Where to go out at night in Saigon, Vietnam ? The animated zones

This page will tell you which areas in Saigon are animated and beautiful at night. You can go to these areas and find bars, restaurants and a lot of people.

Maps – Orientation

Map 1 – Nightlife – Center Saigon

Map 2 – Nightlife – Saigon Suburbs

Map 3 – Interactive Map – Nightlife Saigon

1. Bui Vien – Walking Street  – (Pham Ngu Lao)

Pham Ngu Lao is the backpackers area of Saigon and Bui Vien is the most animated street of this neighborhood.  At night, the street gets very loud with music from bars and discos. It can be compared to the Khaosan road in Bangkok. (in loudness, Bui Vien wins).
They call it a “walking street”, but most of the time, there are vehicles in the street.

Even if you don’t like a noisy environment, you should visit this street, at least one time in your life. A very unique experience.

During the Corona era, there were no tourists and little by little hotels and bars had to close.

Some of the bars in Bui Vien street converted into vegetable shops, in order to survive. People were worried that this special neighborhood will never return to what it was.  But Bui Vien was stronger than anything and it had survived and now it is more crazy and live than ever.

This is how Bui Vien looks, in the rainy season on a very rainy day :

And this is when the TV gets interested in the nightlife of Saigon

There are many hostels in this area and restaurants with international food.
See location on Google Map or the Maps above.

2. Nguyen Hue – Pedestrian Street

This is “the place to be” in the evening. It is a long pedestrian street, going from the “People’s Committee Building” and till the river.

Very animated and beautiful with yellow lights. It reminds Paris. Motorbikes are not allowed on this pedestrian street, cool.

There are restaurants and cafés at the sides and even a McDonalds.
Take note of this building, which looks like a residential building, but has cafés and restaurants with terraces overlooking the pedestrian street.

There are fancy hotels around, it is an upscale zone.
See location on Google Map or the Maps above.

3. The river promenade – Ben Bach Dang Park

There are no beaches in Saigon but there is a river. So if you want to see some waters and an open space, this is the place to visit.

The promenade was recently upgraded with a park and now it is one of the most attractive place in the center of Saigon. It is interesting during day time and also during the evening.

There are at least 2 places on the promenade where it is possible to drink a coffee or a beer. One is the pier for the Waterbus and the other is the pier for the speedboats to Vung Tao.
There are also street vendors who organize little plastic chairs, in which you can sit and drink a soft drink or a coconut.

See location on Google Map or the Maps above.

One annoying aspect regarding the river promenade, is that you need to cross a large street in order to reach it. It is not always easy to cross a street in Vietnam. When the street is large, it is really unpleasant and in this case it is almost a highway.

4. Dong Khoi street

This is a parallel street, to the “Nguyen Hue – Pedestrian Street”.
See location on Google Map or the Maps above.
Dong Khoi is the most elegant street of Saigon. It has expensive shops and hotels. There are also cafés and shops for regular people.

The street begins at the river. If you walk towards the left, you will pass the Opera house, Vincom Center (a Mall), the Post Office, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Turtle Lake Square (the Dong Khoi street changes its name, at some point).

In the photo, the turtle lake square. See location on Google Map.

5. The Japanese quarter

This quarter is located above Vincom Center.
See location on Google Map or the Maps above.
It is at a walking distance from Dong Khoi street and the Nguyen Hue – Pedestrian Street.
There are here a lot ofJapanese and Korean restaurants. Even the convenience stores like 7 Eleven are selling some Japanese products.

In some alleys of the Japanese quarter, there are bars with girls in Kimono.

6. The Beer Garden

Before the Corona era, this Beer Garden was located near the Ben Thanh market and it was very popular. During the Corona, it has closed and now it has resurrected, with the same structure and name. It is now located a little bit more to the north.
See location on Google Map or the Maps above.

Except alcohol, there are many stands with food. If you are vegetarian, take notice of the Indian stand.

7. Vinhomes Park – near Landmark 81 Skyscraper – A Suburb of Saigon

Here is located the tallest skyscraper of Vietnam. It is a residential neighborhood with tall buildings. Beside the buildings, there is a huge park that is adjacent to the river. It is very nice to visit the park in the evening.
See location on Google Map or the Maps above.

There are observatory structures with views over the river.

A very relaxing place

The only inconvenience is that the park closes at 22:00 and the guards are beginning to whistle at people at 21:30. So come to visit in the early hours of the evening.

There is a big commercial center at the base of the skyscraper (also closing at 22:00). There is even an iceskating rink in the mall.

It is possible also to visit the observatory at the top of the skyscraper.

8. District 2 (Thao Dien) – A Suburb of Saigon

This is the main district where expatriates choose to live.

Thanks to the expatriates, there are many bars and restaurants with western food.

It is animated in the evening. The main street is called “Xuan Thuy”.  See on Google Map. Among the Western restaurants is Pendolasco, an excellent Italian restaurant. There is also 365º Napoli Pizza. There are also several Mexican restaurants in this area. Take notice of the little court called ThaoDien Square, there are excellent Acai bowls here.

There will soon be a Metro line to District 2, but till then you must use another mean of transport (Taxi or Moto-Taxi).

See location on Google Map or the Maps above.

9. District Binh Thanh – A Suburb of Saigon

Another neighborhood with expatriates. The main street which is animated at night is called Pham Viet Chanh. See location on Google Map or the Maps above. This zone is more close to the center of Saigon (compared to Landmark 81 Skyscraper and District 2).

10. The Touristic Bus

It is an “Hop On Hop Off” bus, like the one existing in the touristic cities in Europe. Most of the tourists are using the bus as a sightseeing tour and are not getting out of it till the end of the trip. The central point to board the bus is at the Opera house.
Hanoi was the first city to operate a touristic bus, now Saigon has it too.

11. Skyscrapers and Skybars

There are 2 skyscrapers with observatory deck, that can be visited also at sunset hours (there is an access fee).

  1. Bitexco Financial Tower – located in the center of Saigon, close to the “Nguyen Hue – Pedestrian Street”. See location on Google Map .
  2. Landmark 81 Skyscraper – The tallest skyscraper in Vietnam. Located on a suburb of Saigon. See location on Google Map or the Maps above.

In the Photo : Landmark 81 Skyscraper

In the Photo : View from Landmark 81 Skyscraper skydeck.

In the Photo :  Bitexco Financial Tower (on the left)

Except these observatory decks, there are many Skybars located on tall buildings. The Skybars in front of the river have a nice view. For example the bar at the top of the Hotel Liberty Central Saigon Riverside Hotel.

In the photo : View from the skybar of Liberty Central Saigon Riverside Hotel.

12. Boat on the River

There are floating restaurants on the river. It is a nice experience.

Some boats are more fancy than others

13. Sit in a Café

Saigon has a lot of cafeterias (really a lot) . Most of them are open till 22:00.
So, you can have a coffee in the evening, instead of a beer.

Some of the cafés look very fancy

Other cafés look like a military base. Plenty of choice.

14. Dancing Salsa

Like in all the world, there is Salsa dancing also in Saigon. If you want to meet local people and expatriates, you can join the social dancing. There is a party almost every night .

See this Facebook page for info or do a search on Google with the words : Salsa Dance Saigon.

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If you find incorrect data on this page, like a restaurant that has closed or a big river that has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.

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