Ben Thanh Market
The Ben Thanh Market is a popular, crowded market where overpriced junk and excellent bargains are found side by side. A hodgepodge of goods, souvenirs, and food items can be purchased for cheap in the sprawling market.
The Ben Thanh Market is a good place to buy unique coffee - an excellent cultural gift for friends at home. Be on the lookout for Vietnam's famous “Weasel coffee” which is created by feeding coffee beans to civets and waiting for the finished - and relatively expensive - product to be “processed”!
Independence Palace (Dinh Độc Lập), also known as Reunification Palace (Vietnamese: Dinh Thống Nhất), built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It was the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.
Read about the world's most expensive coffee: civet coffee.
Getting deals at the Ben Thanh Market requires patience. Read about how to negotiate prices in Southeast Asia.