HO CHI MINH CITY – Museum of Fine Arts, Botanical Garden, Independence Palace, Hoa Street are recommended destinations for visitors.
Spring tourism in Ho Chi Minh City, visitors can visit the museums, parks, and resorts below.
Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts
Once the mansion of the old Saigon giant , the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum is located on Pho Duc Chinh Street (District 1), attracting many visitors to visit and take pictures by its unique architecture.
The project has a combined East-West architecture, featuring 99 large and small doors, the entire tile floor with different textures in each area, the first elevator in Saigon, and especially here. is displaying the lacquer painting “Central South North Spring Garden” by painter Nguyen Gia Tri for 20 years (1969-1989) recognized as a national treasure.
Opening hours : 8:00 – 17:00 on weekdays.
Entrance fee : 30,000 VND / ticket.
Central Post Office
Central Post Office, located on Paris Commune Square (District 1), still remains almost original according to the drawings of a French architect, with old gold color and European architectural style combining Asian features . In addition to the function of a post office, this place also allows visitors to visit, take pictures outside and inside the building. In particular, many objects from the French era are also used such as wooden mailboxes, old-style telephone counters, hundred-year-old benches …
Opening hours : 8:30 – 17:30 to February 16.
Free to visit .
Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History
This is the first museum in Saigon and South Vietnam, located on Nguyen Binh Khiem Street (District 1), with one side facing the Botanical Garden, the opposite is the memorial temple of King Hung. The work was built by the French in 1929, featuring East Asian architecture combined with the West.
Here, visitors have the opportunity to learn about Vietnamese history and culture from primitive to 1945, through the collections with more than 40,000 artifacts originating from many countries and ethnic groups.
Guests can park and combine a hangout at the Zoo and Botanical Garden when visiting the museum.
Opening hours : 8am – 11h30 and 13h – 17h on weekdays.
Entrance fee : 30,000 VND / time.
Independence Palace
Located at the intersection between two streets Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Le Duan (District 1), the Independence Palace is one of the iconic works of the city. Not only historical relics, this place also attracts visitors who are passionate about architecture, young people taking check-in photos. The building features a series of stone pillar curtains in the shape of bamboos around the second floor. From the floors of the Palace, visitors can see the green-shaded Le Duan Avenue.
The exhibition “From Norodom Palace to Independence Palace 1868-1966” at the Reunification Hall in the Palace, with about 800 documents, shows visitors pictures of old Saigon streets such as the birth of tram and other Transportation in the city early century ago.
Opening hours : 8am – 12pm during the New Year’s Day.
Entrance fee : 40,000 VND / adult, 10,000 VND / child, student ticket 20,000 VND.
In addition, if you buy tickets to visit the Palace including the Exhibition “From Norodom Palace to Independence Palace 1868 – 1966”, the fee is 65,0000 VND / adult, 15,000 VND / child, and students 45,0000 VND.
Botanical garden
The 150-year-old zoo, one of the 8 oldest zoos in the world, is an exciting destination for visitors, especially children. Visitors can see more than 1,500 species of animals, interact with some animals, visit the morgue museum, visit the ruins where the Saigon cave is underground, and many games on land and water. On Tet days, at the center stage, there is usually a lion dance performance.
If you are interested in plants, you should not miss the 17ha green space here with more than 2,000 wooden trees of 260 species, dozens of domestic orchids, cacti, bonsai, fresh flowers, green grass …
Visitors can enter the zoo at two gates on Nguyen Binh Khiem or Nguyen Thi Minh Khai (District 1).
Opening hours : 7:30 – 17:30 every day.
Entrance fee : 60,000 VND / adult, 40,000 VND / child. Tickets can be purchased online in advance at the Botanical Garden website.
Old and modern Botanical Gardens
Park, spring flower street
Tet Tan Suu, due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the old street and the Vietnamese New Year festival at the Thanh Nien Cultural House had to stop working before Tet. The spring flower streets, parks also change the opening hours as below.
Nguyen Van Binh Book Street (District 1): operates from 8:00 to 17:00 instead of until 22:00 as planned.
Tao Dan Spring Flower Festival (District 1) : welcomes guests from 8:00 – 17:00 to the end of February 17, admission ticket 30,000.
Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival (District 7) : open from 8:00 – 17:00 to the end of February 17, free of charge.
Suoi Tien tourist area (Thu Duc city) : open from February 13 (the 2nd day of Tet), within the time frame of 8 am – 5:30 pm. Admission fee is 120,000 VND / adult, 60,000 VND / child over 1.4m high.
Nhi Binh flower field (Hoc Mon district) : pick up guests from 7:30 am to 6 pm, charge 80,000 dong / person.
Tourist and picnic area
Cu Chi Tunnels
About 60 km from the center of Ho Chi Minh City by road, the historic Cu Chi Tunnels is a place for visitors of all ages to learn about history, culture, experience some military activities.
There are activities like games in the landscape lake simulating the East Sea and swimming pools; real bullet gun shooting service, secret hatchet tour. On the occasion of early spring, there is also a place to write calligraphy, folk games, blindfolded, hammering, statue, ducks …
From Bach Dang wharf (District 1) , tourists can go to Cu Chi by river , the fare per way is 220,000 VND / adult, 160,000 VND / person over 62 years old, 110,000 VND / child 6-11 years old.
Opening hours : 7:00 – 17:00 every day.
Entrance fee : entrance ticket 35,000 VND / person.
Mot Tho Tourist Area Vietnam
Ecological and cultural tourist area Mot Thoang Vietnam , about 52 km from the center of Ho Chi Minh City and about 6 km from Cu Chi Tunnels, is suitable for those who want to learn Vietnamese culture, useful for students, student.
It displays and preserves many artifacts of historical and cultural value, most notably the area recreating traditional houses and craft villages from many regions. Guests are not only allowed to visit, but also be guided to experience some traditional jobs such as making do paper , feeding silkworms to eat mulberry leaves, planting trees, making mushrooms …
Tourists can combine visiting the relics of Cu Chi Tunnels during the day.
Business hours : 8am – 5pm.
Entrance fees : 150,000 VND / person, including Vietnamese buffet lunch.
Can Gio
Tourists can change the wind at Can Gio beach, about 60 km from the center of Ho Chi Minh City. Although this is not an ideal place to participate in activities on the sea such as swimming, picnicking on the sand, but it is a place to eat affordable fresh seafood and immerse in nature. 30/4 beach, Hang Duong seafood market, Vam Sat tourist area, monkey island, Thanh An island are the entertainment spots here.
Note when traveling to Ho Chi Minh City
Visitors must wear masks at all attractions to prevent Covid-19 infection, and consider choosing a destination if the epidemic is complicated.
The weather in Ho Chi Minh City at the beginning of the year is sunny and warm during the day and can be cold at night, the temperature is about 21 – 33 degrees C, visitors should prepare flexible clothing.
Carefully preserve personal belongings in crowded places.
At some attractions and entertainment, visitors should actively find the nearest parking lot, and note that the parking fee may be 5,000 – 20,000 VND higher than normal days.
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