HCMC: Notre Dame Basilica, Central Post Office, Imperial Palace & War Remnants Museum

It was a first day of sightseeing and boy the heat and humidity got to us! We were walking slow as and were sweating like pigs! But at least we got to burn off some calories from our buffet breakfast!

Our buffet breakfast at Blue Diamond Signature Hotel

First stop, Notre Dame Basilica, a cathedral that was established by the French colonists and constructed between 1863 and 1880. It was a cute tower, and it definitely reminded me of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris! As much as we wanted to go in, there was a mass being held so we couldn't go inside to see what it looked like. Is definitely a place to see and cross off your attraction list, and if you can get it, that would be even better!

Right across the road from Notre Dame, is the Central Post Office which is famous for it's neoclassical architectural style. Did you know that it was designed and constructed by Gustave Eiffel? Although it still operates as a post office it is more used as a tourist destination as there are already stalls selling souvenirs etc in there. Check it out if you're near Notre Dame Basilica.

Notre Dame Basilica & Central Post Office

Stumbling across interesting places in HCMC

Next stop, the Independence palace (aka the Reunification Palace). This place was formerly the Presidential Palace until a tanker crashed through the gate. You can tell that the place is very dated and still in the 1970s, but it was very interesting to see how they lived back then. The basement where the bunker and communication areas were eerie. No windows, no colour, you have to see it to experience it. From up top you can see the helipad and they outline the areas where they were bombed. My suggestion? Start up top and work your way down. Stairs and heat don't work! Catch the lift straight to the top! 

Reunification Palace | Address: 135 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa, Bến Thành, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam | Hours: 7:30am - 5:00pm (closed between 11am - 1pm) | Cost: 30,000 dong | Time: About 1-2 hours

Not too far from the palace is the War Remnants Museum (15,000 dong entry fee). Personally, looking at all the pictures made me really upset. Some of the pictures were really graphic and no words were needed to explain what the Vietnamese went through. I didn't really take any photos as you really need to witness it of yourself. 

War Remnants Museum | Address: 28 Võ Văn Tần, phường 6, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam | Hours: 7:00am - 5:00pm (closed from 12pm - 1pm) | Cost: 15,000 dong | Time: About 2-3 hours

It was a very hot day in HCMC, but we managed to see what we wanted to see. A perfect Vietnamese dinner was what we needed after all the walking. More about that in the next post.

Until then,

-V