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Best Things to do in Ho Chi Minh City (2026)

Ho Chi Minh City is a place to experience as much as to sightsee. Ben Thanh Market, in its clock-towered building of 1914, is the classic introduction, with food stalls on the north side and a night market on the surrounding streets after dark. For a more local scene, Binh Tay Market in Cholon is a working wholesale hub where traders from across the south do business, best visited in the morning.

In the evening, Nguyen Hue Walking Street fills with families and visitors as the heat eases, and on weekend nights the whole boulevard is closed to traffic. For an overview of the city, the Saigon Skydeck on the 49th floor of Bitexco Financial Tower gives a 360-degree view, ideally at sunset. To see inside the Opera House, book the A O Show, Lune Production's bamboo circus, which uses acrobatics and traditional music to tell stories of village life and needs no Vietnamese to enjoy. These experiences are easy to combine: the market, the walking street, the Skydeck and the Opera House are all in District 1, so a single afternoon and evening can take in several of them on foot.

5 places · Updated November 12, 2026

Our top 3 things to do in Ho Chi Minh City

  1. Ben Thanh Market Covered market, District 1 (Ben Thanh)The covered market of central Saigon, in its clock-towered building since 1914, selling food, coffee, crafts and clothing, with a night market on the streets outside.
  2. Nguyen Hue Walking Street Pedestrian boulevard, District 1 (Saigon)A broad pedestrian boulevard running from City Hall to the Saigon River, converted in 2015 and busiest in the evening when families and visitors stroll its length.
  3. Saigon Skydeck Observation deck, District 1 (Saigon)A 360-degree observation deck on the 49th floor of the lotus-shaped Bitexco Financial Tower, about 178 metres above the centre of Ho Chi Minh City.

Thing to do

1. Ben Thanh Market

Covered marketDistrict 1 (Ben Thanh)

The covered market of central Saigon, in its clock-towered building since 1914, selling food, coffee, crafts and clothing, with a night market on the streets outside.

View details — Ben Thanh Market

Thing to do

3. Saigon Skydeck

Observation deckDistrict 1 (Saigon)

A 360-degree observation deck on the 49th floor of the lotus-shaped Bitexco Financial Tower, about 178 metres above the centre of Ho Chi Minh City.

View details — Saigon Skydeck

Thing to do

4. Binh Tay Market

Historic marketCholon (District 6)

Cholon's great trading market, opened in 1930 in an East Asian-style building with a central courtyard, and still a working hub for traders from across the south.

View details — Binh Tay Market

Thing to do

5. A O Show

Bamboo circus showDistrict 1 (Saigon)

A Vietnamese bamboo circus by Lune Production at the Saigon Opera House, combining acrobatics, bamboo props and traditional music inspired by village life.

View details — A O Show