Independence Palace stands at the end of a wide lawn in central Ho Chi Minh City, about 0.6 km from Ben Thanh Market. Architect Ngo Viet Thu designed it, and it was the home and workplace of the president of South Vietnam. On 30 April 1975 a tank crashed through its gates, the fall of Saigon that ended the Vietnam War. You will also see the name Reunification Hall, the body that runs the site.
The building replaced an older French one. The palace's own site says construction of the first palace began on 23 February 1868 and finished in 1871, and that it was named Norodom Palace. Its collection today holds more than 3,700 artifacts and works of art from that period to the present.
The palace's own figures count more than 150 rooms. It became a National Historical and Cultural Site in 1976 and, in 2009, one of the first ten special national historical sites in Vietnam.
Getting there
Measured in a straight line on map coordinates, the palace is about 0.6 km from Ben Thanh Market and about 2.1 km from Saigon railway station. Tan Son Nhat International Airport is about 6.6 km away in a straight line; the road is longer.
Hours and fees
| When | Hours |
|---|---|
| Every day, including holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year) | 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM |
The palace says it can close for special cases, which it announces separately.
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adults | VND 80,000 |
| Students and seniors | VND 40,000 |
| Children aged 6 to 17 | VND 20,000 |
The official site also sells tickets online.
Our take
The palace opens every day, Tet included, so it fits any day of a trip. The War Remnants Museum and the Ho Chi Minh City Museum are both within about half a kilometre, which is why we'd build a museum morning in the centre around it.
Nearby
- War Remnants Museum: about 0.5 km in a straight line.
- Ho Chi Minh City Museum: about 0.5 km in a straight line.
- Ben Thanh Market: about 0.6 km in a straight line.
Questions travelers ask
Which museums in Saigon are worth the time? Asked on r/VietNam, one of the shortest answers put the palace on the list:
"War Remnants and Independence Palace"
u/QuirkyFoodie on r/VietNam
Is it a solemn place? When the palace hosted a dance party, a thread asked how locals felt about it. One reply:
"The Independence Palace is a victory symbol and popular attraction, but it's not held sacred or anything."
u/dynosia on r/VietNam
