Things to Do in Ho Chi Minh City: Sights, Hours and Fees

Start with Independence Palace, open 07:00 to 18:00, and the War Remnants Museum, open 07:30 to 17:30. Add Saigon Skydeck for the view, open 09:30 to 21:30. The day trip with published hours and fees is the Cu Chi Tunnels, open 07:00 to 17:00.

By Vincent Nguyen

Independence Palace opens at 07:00 and the War Remnants Museum at 07:30. Both are open every day, which makes them a natural first morning.

Things to do in Ho Chi Minh City: hours and fees at a glance

The three museum fees took effect on 1 October 2026. Palace prices are valid from 1 May 2026. The Notre Dame Cathedral and Nguyen Hue Walking Street have no ticket or published hours. The hours in the last four rows are not from an operator.

Time to allow: 1.5 to 2 hours at the palace. Allow 2 to 3 hours at the War Remnants Museum and 30 to 60 minutes at the post office. Plan a full day for Cu Chi.

What to see in Ho Chi Minh City

Independence Palace (Dinh Độc Lập)

A general ticket covers the exhibit and the palace and costs VND 80,000 for adults. A palace-only adult ticket is VND 40,000, so the extra VND 40,000 buys the exhibit. The palace is also known as Reunification Hall. On 30 April 1975 at 10:45 a tank rammed the side gate.

The palace is at 135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, Ben Thanh Ward. The full guide is Independence Palace: Tickets, Hours and Visit Guide.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

War Remnants Museum (Bảo tàng Chứng tích Chiến tranh)

The museum is open 07:30 to 17:30, and the ticket counter closes at 17:00. Admission is VND 60,000 from 1 October 2026. Three exhibitions are paused from 20 June 2026: Reminiscence, Vietnam - War and Peace, and Agent Orange in the Vietnam War.

The museum says to buy online tickets on its official ticketing website and authorises no other website to sell tickets. English translations are on the information boards. The front gate is at 28 Vo Van Tan Street, Xuan Hoa Ward.

The full guide is War Remnants Museum: Tickets, Hours and Visit Guide.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Cu Chi Tunnels at Ben Duoc, the day trip

The Cu Chi Tunnels site is open every day from 07:00 to 17:00. Foreign visitors pay VND 35,000 to enter. They also pay VND 100,000 for the guide-service ticket, which applies from 1 February 2026.

Ben Duoc is the base of the Zone Committee and the command of the Saigon - Cho Lon - Gia Dinh military zone.

Before the ticket gate, a display shows bombs and artillery the US army used at Cu Chi. Visitors reach a national defence sports shooting range and a memorial temple with the largest ceramic mosaic in Vietnam. At the end of the visit they taste tapioca with salt and peanuts, a guerrilla dish.

The site address is Phu Hiep hamlet, An Nhon Tay Commune. Take bus 13 from Ben Thanh to Cu Chi bus station, then bus 79 to Ben Duoc. The comparison Cu Chi Tunnels: Ben Duoc vs Ben Dinh Compared covers the second site.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Notre Dame Cathedral (Nhà thờ Đức Bà)

The cathedral stands at 01 Paris Commune Square (Công trường Công xã Paris). Construction began on 7 October 1877 and finished on 11 April 1880. After nearly nine years of restoration, the cathedral is shedding its scaffolding.

Two gold-plated crosses were installed atop the towers on 19 March 2026. The work was due to finish by the end of 2027 and is now expected to take longer. No visiting hours are published, and visitors gathered outside during the restoration, so plan the cathedral as a look from the square.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Saigon Central Post Office

The post office stands next to the cathedral, at 02 Paris Commune Square. It was built between 1886 and 1891 and is now a tourist attraction. It is open 07:30 to 18:00 and free. Inside are two painted maps made just after it was built.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Ben Thanh Market (Chợ Bến Thành)

Plan on 07:00 to 18:00 for the day market, when every stall is open. Some stalls trade until 20:00 or 22:00. The night market opens daily from 19:00 to 24:00. It is on Phan Boi Chau and Phan Chu Trinh streets.

The market is one of the earliest surviving structures in the city. It moved into its current building in 1912. The northern gate is where fresh fruits, fish and poultry are sold. The full guide is Ben Thanh Market: Hours, Night Market and Visit Guide.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Jade Emperor Pagoda (Chùa Ngọc Hoàng)

The pagoda was built in 1909 by the Cantonese congregation. It was founded by a Chinese merchant named Liu Daoyuan. It stands at 73 Mai Thi Luu Street. It is open 07:00 to 18:00 every day.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Binh Tay Market (Chợ Bình Tây)

It is open 07:00 to 18:00. Binh Tay Market was built, or at least financially supported, by a Chinese businessman from Chaozhou. It sits on a four-street block. The address is 57A Thap Muoi Street.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Nguyen Hue Walking Street

Nguyen Hue is a pedestrian street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. It runs from City Hall to the Saigon River waterfront. On weekend evenings the whole boulevard is closed to vehicles.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Saigon Skydeck (Bitexco Financial Tower)

The deck is on level 49, with 360 degree views of the cityscape and the Saigon River. It lists hours of 09:30 to 21:30 every day. The last ticket and entry are 45 minutes before closing.

