Ben Thanh Market is the big covered market in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, with its clock tower over the south gate. The market's own site carries the line "Since 1914": the building went up between 1912 and 1914, after the market moved from an older site that had burned in 1870. It was renovated in 1985.
Wikipedia puts the number of tenants at about 6,000, all under one roof.
Getting there
Measured in a straight line on map coordinates, the market is about 0.6 km from Independence Palace and about 2.5 km from Saigon railway station. Tan Son Nhat International Airport is about 7.2 km away in a straight line; the road is longer.
Hours and fees
| When | Hours |
|---|---|
| Market, every day | 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM |
| Night market, every day | From 7:00 PM |
There is no entry fee. The city's tourism site says the night market starts at 7 PM, with more than 100 stalls spreading onto Phan Chu Trinh and Phan Boi Chau streets beside the market, selling handicrafts, souvenirs, clothes and food.
Our take
Entry is free, it opens early and it's a walk from the palace and the central museums, so it costs you little to look in. Prices aren't fixed, which is what most of the traveler questions below are about: don't take the first number you're quoted.
Nearby
- Fine Arts Museum: about 0.4 km in a straight line.
- Ho Chi Minh City Museum: about 0.4 km in a straight line.
- Independence Palace: about 0.6 km in a straight line.
Questions travelers ask
Is it a tourist trap? Opinions split. One first-time visitor got this reply:
"Reddit is correct, Ben Thanh market is a tourist trap."
u/Adorable_Scheme_3982 on r/VietNam
In another thread, a different traveler was kinder:
"Ben Thanh was cool, worth a wander at least."
u/SuggestionPrize304 on r/VietNam
Did I get scammed if I paid too much? A visitor who overpaid asked exactly that. A top reply:
"Generally, if you were willing to pay that price, you were not scammed. Could you have negotiated better? Sure, but that's a different story."
u/DOGEmeow91 on r/VietNam
