Renting in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

District 1 is Ho Chi Minh City's central business district, and still the name everyone uses for downtown Saigon. Most of the city's grade A office towers are here, along with many foreign consulates and the two main shopping streets, Nguyễn Huệ and Đồng Khởi.

It is the city's busiest district and has its highest living standards. The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange and the Vietnamese head offices of international banks such as HSBC, Citi and Standard Chartered are here, as are the consulates of Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore and South Korea.

Nguyễn Huệ is a 670-metre boulevard running from City Hall down to the Saigon River. Its middle became a pedestrian promenade in April 2015, and the whole street closes to vehicles on weekend evenings. Bùi Viện and Phạm Ngũ Lão streets are the backpacker quarter.

Landmarks

• Bến Thành Market (Chợ Bến Thành): Nearly 1,500 booths selling everything from food to luxury goods; after it closes at 6 pm, a night market focused on food runs until 10 pm on Phan Bội Châu and Phan Chu Trinh streets.
• Nguyễn Huệ walking street: The 670-metre boulevard from City Hall to the river, with a pedestrian promenade down the middle; the café apartment building at No. 42 is a landmark of its own.
• Independence Palace (Dinh Độc Lập): Also called the Reunification Palace, the former presidential palace of the Republic of Vietnam.
• Notre-Dame Basilica, Central Post Office and Opera House: Three of the best-known buildings of the French colonial city.
• Bitexco Financial Tower: Completed in 2010, it was the tallest building in the country until 2011.

Shops, health and schools

• Supermarkets: Annam Gourmet, which stocks imported groceries, has stores on Hai Bà Trưng and in Saigon Centre at 65 Lê Lợi.
• Shopping: Nguyễn Huệ and Đồng Khởi are the two main shopping streets.
• Healthcare: Family Medical Practice's District 1 centre is on the ground floor of Diamond Plaza, 34 Lê Duẩn, open daily from 8 am to 5 pm. For emergencies around the clock, its District 2 centre in Thảo Điền is open 24 hours.
• International schools: The Asian International School has campuses on Thái Văn Lung and Trần Nhật Duật streets; its high school is at Thái Văn Lung.

Getting around

• Metro Line 1, which opened on 22 December 2024, starts underground at Bến Thành and runs through the Opera House and Ba Son stations, then crosses the river to Thảo Điền, An Phú and on to Suối Tiên.
• Ba Son Bridge, a six-lane cable-stayed bridge opened on 28 April 2022, and the Thủ Thiêm Bridge and Saigon River tunnel link downtown with Thảo Điền and Thủ Thiêm across the river.

Good to know

• Nguyễn Huệ closes to all traffic on weekend evenings, so expect detours and crowds around it.
• The streets around Bùi Viện and Phạm Ngũ Lão are the backpacker quarter, so look at the street itself before choosing a flat nearby.