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stop, look and listen in front of the opera house

Fruit vendors outside Ben Thanh Market

Sample of wares at Ben Thanh market

Ho Chi Minh statue outside Ho Chi Minh City Hall

Officially known as the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Building, the Saigon Town Hall was first known as the Hotel de Ville when it was completed in 1908. Its French builders drew inspiration from town halls in Europe. The building was known as the City Hall of Saigon before 1975. Once the Communists took over, the building took on its present name.

The Town Hall is closed to the public, as it is an official Vietnamese government building. Its beautiful French Colonial architecture and sunny cream-and-yellow hue, along with its iconic statue of Ho Chi Minh, make it a tourist favorite and a symbol of Saigon.

The building stands at one end of Nguyen Hue Boulevard on The Le Thanh Ton Street, a brisk walk away from Dong Khoi Street.