Adults pay VND 240,000. Children aged 4 to 12, seniors over 65 and disabled visitors pay VND 160,000. Children under 4 are free when accompanied by an adult, in limited quantity.

The operator page is undated. A notice applied from 1 May 2022 set 10:00 to 21:30 until further announcement, and the newer visitor page gives 09:30. The operator reserves the right to change prices and hours without notice. The tower is at 36 Ho Tung Mau Street.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Museum of Ho Chi Minh City

The museum is at 65 Ly Tu Trong, Saigon Ward. It is open 08:00 to 17:00, Monday to Sunday, including public holidays and Tet. Admission is VND 60,000 per person per visit from 1 October 2026.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Museum of Vietnamese History

The museum is at 2 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, from 08:00 to 11:30 and from 13:00 to 17:00. It is closed on Monday.

Admission is VND 60,000 per visit, from 1 October 2026. Children aged 6 to 16, pupils and students visit free. The 50% reduction lists Vietnamese citizens aged 60 and over, among other groups; it does not name foreign visitors.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum

The museum is at 97 Pho Duc Chinh Street. No operator page with hours or prices was found; the museum is open 08:00 to 17:00. A newspaper report on a draft fee plan listed it among the sites planned to charge VND 60,000 per visit.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Who this list suits (and who should skip it)

• Early risers: the palace opens at 07:00 and the War Remnants Museum at 07:30.
• Visitors who need English: the War Remnants Museum has English translations on its information boards, and the palace audio guide includes English.
• Evening people: Saigon Skydeck is open to 21:30, and Nguyen Hue is closed to vehicles on weekend evenings.
• Monday visitors: the Museum of Vietnamese History is closed on Monday, while the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City is open Monday to Sunday.
• Skip the palace in shorts or a sleeveless top: it asks for polite attire with no shorts or sleeveless shirts.

How to get to the sights

Metro Line 1 has 14 stations, including Ben Thanh and Opera House. Ben Thanh Market is next to Ben Thanh station. A daily pass costs VND 40,000 and a three-day pass VND 90,000. From 15 October 2026 tickets are also sold in the VNeID app.

The city says passengers on 134 bus routes travel free from 1 July to 31 December 2026. The programme excludes interprovincial routes. From 1 October to 31 December 2026 the free fare is linked to passenger verification.

For Cu Chi, take bus 94 from Cho Lon bus station to Cu Chi bus station. More options are in Getting Around Ho Chi Minh City: Free Bus, Metro, Grab and Metro Line 1 in Ho Chi Minh City: Fares, Hours, Stations. From the airport, see Tan Son Nhat Airport to the City: Bus, Grab, Taxi.

When to go and how long

Start early: the palace opens at 07:00 and the War Remnants Museum at 07:30. The museum’s ticket counter closes at 17:00, so reach it before then.

Keep Saigon Skydeck for the evening. It is open until 21:30, and the last ticket is sold 45 minutes before closing.

Nguyen Hue is closed to vehicles on weekend evenings. Plan Monday around the Museum of Vietnamese History being closed. Give Cu Chi a full opening day, 07:00 to 17:00.

Nearby and how to combine it

The cathedral and the post office stand next to each other, so one stop covers both.

For one day, start at Independence Palace from 07:00. Go to the War Remnants Museum before its counter closes at 17:00. Finish at Saigon Skydeck, open until 21:30.

The three-day order is in Ho Chi Minh City in 3 Days: Itinerary With Hours and Fees. More guides are in the tours hub.

Before you go

• Wear polite attire at the palace, with no shorts or sleeveless shirts.
• Carry VND 80,000 for a general adult palace ticket and VND 60,000 for each of the three museums.
• Buy War Remnants Museum tickets online on the museum’s official ticketing website.
• Foreign visitors to Cu Chi pay two tickets, VND 35,000 and VND 100,000.
• Leave food and drink outside Saigon Skydeck.
• Skip Monday for the Museum of Vietnamese History.

Photos and clips uploaded to Google Maps (Independence Palace on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), War Remnants Museum on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), Cu Chi Tunnel Ben Duoc on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), Saigon Central Post Office on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), Ben Thanh Market on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), Jade Emperor Pagoda on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), Nguyen Hue Walking Street on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), Museum of Ho Chi Minh City on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), HCMC History Museum on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum on Google Maps (opens in a new tab)) by Kim Khoi Tran, Dat Huynh, Jeffrey Marrs, O Chan Cong, Raymond, Google Maps contributor, Han HAN, Enrique Ruiz Uruena, Gemma Cope, Philipp, Ju, yuichi sasaki, ALAN SUN (Alan sun), Paul Felstein, Wing k, Vinh Truong, Melissa Abache, Brian Loh.

↑ Contents

Not confirmed: The cathedral has no published visiting hours, and no operator hours or ticket price were found for the Fine Arts Museum. Hours for the post office, pagoda and Binh Tay Market come from Google Maps, not an operator. Skydeck's page is undated.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

Spotted an error? Report it.