Ho Chi Minh City Travel Guide: Where to Stay in District 1, Thao Dien, and Beyond

Three picks across the spectrum of how Saigonese actually eat.

For the iconic Vietnamese institution: Pho Hoa, at 260C Pasteur Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City 700000.

The 60+-year-old family-run pho restaurant — properly serious southern-Vietnamese pho with the sweeter, herb-forward broth and the iconic sides of Thai basil, sawtooth coriander, and bean sprouts. Walk-in only; queue moves fast.

For the iconic banh mi pick: Banh Mi Huynh Hoa, at 26 Le Thi Rieng Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000.

The most-cited Saigon banh mi destination — the iconic baguette stuffed with five-six different cuts of cured pork, cha lua (Vietnamese sausage), cucumber, pickled daikon, fresh cilantro, and chili pepper. Around VND 50,000 (USD $2) per sandwich. Walk-in; expect 10-30 minute queue.

For the modern Vietnamese cuisine pick: Cuc Gach Quan, at 10 Dang Tat Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000.

A restored 1940s French villa serving modern Southern Vietnamese cuisine — properly serious Saigonese classics (the iconic ca kho to clay-pot caramelized fish, sweet-and-sour Vietnamese soup, banh xeo crispy crepe) in a beautifully atmospheric old-Saigon setting. Reservations recommended.

Vietnam doesn't have a strong tradition of pairing seafood with Western sparkling wines, but Ho Chi Minh City has emerged as a contemporary fine-dining destination.

For Saigon seafood with serious Champagne, the destination is Quince Saigon, at 89 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000.

Chef Julien Perraudin's contemporary international restaurant — Mediterranean-Vietnamese seafood with serious Champagne service and a properly curated wine list. The 30-seat dining room overlooking the Saigon skyline is among the city's most refined contemporary settings.

For a more iconic alternative with the Mekong Delta seafood focus, Mandarin Oriental Saigon's Cantonese restaurant The Krystal at 2A-4A Ton Duc Thang, District 1 offers serious Mekong-and-coastal Vietnamese seafood with serious wine programme.

For a casual seafood-and-bubbles alternative, the Saigon Saigon Rooftop Bar at the Caravelle Hotel (where the famous Vietnam War-era international press corps once watched battles from the rooftop) serves Vietnamese seafood with sunset Champagne service.

For an old-world historical stay in Ho Chi Minh City, the reference is Hotel Continental Saigon, at 132-134 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000.

Vietnam's oldest continuously-operating hotel — opened in 1880 by Pierre Cazeau and the iconic Saigon address through the French colonial era and Vietnam War. Graham Greene wrote The Quiet American during his Saigon residency at the Continental in the 1950s. André Malraux, W.

Somerset Maugham, and the wartime international press corps all stayed. The iconic open-fronted Continental Café ("the Continental Shelf") was the most famous foreign-journalist meeting point during the Vietnam War. 80 rooms, with the original 1880s colonial architecture preserved.

Direct view of the Saigon Opera House across Lam Son Square.

Pricing from around VND 3,500,000/night (USD $140). For a more iconic high-luxury alternative, Hotel Majestic Saigon at 1 Dong Khoi Street (opened 1925, the riverside Art Deco landmark with the iconic Saigon River view) is the comparable heritage luxury choice.

For a contemporary boutique alternative, Park Hyatt Saigon at 2 Lam Son Square is the contemporary luxury choice directly opposite the Opera House.

Vietnam does not legally recognise same-sex marriage, though homosexuality has not been criminalised since 1958. Ho Chi Minh City has the most visible LGBTQ+ scene in Vietnam — significantly more visible than Hanoi's. VietPride Ho Chi Minh City takes place in late September-early October.

The neighborhood: There is no defined gay quarter in Ho Chi Minh City, but the area around Dong Khoi Street in District 1 (the historic French colonial central district) has the highest concentration of LGBTQ+-friendly venues. Pham Ngu Lao backpacker district also has a smaller cluster.

The bars and clubs: Republic at 3D Thai Van Lung, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City is one of the iconic Saigon gay clubs — multi-floor dance club, theme nights, properly mixed local-and-international crowd. Le Pub Saigon at 175/22 Pham Ngu Lao Street, District 1 is the long-running iconic gay-friendly pub in the backpacker district. Thi Bar at 224 Le Thanh Ton Street is the smaller cocktail-bar alternative.

Spas: Vietnamese massage spas are mainstream and not LGBTQ+-specific. The dedicated LGBTQ+-context sauna venues operate more openly than in Hanoi.

The famous-person small museum: Ho Chi Minh Museum (Saigon Branch), at 1 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City 700000.

The 1862 customs-house building (known as the "Dragon House" or "Nha Rong") where Ho Chi Minh departed Vietnam in 1911 as a young Nguyen Tat Thanh (working as a ship's cook on the French steamer Admiral Latouche-Treville) to begin his decades of revolutionary travel abroad.

Dedicated to Ho Chi Minh's life and political journey. Closed Mondays.

The recent landmark: Bitexco Financial Tower at 2 Hai Trieu, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000 — the 262-metre Carlos Zapata-designed lotus-bud-shaped skyscraper opened in 2010.

Sky Deck on the 49th floor offers panoramic views of the Saigon River and the rapid contemporary development of Thu Thiem on the opposite bank.

For a more recent landmark, the Vincom Landmark 81 — the 81-storey, 461-metre Vietnam's tallest building completed in 2018 in Binh Thanh District — has the iconic Skyview observation deck on floors 79-81 with the most extensive Vietnam-skyline panorama.

The Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum remain the iconic must-see history museums.

1-3 day itinerary: Day 1 — French colonial District 1 (Notre-Dame Cathedral, Saigon Central Post Office, Opera House, lunch at Pho Hoa, evening at the rooftop Saigon Saigon Bar).

Day 2 — Wartime history (War Remnants Museum morning, Reunification Palace afternoon, Cu Chi Tunnels half-day tour 90 minutes outside the city).

Day 3 — Mekong Delta day trip (3 hours south to My Tho or Ben Tre for the floating markets, coconut candy workshops, and motorbike tours of the smaller delta islands).