Where to Stay in Ho Chi Minh City: District 1, Cholon or Landmark 81

Ho Chi Minh City is a sprawling metropolis, and the neighbourhood you sleep in shapes the whole trip: how far you walk, how well you sleep, where you eat breakfast and how often you need a ride. This guide makes a decision for you. It compares three sectors that visitors actually choose between: District 1, the tourist heart; Cholon, the Chinese quarter and its local life; and the Landmark 81 area, the modern riverside side of town. For the wider picture of the city itself, see the Ho Chi Minh City destination page; for the full district-by-district map, the districts explained guide goes further.

One clarification before anything else, because it trips up first-time visitors. Saigon is the everyday name of the city, not the capital. The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi, in the north. Ho Chi Minh City, still called Saigon by most of its residents and on many signs, is the largest city and the economic centre. Hotels, taxi drivers and menus will use both names interchangeably, and both mean the same place.

The short answer: pick by what you value most

If you only read one section, read this one.

If you care most about…	Sleep in	Why
Walking to the main sights	District 1	Ben Thanh, Nguyen Hue, the post office and the Reunification Palace are all within a few streets
A first visit of two or three nights	District 1	Least planning, most choice, fastest to orient yourself
A local feel and serious eating	Cholon	Temples, markets and Chinese-Vietnamese cooking, with far fewer tourists
Quiet, modern comfort and river views	Landmark 81 area	Towers, wide pavements, calmer nights, but fewer sights nearby
Late nights and bars	District 1	The nightlife is concentrated here, along with the noise
Early flights	Any of them	The airport is about 7 km from the centre

Our recommendation for most readers is District 1, with Cholon as a worthwhile second night or a second base for repeat visitors. The Landmark 81 area is a deliberate choice for people who value space and quiet over proximity.

District 1: the tourist heart

District 1 is where most visitors land and, for a first stay, where most of them should. It is the old colonial-era centre, and nearly everything a first-time visitor wants is compressed into a few square kilometres.

What is nearby. The Ben Thanh Market sits at the south end of the district and is a landmark in its own right, with hawker food and souvenirs inside and a lively night market in the surrounding streets. The Nguyen Hue walking street runs from the old City Hall down to the Saigon River, with cafés in converted apartment blocks and a promenade that fills with families in the evening.

A short walk away are the Central Post Office and the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, whose restoration has been long-running, so expect scaffolding in photos. The Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum are a little further, comfortably reached on foot in cooler hours or by a short ride. For ideas on how to string these together, see our city tours guide.

Who it suits.

• First-time visitors who want to walk out of the hotel and be in the middle of things.
• Short stays: with two or three nights, the time you save on transport is the main benefit.
• People who want choice at every meal, from a plastic-stool noodle stall to a rooftop restaurant.
• Travellers arriving late or leaving early, since taxis and ride-hailing cars are always available.

What to know before you book.

District 1 is not one atmosphere but several. The streets around Dong Khoi and the upper end of Nguyen Hue are polished, with larger hotels and the quietest nights. The Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien area, the backpacker zone west of Ben Thanh, is the opposite: cheap rooms, bars open late and loud music until the early hours. If you sleep lightly, avoid a room that faces Bui Vien itself, however convenient the location looks on a map, and ask for a high floor or a room at the back. The side streets and alleys off the main strips often give you the same walkability with much less noise.

The second thing is pace and pressure. Because District 1 is the main tourist sector, it is where overcharging and touts are most concentrated. Our scams to avoid guide covers the typical tricks; none of them is a reason to stay elsewhere, only a reason to agree prices before getting into anything.

Meals. District 1 is very well supplied from breakfast to late night. Pho and banh mi are everywhere in the morning, cafés serving ca phe sua da are on nearly every corner, and the south’s dishes such as com tam and banh xeo are easy to find. A street food tour is a good way to learn the neighbourhood in an evening and to meet your hotel’s surroundings without guesswork.

Walking. The district is largely flat, and a lot of it is walkable, but the heat and the traffic are the limiting factors. Crossing roads takes a steady, predictable pace, which our how to cross the street guide explains. Pavements are often occupied by parked motorbikes and food stalls, so you will sometimes walk in the road. That is normal.

Cholon: the Chinese quarter, local and quieter

Cholon is Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown, a few kilometres south-west of Ben Thanh Market and historically a separate town. It is the part of the city where the Chinese-Vietnamese community built its temples, guild halls, herbal medicine shops and wholesale markets, and where life still runs more to local rhythms than to visitor ones.

