Ho Chi Minh City

Formerly known as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City is one of Southeast Asia’s most historically significant cities. Having played a pivotal role in the Vietnam War – and, more specifically, its dramatic climax during the Fall of Saigon in 1975 - this thriving metropolis bears the traumas of intense conflict and colonial occupation yet remains to this day one of the most captivating destinations throughout the Indochinese Peninsula.

A tumult of city streets flows in rapid rhythm; tuk-tuks, mopeds and bicycles weaving in and out of endless streams of traffic amid the omnipresence of honking horns. Vietnam’s most innovative city, Ho Chi Minh City’s post-war growth and gradual modernisation have enabled this battle-worn country to flourish, no longer merely defined by memories of the thrum of Chinooks and the distant crackle of artillery.

A city still very much on the rise, visitors to Ho Chi Minh City today will instead stumble upon piquant food markets and swarming, neon-lit streets where skyscrapers intersperse weathered French colonial villas and historic landmarks, the eternal flow of the Saigon River a metronome for the city and its proud people. A must-experience destination for anyone considering a holiday to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is less a place one visits but rather an intoxicating fever dream whose magic lingers long after you’ve left.