Ho Chi Minh City Museum (Gia Long Palace)

The Ho Chi Minh City Museum, housed in the former Gia Long Palace at 65 Ly Tu Trong in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, occupies a neoclassical mansion completed in 1890 as a French colonial residence and trade museum. The building later served as the seat of the colonial governor and, after 1954, as a presidential residence. It is known for its role in the 1963 coup, when Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother briefly took refuge here before fleeing to a church in Cholon. The mansion is white and ornate, with a symmetrical facade, arched windows, a marble staircase, high ceilings and a garden with trees and lawns. Exhibits trace the history of the city from its Khmer origins as Prey Nokor through the Nguyen dynasty, French colonisation and the wars of the 20th century to the present. Galleries display maps, photographs, tools, ceramics and model buildings, and a section covers the revolutionary movement in Saigon. Some of the most interesting parts are the former palace rooms and the basement, which includes a bunker and a collection of cars once used by officials, including a Mercedes owned by former leaders. Labels are in Vietnamese and English. A visit takes one to one and a half hours, and the museum is rarely crowded. Opening hours are about 8:00am to 5:00pm daily, though visitors should confirm at the entrance. It sits about 10 minutes on foot from Ben Thanh Market and 5 minutes from Notre-Dame Cathedral, making it a good indoor stop between central sights, with shade and cooler rooms in the heat of the day.