If Hanoi has the famous Dong Xuan market, Saigon has Ben Thanh market. This is a destination not to be missed by any visitor when traveling to Ho Chi Minh. Ben Thanh Market is not only busy during the day, but also lively and bustling at night. Let’s explore with Vietnam Car Rental right away about Ben Thanh night market in this article.
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About Ben Thanh market
- Address: Le Loi Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Up to now, Ben Thanh market has existed for more than a hundred years, even before the French occupied Gia Dinh. Because the original location of the market was on the banks of the Ben Nghe River near Gia Dinh citadel at that time, the market was called Ben Thanh. In 1911, the French colonial government decided to move the market to its present location.
Currently, Ben Thanh Market is located in the center of District 1 of Saigon. The market is located in a prime location surrounded by 4 streets Phan Chu Trinh, Phan Boi Chau, Luu Van Lang and Nguyen An Ninh. The market has 4 main doors East – West – South – North and 12 side doors open in all 4 directions.
Ben Thanh Market covers an area of more than 13 hectares, is the place of business and trade of thousands of small traders with around 1500 stalls. On average, this place welcomes about 10,000 visitors every day to shop and visit.
The space in the market is divided into many areas. Each area has a different product for sale. Visitors can find from vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, seafood to fashion items, household items, or souvenirs, etc. In addition, the market also has a food court with all kinds of special dishes. products from North to South such as: noodle soup, beef vermicelli, vermicelli, tea of all kinds, …
What’s attractive about Ben Thanh Night Market?
Very famous shopping spot in Saigon
Ben Thanh Night Market officially started operating in 2002. The market is held on both sides of Ben Thanh market, on the side of Phan Boi Chau and Phan Chu Trinh streets. In total, there are more than 300 large and small stalls here. The main items for sale are souvenirs, jewelry, handicrafts, brocade products, clothes, shoes, bags, etc.
Fashion
The stalls selling clothes, shoes, and bags often attract the most visitors. You can easily find all kinds of T-shirts, linen pants, brocade pants, long dresses, hats, hats, … are sold widely. There are also stalls selling fabrics and silks of all colors and textures. Bags and shoes are diverse in designs and models suitable for many customers, from young people to the elderly.
To avoid being “hacked” when buying these items, you need to know how to bid wisely. You should haggle at least a quarter to half the price the seller offers you. You can also find out the average price of a product in advance to make bargaining easier. Usually, T-shirts are priced at 100,000 VND – 150,000 VND / piece, pants are about 80,000 VND – 100,000 VND / piece, hats are about 40,000 VND – 60,000 VND / piece, fabric or silk is about 120,000 VND – 150,000 VND / meter, etc.
Jewels
Jewelry is also one of the popular items at Ben Thanh night market. Most of these products are handmade with affordable prices, only 30,000 – 100,000 VND/piece. Visitors can buy for themselves or as gifts for relatives and friends
Handicrafts, souvenirs
This is an area that tourists, especially Westerners, are very interested in. There are many handicraft products and souvenirs here. There are embroidery paintings, lacquer paintings, sand paintings, ceramics, or lovely conical hats, etc. All of them are imbued with traditional Vietnamese culture. They are both suitable for tourists to buy as gifts after a trip, and can promote Vietnamese culture and tourism to friends around the world.
Delicious culinary paradise “burnt”
Coming to Ben Thanh night market, visitors will be attracted by the food stalls here. Not only Saigon specialties, the night market also gives you an extremely attractive regional specialty party.
You can choose to enjoy Saigon standard dishes such as Nam Vang noodle soup, Trang Bang soup cake, spring rolls, vermicelli, etc. Or eat Hanoi pho, Hue beef vermicelli, Ninh Hoa grilled spring rolls (Nha Trang), sticky rice Tam Ky chicken, Hoi An Cao Lau, Quang Da Nang noodles, etc. There are also grilled dishes, Chinese dishes or snacks.
It can be said that the taste of food at Ben Thanh Night Market is enough to make visitors ecstatic from the first time they enjoy it.
Operating hours of Ben Thanh night market
Ben Thanh Night Market is open to welcome guests from 19:00 to 24 hrs daily. A small experience is that you should go to the market a little early from the time it opens. This will help you avoid crowds and can comfortably shop and eat.
Ben Thanh Night Market has existed for nearly 20 years so far. This is an indelible cultural feature of magnificent Saigon. If you have the opportunity to travel to Saigon next time, take the time to mingle and experience interesting things at this long-standing traditional market.
