Forget the checklist for a while. Discover the little shops, hidden bars, independent restaurants, creative spaces and neighbourhoods that reveal another side of Saigon.
There are the places everyone tells you to visit in Ho Chi Minh City. And then there are the places you discover almost by accident.
A tiny shop hidden down a narrow hẻm. Vietnamese chocolate made from local cacao. Pizza baked in an alley. A cocktail bar behind an unassuming door.
These are the places that make travelling interesting. We've put together some of our favourite discoveries for travellers staying in and around central Ho Chi Minh City.
Skip the predictable tourist souvenirs. Saigon Jane is the kind of little shop where you can find original Vietnam-inspired T-shirts and playful designs that actually feel worth taking home.
It's colourful, creative and considerably more interesting than buying the same souvenir everyone else brought home.
Vietnam has quietly developed an impressive cacao industry, and Maison Marou has helped put Vietnamese bean-to-bar chocolate on the international map.
Stop for a chocolate drink or pastry, then pick up a few beautifully packaged bars made with cacao from different regions of Vietnam.
Follow the alley and you'll eventually find it. Trần Pizza is a small independent pizzeria hidden away from the main streets of Saigon.
Founded by self-taught pizzaiolo Trần Trọng Hiếu, the restaurant brings a serious approach to pizza into an intimate Saigon setting.
Some of Saigon's best bars don't advertise themselves from the street.
Hidden upstairs inside an old building, Snuffbox has the atmosphere of a classic 1920s speakeasy — intimate, dark and deliberately difficult to discover.
Find the entrance, climb the stairs and settle in for a cocktail.
A great alternative to conventional souvenir shopping. OHQUAO brings together Vietnamese design, stationery, art and lifestyle products.
It's a good place to discover the creative side of contemporary Vietnam.
Colourful, playful and inspired by Tokyo's Shinjuku district, Saigon's Japantown is a fun (adult) place to have dine, let loose and browse.
Oh, in case we forgot, the food is some of the best Japanese food you will find in the world too.
Forget the polished tourist markets for a while. Dân Sinh is also known as the War Surplus market, a vintage pre-70s era market filled with tools, military hardware, unusual objects and fascinating pieces of Saigon's war time past.
You probably won't know what you're looking for. That's exactly why you should go.
Most have heard of the Cafe Apartments BUT there are many more hidden old apartment buildings packed with independent cafés, small retail shops and creative spaces.
Don't just photograph the building. Go inside and explore the floors. Those are the hidden gems.
Vietnamese coffee culture goes far beyond cà phê sữa đá. The Workshop offers a more contemporary coffee experience in an atmospheric upper-floor space in central Saigon.
Slow down, order something interesting and watch the city below.
For a completely different side of Ho Chi Minh City, head west to Chợ Lớn, the city's historic Chinatown. During the night, it is transformed into a visual feast of night lanterns and hawkers.
Explore old shophouses, Chinese temples, markets, noodle shops and streets where everyday commerce takes centre stage.
“The best parts of Saigon are often the streets between the attractions.”THE TRAVELLER'S HIDDEN-GEMS RULE
Some of the city's most interesting cocktail bars are deliberately difficult to find. Look for old apartment buildings, quiet staircases and doors that don't look particularly promising.
A classic speakeasy atmosphere hidden upstairs on Tôn Thất Đạm in District 1.
A playful hidden-bar concept where even the entrance is part of the experience.
An intimate cocktail bar hidden upstairs near the Bến Thành area.
A quieter destination for whisky and cocktails, tucked away above the street.
A hidden-away cocktail bar inspired by the atmosphere of old Saigon.
Cosy cocktail bar upstairs inspired by Vietnamese cuisine with beautiful soul singer on the weekends
If you're looking for a truly different Ho Chi Minh City experience, spend an evening exploring Chợ Lớn.
Chinese temples, old shophouses, noodle shops, markets and narrow streets create a side of Saigon that feels completely different from the bright centre of District 1.
Start around Bình Tây Market and then allow yourself to wander without a strict itinerary.
Explore Chợ Lớn After DarkLYLAC Home Saigon offers private 2–5 bedroom townhouses in central Ho Chi Minh City for families and groups who want to stay together under one roof.
Explore Our TownhousesIf Google Maps tells you to go left, sometimes go right.
If everyone is walking down the main street, try the alley.
If a café looks ordinary, have a look inside.
Ho Chi Minh City is a city of hẻm — narrow alleys that reveal another layer of everyday life.
Some lead to cafés. Some lead to restaurants. Some lead nowhere at all.
That's okay.
Getting a little lost is one of the best ways to experience Saigon.
