Discover Ho Chi Minh City: From colonial times and war to modern times

Ho Chi Minh City is much more than just high-rise buildings, chaotic traffic and delicious street food stalls. The city also contains significant and historic buildings from both the French colonial period and the Vietnam War.

You will be picked up at the hotel by your guide who will accompany you to the Reunification Palace, also known as the Independence Palace, which is the first stop on the tour. It was here that the Vietnam War – or the American War, as the Vietnamese call it – ended on 30 April 1975, after 58,000 Americans and 3 million Vietnamese had lost their lives. The palace, which was built in the 1960s, consists of 100 rooms spread over 6 floors. The President of South Vietnam lived here until the end of the Vietnam War, and it was also the place of the official reunification of North Vietnam and South Vietnam into one single country. Surrounding the palace is a well-maintained park where you can see original wartime tanks and jets.

The tour continues past Ho Chi Minh City’s old post office, which dates from the late 17th Century. It is both an iconic and incredibly beautiful building with colourful glass windows and small grilles. The building was designed by no less than Gustave Eiffel himself, who is also the man behind the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Opposite the post office is the iconic cathedral, Notre Dame, which was built between 1863 and 1880 by the French. Today, it is one of the most popular churches for the Vietnamese to get married in. Facing the church, you have a grey building behind you which you may recognise from the iconic photo taken by photographer Hubert van Es in connection with the fall of Saigon. The Pittman Apartments, as the building is called, was mistaken by many for the U.S. Embassy, but the building actually housed the United States Agency for International Development and CIA officer Conrad LaGueux. The iconic image shows a helicopter landing on the roof of the building to evacuate American employees as North Vietnamese forces were entering Saigon.

Your next stop is the famous Dong Khoi Street. Here you are surrounded by elegant French architecture, and, within walking distance, you will find art galleries, designer shops and cozy cafés. You proceed down past the city’s famous opera house, which contains an interesting history.

From here, you continue to the War Museum, where your guide will tell you about the city’s darkest hour during the Vietnam War. The stories, exhibitions and pictures are tough and a hair-curling experience.

The last visit of the tour is a hidden gem, which is still an unknown place for Vietnam’s many tourists. Here you will hear more about everyday life during the war from a local point of view.

What better way to end the day’s exciting excursion than with a drink at Rex Hotel’s rooftop bar, located at the popular Nguyen Hue Street? During the war, this was the location of the daily press conference held by the U.S. military command.

After an exciting excursion, you will be driven back to the hotel.

Duration: about 4 hours.

This excursion may be conducted together with other participants than TourCompass’s own guests.

We recommend that you book the excursion when booking the tour.