Local Life & Culture, Heritage & History, Local Markets
- See Ho Chi Minh City from the seat of a cyclo, just like a local
- Relive the war at the War Remnants Museum
- Marvel at colonial architecture at the Notre Dame Cathedral and General Post Office
- Check out historic buildings like Reunification Palace, the Opera House, City Hall, and Continental Hotel
- Experience the atmospheric Ben Thanh Market and nearby neighbourhoods
Make like a local and experience Ho Chi Minh City from the seat of a cyclo. For the first half of the day, we'll embark on a Ho Chi Minh City cyclo tour, rolling around the city on a traditional three-wheeled bicycle with a carriage at the front for passengers. Drivers use pedal power to push us along, and gives us the opportunity to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of HCMC without the barrier of being trapped behind a car window.
Our HCMC tour takes us through Tao Dan Park to the War Remnants Museum, which displays old military equipment and other related items from the Vietnam War. In the courtyard we will find some larger exhibits including a F5A fighter and a UH1-Huey helicopter. From here we continue our journey past the Reunification Palace, previously referred to as the Presidential Palace, and the site of the official South Vietnamese surrender on April 30th, 1975. Although we won't go into the palace, your local guide will tell you all about it and give you the chance to take some photos.
Leaving our cyclos and cyclo drivers behind, we walk to the Notre Dame Cathedral, built by the French during the colonial era. Both the cathedral and our next stop, the General Post Office, are fine examples of architecture from the colonial period.
Reuniting with our cyclos, our HCMC tour continues with a ride to the Saigon Opera House and City Hall, situated in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, and the spot where scenes from the movie "The Quiet American" were filmed. Not far from the Opera House we will find the Continental Hotel where Graham Greene, amongst other famous journalists and writers, called home during his time in Vietnam.
Time to say goodbye to the cyclos and dip in to our Ho Chi Minh markets tour, as we dive right in to an authentic local food market. From there, we'll explore the antique shop street and shoe street, before making it to our final stop of the day: Ben Thanh Market.
When our HCMC tour is over, your guide will assist you in getting a taxi back to your hotel or providing tips and suggestions for further exploration in the area.
