Saigon's history runs deeper than 1975. Three days trace Gia Định citadel temples built by Fujianese merchants in the 1790s, the French administrative machine of Cochinchina, and the tunnel networks and street corners where the war was actually fought.
Built 1744 by Lý Thụy Long, the oldest pagoda in the city. 98 antique statues, 7,454 blue-and-white dishes embedded in the stupa, and a 32-metre hexagonal tower from 1994. Open 07:00–12:00 and 14:00–20:00 daily, entry free.
The hoành thánh (wonton) street of District 11, run by Cantonese families who arrived after the 1949 revolution. Hủ tiếu mì and sủi cảo from stalls at numbers 62–98, most open 15:00 onward but the noodle shops start at 10:00.
Founded around 1760 by Cantonese merchants from Guangzhou, dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu. The roof carries Shiwan ceramic figurines fired in the 1800s; giant coils of incense burn for a month. 710 Nguyễn Trãi, open 06:00–17:30.
Teochew assembly hall from the early 1800s honouring Quan Công, with a life-size lacquered statue of his red horse Xích Thố at the entrance. Rated a national relic in 1993. 676 Nguyễn Trãi, a two-minute walk from Thiên Hậu.
250 km of hand-dug tunnels built from 1948 against the French and expanded through 1968. Bến Dược is the local-visited site with the memorial temple listing 45,000 names; Bến Đình is the tourist one. Open 07:00–17:00.
Inaugurated 1993 beside the tunnels, its stone walls are engraved with the names of 45,639 fighters who died in the Củ Chi district. The nine-tier tower stands 39 metres. Quiet, formal, and almost entirely visited by Vietnamese families.
Built 1885–1890 as the Cochinchina governor's palace, later Ngô Đình Diệm's refuge — he fled through the basement bunker on 2 November 1963 hours before his assassination. 65 Lý Tự Trọng, open 07:30–17:00.
The pale apartment building at 22 Lý Tự Trọng is where Hubert van Es photographed the 29 April 1975 helicopter evacuation from the elevator shaft — the image the world mislabelled as the US Embassy roof.
A 1946 house that served as a mail drop for the Biệt động Sài Gòn commandos, with a hidden ceiling compartment and false floor still intact. Family-run, coffee served upstairs among the original documents. Open 07:00–22:00.
The exact junction where the monk sat down and burned himself on 11 June 1963 in protest at Diệm's Buddhist policy. Malcolm Browne's photograph was taken from the western side. A bronze relief and small park mark the spot.
Built 1956, the headquarters of the 1963 Buddhist crisis. Diệm's special forces raided it on 21 August 1963, arresting hundreds of monks — the act that lost him Washington. 89 Bà Huyện Thanh Quan, open 07:00–11:00 and 14:00–17:00.
The 1863 Messageries Maritimes headhouse where Nguyễn Tất Thành boarded the Amiral Latouche-Tréville as a galley hand on 5 June 1911, beginning thirty years abroad. Open 07:30–11:30 and 13:30–17:00, closed Mondays.