What you didn’t know about Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Beneath the exhilaration, Ho Chi Minh City carries a depth shaped by centuries of cultural mixing, colonial imprints, and resilient evolution.
The city’s layout still reflects French urban planning, wide boulevards, ornate facades, and grand public buildings that wouldn’t feel out of place in Europe. But beneath that surface is something profoundly Vietnamese: pagodas tucked behind alleys, markets that trace lineages back generations, and a food culture shaped by regional traditions and immigrant influence. The Saigon River curves through the city like a living artery, historically crucial for trade, now central to its modern skyline as glittering towers rise along its banks. Even the iconic motorbike phenomenon has its own logic: a fluid, intuitive choreography rooted in trust more than strict traffic law. Underground, the Củ Chi tunnels stretch for miles, a historic network revealing the ingenuity and resilience of those who fought here. And threaded through the city is a café culture unlike anywhere else, where slow-dripped coffee becomes ritual, identity, and social fabric all at once. Ho Chi Minh City isn’t just fast, it’s deep, adaptive, and endlessly alive.
Five fascinations about Ho Chi Minh.
5. The city is home to a secret network of wartime tunnels.
The Củ Chi Tunnels, just outside the city, stretch for over 75 miles and were used by the Viet Cong for shelter, supply routes, and even hospitals.
4. Saigon’s architecture is a blend of East and West.
From the Notre-Dame Cathedral built with bricks imported from France to pagodas filled with dragon carvings, Ho Chi Minh is a living collage of culture.
3. You can drink coffee made from egg yolk or weasel beans.
Vietnamese coffee is an adventure in itself, try cà phê trứng (egg coffee) or the rare, velvety brew made from civet-digested beans.
2. Ho Chi Minh has more motorbikes than people.
With an estimated 8.5 million bikes in circulation, crossing the street becomes a thrilling, choreographed leap of faith.
1. The city has a rooftop bar in a former CIA building.
The Rex Hotel and Caravelle Hotel were central to American operations during the war, now, they serve cocktails with panoramic history.
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