20 free things to do in Ho Chi Minh City: experience Saigon for nothing

25.09.2024 - 11:33 / lonelyplanet.com

Sep 24, 2024 • 5 min read

Bustling Ho Chi Minh City is one of Southeast Asia’s top value destinations, where you can gobble down a street-side bowl of pho for a couple of bucks.

For those traveling on an even tighter budget, there are plenty of free things to do too. From lively street performers to a family-friendly mini waterpark, these top free activities will keep you busy in HCMC.

With a neo-Baroque facade and a science-themed interior, the functioning Central Post Office dates back to the late 1800s. Check out the vintage maps painted on the concourse walls and the impressive tiled floor.

Opened just before WWI, Ben Thanh Market, in one of the city's liveliest neighborhoods, pretty much sells anything you could ever want. Brave the gauntlet of sellers and make your way through the market’s narrow aisles to a hidden staircase near the South Gate. Take it up to a small temple where vendors pray for a good day’s business and enjoy the views over the market.

This pedestrian-only street gets busy on weekend evenings with street performers and families out for a walk. Don’t miss exploring the apartment building at #42, an Instagram hot spot, chock full of boutiques and trendy cafes.

While hardly anyone walks anywhere in humid Ho Chi Minh City, the free walking tours at Saigon Free Day Tours is run by enthusiastic university students. It's a great way to see the city up close.

The kids will enjoy cooling off from the heat with a romp through the mini waterpark at the Vivo Playground atop the SC VivoCity Mall just south of downtown.

Modeled after its Parisian namesake, the Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral is a red-brick, neo-Romanesque church with twin bell towers and spires that reach 60m (197ft) into the sky. Inside, you can admire its stained-glass windows and walls inlaid with devotional tablets.

Saigon’s largest flower market (52 Ho Thi Ky, District 10) is open 24/7, peaking in the early morning hours. It's a favorite backdrop for colorful photographs.

Adherents of Caodaism, a religion founded in Vietnam incorporating elements from Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Christianity, come to worship at the colorful three-story Cao Dai Temple. Head up the stairs (then to the left for women, right for men) to view the main hall.

Join one of the many groups kicking around a shuttlecock at this park just along the main backpacker area of Pham Ngu Lao. This popular Vietnamese pastime, called đá câu, is like badminton for the feet, but keeping the mass of plastic discs and feathers in the air is deceptively hard.

Celebrating the life of Vietnam’s first president after reunification, the Ton Duc Thang Museum provides interesting insights into Vietnam in the 1960s and '70s.

Mundo Lingo is a great way to meet