is housed in a former commercial building dating from the turn of the twentieth century. The displays cover three floors of the large structure. The first floor displays changing exhibits of contemporary art by local and international artists. The second floor galleries display contemporary art from the museum's permanent collection. The collection features sketches, paintings and statues, many of which focus on the resistance to the various colonial rulers. Lastly, the third floor displays older works from the first century to the early twentieth century.There's a warren of galleries in the basement, accessed through the courtyard in the center of the building.

It was from this old customs house, known as the “dragon house,” in 1911 that Ho Chi Minh set sail for 30 years in exile. Now a museum, the eclectic collection features many of the leader's possessions including the Uncle's sandals and his beloved Zenith radio (ironically made in the United States). Most of the signs are in Vietnamese. The museum can be reached by taking a ferry across the Saigon River from the pier at the end of Ham Nghi Avenue or using the bridge on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street.

Formerly the Revolutionary Museum, this central behemoth attracts more newlyweds posing for photos on the front steps than anything. Originally built in 1890 by the French as a commercial museum, then a Governor's Palace, and later committee building, the exhibits in this museum cover a broad range, from archaeology to ethnic survey and early photos of the city and documents from its founding in the 1600s. The second floor is heavy on Vietnam's ongoing revolution, with displays of weaponry and memorabilia from the period of struggle against Imperialism and many flags, placards, and dispatches from the rise of Communism, beginning with the August Revolution of 1945 all the way to the fall of Saigon. The bias is heavy, of course, and it is in fact an important rendering of Vietnam's protracted struggle and ideologies, but it is interesting to note how the displays, not unlike socialist ideals, are a bit frayed around the edges in a land that is going pell-mell toward a market economy. The grounds are picturesque,thus the young couples posing for wedding photos, and there is an interesting collection of captured U.S. fighter planes, tanks, and artillery in the main courtyard. Underneath the building is a series of tunnels (closed to the public) leading to the Reunification Palace, once used by former president Ngo Dinh Diem as a hideout before his execution in 1962.

The first Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine (FITO):
Nearly 3,000 items relevant to traditional Vietnamese medicine dating back to the Stone Age. Implements used to prepare traditional medicine: knives, grinders, mortars and pestles, pots and jars. Objects found in a traditional pharmacy: scale, cabinet, advertising board, printing mold, spirit gourd, tea pot, bowl, lime pot and other ceramic articles. Books and documents on traditional Vietnamese medicine. Equipped with modern audio-visual technology, the museum regularly screens "A Century of Health Care Experiences", a documentary film about the history of Vietnam's traditional medicine.

Cho Lon means big market in Vietnamese. It's a frenetic commercial center where every building has a shop or workshop on the ground floor. Cholon has the city's largest market, Binh Tay. The markets are a hive of activity, with all kinds of bizzare sight and curious smells, and provide a far more genuine "market" experience than in district 1. District 5 (Cholon) is also home of the finest Chinese pagodas, including Thien Hau pagoda. Here you'll find huge incence coils burning and intricate ceramic friezes. For a more modern flavour, check out deluxe shopping malls of the new Hung Vung plaza, Parkson. Inside you will find designer labels, air-conditionned comfort, luxurious food court, and the MEGASTAR CINEPLEX (see CINEMA section, in Living in Saigon on the right).

The Xa Loi Pagoda (Vietnamese: Chùa Xá Lợ) is the largest pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was built in 1956 and was the headquarters of Buddhism in South Vietnam. The Temple is located in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City and lies on a plot of 2500 square metres. The name Xa Loi is the Vietnamese translation for sarira, a term used for relics of Buddhists.This is a colourful seven tiered pagoda which is revered as it houses a sacred Buddha relic. There is also a Buddhist book publishing centre in the grounds.
The pagoda is most well-known abroad for the Xa Loi Pagoda raids, in which the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces loyal to Ngo Dinh Nhu, the brother of the Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem, raided and vandalised the pagodas on August 21, 1963. The pagoda is also of historical interest as it became the centre of opposition to the government in August 1963 when 400 monks and nuns were arrested. Thich Quang Duc, one of several monks to protest by self-immolation, has a memorial around the corner. President Diem was ousted and killed three months later.

