The Ho Chi Minh City Museum fills a white colonial palace at 65 Ly Tu Trong Street, on the corner of Nam Ky Khoi Nghia. The museum's own page says the building was once the residence of the Governor of Cochinchina and later the supreme court, and that people call it Gia Long Palace after the street it stood on. French architect Alfred Foulhoux designed it.
Wikipedia gives the rest of the story. Work ran from 1885 to 1890, first to house a museum of trade goods. From 27 February 1962 it was the last residence of President Ngo Dinh Diem, after mutinous pilots bombed his palace, and it was the last place he worked before he was killed in the coup of 2 November 1963. In 1978 the city turned it into the Revolutionary Museum, and it took its current name in 1999.
Getting there
Measured in a straight line on map coordinates, the museum is about 0.4 km from Ben Thanh Market, about 0.5 km from Independence Palace and about 0.7 km from the Fine Arts Museum. Saigon railway station is about 2.6 km away and Tan Son Nhat International Airport about 7 km, both in a straight line; the roads are longer.
Hours and fees
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Standard | VND 60,000 |
| Half price for eligible groups | VND 30,000 |
| Children, students, people with severe disabilities, poor households | Free |
These prices apply from 1 October 2026, under the museum's fee notice. People who qualify for free entry confirm it at the ticket counter. The museum is open 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Sunday, holidays and Tet included.
Our take
It's open every day, Tet included, and sits between Ben Thanh Market and Independence Palace. We'd see it straight after the palace: this building picks up the president's story where the palace leaves off.
Nearby
- Ben Thanh Market: about 0.4 km in a straight line.
- Independence Palace: about 0.5 km in a straight line.
- Fine Arts Museum: about 0.7 km in a straight line.
Questions travelers ask
Which museums are worth it in Saigon? In a thread asking exactly that, one reply was short:
"War Museum and HCMC museum are usually the main ones."
u/JCongo on r/VietNam
