Try spending 2 days fully exploring Ho Chi Minh City to see that this place has many interesting cultural features and an extremely rich culinary map.

Ho Chi Minh City has always been considered a city with a dynamic pace of life, which is loved by foreign tourists when coming to Vietnam. This place focuses on many buildings that light up through the night, shops, and street corners that are busy until morning. Besides, there are many typical cultural features that have existed for a long time and a dense culinary map.

Recently, in the New Zealand newspaper NzHerald, author Brett Atkinson proposed experiences worth trying within 48 hours to fully feel the beauty of Ho Chi Minh City. If you have lived in Ho Chi Minh City for many years, want to know more about the city or have a trip coming here, try to explore this recommendation!

DAY 1

10am: Enjoy omelette and sip coffee

Vietnamese bread is a favorite dish of many foreign tourists. According to author Brett Atkinson, you should wake up early and enjoy breakfast with pan bread in Ho Chi Minh City. The combination of crispy hot bread, fried eggs, viscous yolk and greasy pate will make you full of energy for a long day.

Photo: Anh Thi, Cathy Chan

After having breakfast, you can visit toad cafes or coffee shops around Notre Dame to sip a cup of coffee, watch the street and chat with friends. This is also a long-standing culture of Ho Chi Minh City that only experiences you can feel the excitement.

Photo: @benneman

*Suggested address: Hoa Ma pan bread (53 Cao Thang, District 3), Dang Tran Con pan bread (8 Dang Tran Con, District 1), Co Phuong pan bread (137 Trang Tu, Dist. 6),…

11am: Visit the War Remnants Museum

The War Remnants Museum displays most of the documents and images about the glorious resistance wars of the Vietnamese people in the period 1945 – 1975. Especially artifacts such as tanks, planes, cannons, etc. In addition, coming here, you can also witness firsthand the miserable life in the dungeon of the soldiers and countless methods of brutal torture.

Photo: @khaiphthu_ong, @kiimlooan, @origin.hg

*Address: 28 Vo Van Tan, Ward 6, District 3

13h: Have lunch at a vegetarian restaurant

At lunch, try “changing the wind” for a frugal meal with main ingredients from vegetables at a vegetarian restaurant. Author Brett Atkinson also suggested some vegetarian dishes worth trying such as papaya salad, mushroom curry, banana flower and mango sticky rice, etc. Sitting in a peaceful space and enjoying delicious vegetarian dishes, neatly decorated, colorful Color stimulating taste will bring a very new experience.

Photo: METTA Vegetarian, @vege.nora_

*Recommended address: Hum Vegetarian Cafe & Restaurant (32 Vo Van Tan, District 3), METTA Vegetarian (25C Tu Xuong, District 3), Parami (102/3C Nguyen Dinh Chieu, District 1),…

14h: Come take pictures and admire the beautiful architecture of the Independence Palace

Independence Palace is designed in classical French architecture with a patterned iron gate, massive buildings and an extremely large campus. Thanks to possessing many “genuine – smooth” picture angles, the Independence Palace has attracted many young people to take pictures and learn about history in recent times.

Photo: @nihippy

At the Independence Palace, there are more than 100 rooms built suitable for each use, including war monitoring room, communication room, meeting rooms, etc. In addition, this place also stores many artifacts of historical value such as helicopters, vehicles used to carry the president.

Photo: @camtien2912, @huyynguyen.20, @tnqa.mow

*Address: 135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1

16h30: Enjoy chocolate dishes at the shop on Calmette Street

Anyone who loves chocolate must know Marou – a Vietnamese chocolate brand that was once called “the best chocolate in the world” by the New York Times magazine. During a trip to Ho Chi Minh City, author Brett Atkinson also suggested trying fresh chocolate and chocolate-based cakes and drinks at Maison Marou Saigon. In addition, when you visit the store, you will be able to see firsthand the chain of operations of a miniature chocolate factory, from roasting, mixing cocoa, pouring chocolate into molds and packaging as well as making delicious chocolate cakes. class.

Photo: @mercuryme

*Address: 169 Calmette, Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, District 1

6:30pm: Drop by the bar for a craft beer with friends

According to author Brett Atkinson, Ho Chi Minh City is one of the ideal places in Asia to enjoy craft beer at night. You can stop by a bar with a few friends, pour your own beer right at the tap and drink it slowly to feel the fresh taste. Most craft beers at bars in Ho Chi Minh City have many different flavors such as fruit, cocoa, herbs, … so you don’t get bored when drinking.