The tunnels began in 1948 so that the Viet Minh could hide from French air and ground sweeps. Each hamlet built their own underground communications route through the hard clay, and over the years, the separate tunnels were slowly and meticulously connected and fortified. By 1965, there were over 200 kilometers of connected tunnel. As the tunnel system grew, so did its complexity. Sleeping chambers, kitchens and wells were built to house and feed the growing number of residents and rudimentary hospitals created to treat the wounded. Most of the supplies used to build and maintain the tunnels were stolen or scavenged from U.S. bases or troops.
The 75-mile-long complex of tunnels at Củ Chi have been preserved by the government of Vietnam, and turned into a war memorial park. The tunnels are a popular tourist attraction, and visitors are invited to crawl around in the safer parts of the tunnel system. Some tunnels have been made larger to accommodate the larger size of western tourists, while low-power lights have been installed in several of them to make traveling through them easier and booby traps have been clearly marked. Underground conference rooms where campaigns such as the Tết Offensive were planned in 1968 have been restored, and visitors may enjoy a simple meal of food that NLF fighters would have eaten.
Above-ground attractions include caged monkeys, vendors selling souvenirs, and a shooting range where visitors can fire an assault rifle.

The district of Củ Chi is located 70 kilometers to the northwest of Saigon near the so-called "Iron Triangle"

Sited at the confluence of the Can Tho and Hau Giang rivers, CAN THO is the delta's biggest city (pop. 1,900,000), a major trading centre and transport interchange. However, abundant rice fields are never far away, and boat trips along the canals and rivers, through memorable floating markets, are undoubtedly Can Tho's star attraction. Broad Hoa Binh is the city's backbone, and the site of the Ho Chi Minh Museum (Tues, Thurs & Fri 8–11am & 2–4.30pm, Sat & Sun 8–11am & 7–9pm), where yet more photographs and army ordnance are displayed. Can Tho was the last city to succumb to the North Vietnamese Army, a day after the fall of Saigon, on May 1, 1975 – the date that has come to represent the absolute reunification of the country. The recently opened, impressive Can Tho Museum, 1 Hoa Binh (Tues, Wed & Thurs 8–11am & 2–5pm, Sat & Sun 8–11am & 6.30–9pm), presents "the history of the resistance against foreign aggression of Can Tho people", as well as local economic and social achievements.
The city's central market swallows up the entire central segment of waterfront Hai Ba Trung. North of the market on Hai Ba Trung, Ong Pagoda is a prosperous place financed and built in the late nineteenth century by a wealthy Chinese townsman, Huynh An Thai. Inside, a ruddy-faced Quan Cong presides, flaunting Rio Carnival-style headgear. On his right is Than Tai, to whom a string of families come on the first day of every month, asking, not unreasonably, for money and good fortune.

Chau Doc is a river city close to the Cambodia border. There are a number of floating houses (the floats are empty metal drums) which provide a convenient way for families to raise fish underneath. What makes Chau Doc interesting is it's mix of communities, Khmer, Cham, and Chinese. The Cham are mostly muslim, and leave in isolated communities across the river, complete with mosques. The Sam mountain, which provides an outstanding view over the Cambodia border, has dozens of pagodas and shrines where the Chinese influence is obvious. At it's base lie the Tay Anh pagoda, whose architecture is influenced by Hindu and Islamic style, and the temple of the Lady Chua Xu to whom offerings of whole roasted pigs and lavishly embroided clothes are made.

This town has been rebuilt since receiving almost unimaginable pounding during the Vietnam War. Row upon row of neglected wooden buildings overhang the waterfront: junks, sampans and other curious craft glide by on the river. During September or October, the muddy waters of the Mekong look extremely threatening but still the river life goes on. One of the things which first strikes the visitor is the abundance of river and canals. Everywhere there are fish farms where "Tai Tuong" (Elephant's ears), a variety introduced from Indonesia, are kept in their thousands. My Tho is dotted with Buddhist pagodas and surrounded by rice fields and fruit gardens. The 150 year old Vinh Trang Pagoda combines Vietnamese Khmer and French architecture which reflects the religion and history of the land.
Highlights of Mytho: Orchard Island (Phung Island, Thaison Island), Vinh Trang Pagoda, Snake Farm, Truong Dinh's Tomb.
Only 75 km away from Saigon, it can be visited on a day trip from the city. Easily accessible by car and bus or ferry boat, this capital city of Tien Giang Province receives more tourists than any other in the delta.

 

This province capital lies 90 km northwest of Saigon, and is famous for being home to the religion of Cao Dai. Cao Dai attempt to synthesis many of the teachings of world religions, including Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Hinduism, among others. It was officially established in Thay Ninh in 1926, and it's here you will find the religion Holy See, built between 1933 and 1955. The Cao Dai temple can be combined with a visit to the nearby Cu Chi tunnels.
Stay longer at the Cao Dai mass: majority of tour group gets bored after 15 minutes and head off for lunch, but the strange ceremony is better without the crowds.