When people discuss Saigon’s architectural heritage, most usually focus on French colonial architecture like the Opera House, City Hall or Customs House. Though each of these are important and valuable structures, there is another, less-known style that is an even more integral part of the city’s urban fabric.
This full-day tour will expose you to southern Vietnamese modernist architecture, a home-grown movement that was the predominant style from the end of the art deco movement to reunification.
For a proper introduction to the style, the tour will kick-off at Turtle Lake - an important modernist monument - before heading over to the city's best-known modernist icon - Reunification palace. After a sip of Vietnamese coffee for a break, we will take a short walk over to the General Sciences Library with its ornate modernist detail before continuing to some other fine examples of the style.
We'll then have lunch (pay on your own) before heading to Cho Lon to see the bustling Binh Tay Market and Thien Hau Pagoda. We will also take a walk along a famous medicine street where you can observe shops selling many varieties of traditional herbs and remedies that have long been used in Vietnam.
Head back to the meeting point or drop you off at your house in either d.1 /d.3.