Photo: Roguesaigon

*Recommended Address: Heart of Darkness (31D Ly Tu Trong, Dist. 1), Rogue Saigon (13 Pasteur, Dist. 1), Pasteur Street Brewing Co. (144 Pasteur, District 1),…

20h: Have dinner at a Vietnamese family restaurant

To close the first day of exploring Ho Chi Minh City, you should have dinner at an antique-style restaurant, inspired by Vietnamese family meals. When coming to these shops, you will be immersed in an old, rural space with standard “back then” items such as dark brown wooden tables and chairs, and aluminum chopsticks. Even rustic dishes are presented in patterned crockery.

Photo: Quan Bui

The unique feature of these restaurants is the pure Vietnamese menu, including dishes such as braised meat with eggs, sour soup, braised fish, fried tofu, fried cotton, etc. Each dish is seasoned to taste and beautifully decorated. spectacular.

Photo: @jenni_beobeo, @kae.ing

*Suggested address: Quan Bui (19 Ngo Van Nam, District 1), Cuc Gach Quan (10 Dang Tat, District 1), Rice Field (75 – 77 Ho Tung Mau, District 1),…

DAY 2

9am: Relax in the morning at unique cafes in the Nguyen Hue apartment building

Starting the second day, author Brett Atkinson suggested spending time sipping morning coffee at unique cafes located in the Nguyen Hue apartment building. In 2020, National Geographic – an American television channel also expressed interest in Vietnam’s apartment coffee style and called it a “product” of Ho Chi Minh City people.

Photo: @nghialee_

Here, there are many cafes in different styles, from Korean, and Vietnamese to British Royal for you to freely choose according to your preferences. Not only that, these shops all have balconies facing the pedestrian street for extremely chilling views.

Photo: @mm.710, The Letter Coffee – Indochine

*Recommended address: Boo Coffee (8th floor), Partea – English Tearoom (4th floor), The Letter Coffee (6th, 8th floor), Saigon Oi Cafe (5th floor), Dosh – Doughtnut & Coffee (3rd floor) …

10:30: Visit Ngoc Hoang Pagoda in Da Kao Ward

Jade Emperor Pagoda is a famous temple for inspiration in praying for luck and has been around for more than 100 years. The pagoda was built according to Chinese architecture with many motifs made from ancient bricks, and roofed with colorful yin and yang tiles. Inside are exquisitely carved wooden statues of gods.

Photo: @lam6537, @climbing_rose91

*Address: 73 Mai Thi Luu, Da Kao Ward, District 1

13h: Enjoy Western pancakes and Vietnamese pho

To fill your hungry stomach after a morning of exploring, you can choose to eat Western-style pancakes or beef noodle soup. Western pancakes will usually have a thin, crispy, golden crust with shrimp, pork, green beans, and bean sprouts inside. When eaten, Banh Xeo will be rolled with raw vegetables or rice paper and dipped in sweet and sour fish sauce.

Photo: Nghiem Ngoc Vy

In addition to pancakes, you can enjoy a bowl of pho full of pho noodles, rare meat, beef balls, and encrusted, ribbed, scallions with rich broth at the old shops in Ho Chi Minh City.

Photo: @openmymindforfood

*Recommended address: Pancake 46A (46 Dinh Cong Trang, District 1), Banh Xeo Ba Hai (119 Le Van Linh, Dist. 4), Pho Hoa (260C Pasteur, District 3), Pho Cao Van ( 25 Mac Dinh Chi, District 1),…

15h: Admire the ancient buildings of the city

Located on Paris Commune Street, Notre Dame Cathedral has long been considered one of the symbols of Ho Chi Minh City. The church was built between 1877 – 1880, with Roman architectural style with 2 domes 21 meters high and 56 stained glass windows, depicting prominent events in the Bible. Not only is the place of religious activities, Notre Dame Cathedral is also a place to visit that any tourists, both domestic and foreign, visit when coming to Ho Chi Minh City.

Photo: @ireneisway

Right next to Notre Dame is the City Post Office, which is more than 100 years old, mixed between modern Western and classical Eastern architecture with vibrant yellow tones and a large dome inside. More specifically, this place also keeps valuable postcards, stamps and souvenirs.

Photo: @albeee_t, @lovemiihuang

6pm: Spend the evening walking around and trying more late-night dishes

At the end of the 48-hour tour, spend the night walking the streets, watching the buildings shimmering with lights and enjoying the delicious dishes sold until midnight.

Photo: @propzy, @mebimsuakoi

*Recommended address: Ms. Hao’s rib porridge (109/15 Tran Khac Chan, District 1), Ba Muoi broken rice (294/35 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, Binh Thanh District), cade sticky rice (451 Tran Phu, Dist 5), crab soup cakes in Thiec market (158 Pho Co Dieu, District 11),…

Going to every corner, visiting beautiful shops, and enjoying countless delicious dishes, Ho Chi Minh City has many interesting things. So, try to spend 48 hours traveling around to explore this dynamic city!