What is nearby. Expect temples with burning incense coils, the busy wholesale trade of Binh Tay Market and streets given over to a single product, one after another: herbs, dried goods, paper offerings, tea. There are few “attractions” in the sense of ticketed sights, and that is the point. You come here for texture.

Who it suits.

• Repeat visitors who have already done District 1 and want a different side of the city.
• Food-focused travellers: Cholon’s Chinese-Vietnamese cooking, dim sum and noodle shops are some of the best eating in the city, and a base here puts all of it close.
• People who prefer a quieter night. Streets empty earlier and there is no equivalent of Bui Vien.
• Travellers who enjoy photography and wandering without a plan.

What to know before you book.

Cholon is not walkable to the main District 1 sights. Ben Thanh, the post office and the Reunification Palace are several kilometres away, so each day involves a ride, usually a short and cheap one by ride-hailing app. That is manageable, even pleasant, but it changes the shape of a short trip: every outing needs a ride, and in the evening rush a few kilometres can take longer than you expect. Our Grab and taxis guide explains how to book safely.

The accommodation is also different in character. There are fewer international-brand hotels and more modest local ones, and English is less widely spoken. That is part of the appeal, but it helps to confirm your booking and bring your hotel’s address written in Vietnamese so any driver can find you.

For the most compact first visit we would not choose Cholon as the only base. It works best as the second half of a longer stay, or as a day-time excursion from District 1 if you prefer to keep a central bed.

The Landmark 81 area: modern, calm and river-facing

The third option is the Landmark 81 sector, on the Binh Thanh side of the Saigon River, across the water from the old centre. Landmark 81 is the tallest tower in the country and anchors a large new residential and commercial development with parks, wide pavements, a riverside promenade and a number of upscale hotels and serviced apartments.

Who it suits.

• Travellers who want a modern, orderly setting, with wide pavements and less street clutter.
• Longer stays, remote workers and families who value space, a pool and a playground more than being able to step into a market.
• People who like river views and a calm morning walk or run.
• Anyone who has already seen the old centre and wants to relax at the end of the day.

What to know before you book.

The trade-off is straightforward: you are not in the middle of things. The old-centre sights are a ride away, evenings are quieter, and street food is less dense than in District 1 or Cholon, though it is not absent: surrounding neighbourhoods have plenty of local eateries, and the development itself has restaurants and malls. The district is also hot, with little shade on the open promenades, so plan your walking early or late.

The city’s Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien, opened in December 2024) runs through this side of the river and can make the link back to the centre easier. Check the distance from your hotel to the nearest station on a map before relying on it; a station on the line is not always a short walk away.

Sleep, walking and meals: a direct comparison

	District 1	Cholon	Landmark 81 area
Atmosphere	Busy, tourist-oriented, varied	Local, traditional, markets and temples	Modern, spacious, residential
Night noise	High near Bui Vien, moderate elsewhere	Low to moderate	Low
Walking to sights	Excellent	Poor: ride needed	Poor: ride or metro needed
Eating	Everything, all hours	Excellent local and Chinese-Vietnamese food	Good, more mall and hotel dining
Best for	First visit, short stay	Second stay, food and culture	Long stay, comfort, families
Main downside	Noise, touts, tourist pricing	Distance from sights	Distance from sights and street life

The airport: closer than you expect

Ho Chi Minh City has a rare convenience for a metropolis of this size: Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) is only about 7 km from the centre. The ride takes roughly 20 to 45 minutes depending on traffic, and the gap between those two numbers is almost entirely the rush hour. Because of this, the airport is not a reason to choose one neighbourhood over another, and you can sleep in any of the three areas above and still make an early flight.

There is no railway or metro link to the airport. You will use a metered taxi, a ride-hailing app or a bus, and the district you sleep in barely changes the cost or the time. Our airport transfers guide and the airports explained article cover the practicalities, including arrival and departure queues. A second Ho Chi Minh City airport, Long Thanh, is under construction, but it is not part of a normal visit to the city at present.

One practical tip: the pick-up area at the arrivals hall is crowded. Use the official taxi queue or book a car through the app and meet it at the designated point rather than accepting offers from people who approach you inside the terminal.

Safety: what bag snatching means for your choice

Ho Chi Minh City is, in the main, a safe city. Violent crime against visitors is rare. The real street risk is bag and phone snatching from passing motorbikes, where a rider reaches out and takes whatever is loosely held on the road side of the pavement. It happens most often in central districts at night and in the busy tourist zones, which means District 1 is where it is most talked about, simply because that is where the most phones and bags are.

