When Shophouses dominated the skyline in Saigon…
THE MUNICIPAL THEATRE – SAIGON
Built by the French at the mid-point of historic rue Catinat, the Municipal Theatre is one of Saigon’s most iconic landmarks
DATE WITH THE WRECKING BALL: THE CERCLE SPORTIF SAIGONNAIS
Local conservation groups have expressed concern about a plan approved by the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Culture Palace to demolish the much-loved 1925 Cercle Sportif Saigonnais…
TAN DINH MARKET – SAIGON
Discover Tân Định Market, one of the city’s most historic markets
ICONS OF OLD SAIGON: THE CASINO DE SAIGON
Founded by French businessman Léopold Bernard, the Casino de Saigon was the city’s earliest cinema
OLD SAIGON BUILDING: TAN DINH CHURCH
Tân Định Church – One of the oldest and most important Roman Catholic institutions in Saigon…
80 YEARS OF VIETNAM’S NORTH-SOUTH RAILWAY LINE
September 2, 2016 is an auspicious day in the history of Vietnam’s railways, marking the 80th anniversary of the completion of the “Transindochinois” or North-South railway line
THE LEANING CATHEDRAL OF SAIGON
Soon after its completion, Saigon’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral developed an embarrassing tilt
PALAIS NORODOM – A PALACE WITHOUT PURPOSE
The Reunification palace in Ho Chi Minh City or initially the Palais Norodom in Saigon, a place rich in history…
OLD SAIGON BUILDING: FORMER NESTLE HEADQUARTERS
A glimpse on Nestlé Company in 1912 in Saigon
DO YOU KNOW ST PAUL’S CONVENT IN SAIGON?
Discovert the story behind the building’s creation…
HAI BA TRUNG, SAIGON’S FAMOUS STREETS
The history of Hai Bà Trưng street in Saigon, then and Now
SAINT-SAËNS IN SAIGON
One of the great figures of Western classical music, Camille Saint-Saëns, is known for his works, but few people know he was also one of the first “celebrities” to visit Saigon
PIERRE COUPEAUD AND THE GREAT CYCLO TRIAL OF FEBRUARY 1936
Discover the story of this much-maligned form of transport, invented by Phnom Penh-based French industrialist Pierre Coupeaud in 1936
HOTEL DE L’UNIVERS
Contrary to what many tourist websites would have us believe, the Grand Hôtel Continental was not Saigon’s first up-market hotel…
THE LEANING CATHEDRAL OF SAIGON
Soon after its completion, Saigon’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral developed an embarrassing tilt…
SAIGON’S FAMOUS STREETS AND SQUARES: TRAN HUNG DAO BOULEVARD
One of Saigon’s youngest major boulevards, Trần Hưng Đạo was built in 1911-1913 over former swamp land to provide a more direct route between the cities of Saigon and Chợ Lớn…
JEAN-BAPTISTE LOUIS-PIERRE: THE FATHER OF SAIGON’S GREEN SPACES
What better time to pay tribute to Jean-Baptiste Louis-Pierre, the Frenchman responsible for the city’s famous Botanical and Zoological Gardens, parks and tree-lined boulevards…
HOW A FRENCH ADVENTURER BECAME THE KING OF THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS
During the 19Th century, a French adventurer Marie-Charles David de Mayréna carve out a kingdom in the Central Highlands of Việt Nam…