This should not decide where you sleep, but it should shape how you move:

• Carry phones and bags on the side away from the road. Better, hold your phone against your body or walk further from the kerb when you are using it.
• Wear bags across the body and keep them zipped, not dangling from one shoulder.
• Avoid using your phone at the kerb, particularly when waiting for a ride at the roadside. Wait inside the hotel lobby until the driver arrives.
• Leave unneeded jewellery and expensive watches in the safe.
• At night, take a ride rather than walking long stretches with a bag, particularly in the late hours around busy nightlife streets.

How this changes the choice of area is mostly about habits. In District 1 you will do a lot of walking with a phone in your hand, so the habits matter most. In Cholon and the Landmark 81 area you will be in cars more often, which has its own advantage: less time on the pavement. Our safety guide covers the broader picture, including traffic and heat.

Combining areas on a longer stay

If you are staying four or more nights, splitting is a sensible option. A typical and comfortable pattern is two nights in District 1 to orient yourself and see the main sights, then one or two nights in Cholon or the Landmark 81 area depending on whether you want local texture or quiet. Moving once costs very little and breaks up a long stay.

If Ho Chi Minh City is the start or end of a larger trip, it is worth reading how it fits with the rest of the country in the national where-to-stay guide, which handles the choice of region. For Hanoi’s own neighbourhoods, see the dedicated Hanoi guide. If you are still deciding how long the city deserves, our how many days in Vietnam article and the Hanoi versus Ho Chi Minh City comparison help.

Using your base for the rest of the trip

Wherever you sleep, you will probably use Ho Chi Minh City as a base for excursions, since the city is the gateway to the south. The main ones, each a day or a bit more, are the Cu Chi Tunnels, the Mekong Delta, Vung Tau on the coast and, further out, Mui Ne. Mui Ne is on the coast roughly 200 km north-east and is not part of the Mekong Delta; it is a long day trip and many visitors prefer to stay there. The day trips from Ho Chi Minh City guide lays out distances and timings.

Practical points that depend on your base:

• Pick-ups. Many tours collect from hotels in District 1 and its immediate surroundings; if you sleep in Cholon or the Landmark 81 area, check the pick-up location or meeting point before booking.
• Early starts. Delta and tunnel tours leave early, and District 1 gives you the shortest ride to a meeting point.
• Orientation. On your first morning, a guided walk is a good way to understand the layout. A guided orientation walk with a local can be done on foot in the centre.

The best way to see the delta in a day without a long itinerary is a small-group trip: a small-group Mekong Delta day trip keeps the group size down. And for an easy evening on the water, a dinner cruise on the Saigon River is a relaxed way to end a day; the riverside around Nguyen Hue and the Landmark 81 shore are both visible from the water.

Frequently asked questions about where to stay in Ho Chi Minh City

Is District 1 the best place to stay in Ho Chi Minh City?

For most first-time visitors, yes. The Ben Thanh Market, Nguyen Hue walking street, Central Post Office, Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica and Reunification Palace are all within a short walk or short ride, and restaurants of every kind are on the doorstep. The trade-off is noise and tourist pricing in the busiest streets.

Is Cholon a good base for tourists?

It can be, if you want a local neighbourhood with temples, herbal medicine shops and wholesale markets. It is quieter at night and the food is excellent, but it is several kilometres from the District 1 sights, so expect a short ride by ride-hailing app for each outing.

How far is the airport from the city centre?

Tan Son Nhat (SGN) is about 7 km from District 1 and the trip takes roughly 20 to 45 minutes depending on traffic. There is no train or metro link to the airport, so you go by taxi, ride-hailing app or airport bus.

Is Saigon the capital of Vietnam?

No. The capital is Hanoi. Saigon is the name the city carried until 1976 and it is still widely used in everyday speech, but the official name is Ho Chi Minh City, and it is the country’s largest city and economic centre rather than its capital.

Is it safe to walk with a phone in Ho Chi Minh City?

Violent crime is rare, but bag and phone snatching from passing motorbikes is the main street risk. Keep your phone away from the kerb side, wear bags across the body on the side away from traffic, and avoid using your phone at the edge of the pavement.

Which area is best for a quiet night’s sleep?

Streets set back from the main roads in any district sleep better than those on the main strips. In general the Landmark 81 area and the quieter parts of Cholon are calmer at night than the nightlife streets of District 1, such as the Bui Vien backpacker zone.