The 10 must-visit markets in Ho Chi Minh City are Ben Thanh, Binh Tay, Tan Dinh, An Dong, Ho Thi Ky Flower Market, the Russian Market, Dan Sinh, Hanh Thong Tay, Ba Chieu and the Thu Duc wholesale market, from the souvenir halls of the centre to the Chinatown wholesale markets and the night markets of Saigon. Ben Thanh is the easiest for first-time visitors, Binh Tay and An Dong show the trading life of Cholon, and Hanh Thong Tay and Ba Chieu are the most local night markets. All of them are free to enter, and bargaining is expected everywhere except fixed-price shops.
This guide from Vietnamtour.in covers each market in Ho Chi Minh City with its address, opening hours, what to buy and what to eat, plus how to group the markets by area, bargaining tips and what Indian travellers usually take home. Since 1 July 2025 the city’s districts have been replaced by wards, but this guide keeps the district names that taxi drivers and maps still use.
The 10 markets in Ho Chi Minh City at a glance:
| # | Market | Area | Opening hours | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Thanh Market | District 1 | About 6:00 AM–6:00 PM; night market 6:00–11:00 PM | Souvenirs, coffee, street food |
| 2 | Binh Tay Market | District 6, Cholon | About 6:00 AM–7:30 PM | Chinatown wholesale, dried goods |
| 3 | Tan Dinh Market | District 1 | About 6:00 AM–6:00 PM | Fabric and silk by the metre |
| 4 | An Dong Market | District 5 | About 7:00 AM–6:00 PM | Clothes, ao dai, food court |
| 5 | Ho Thi Ky Flower Market | District 10 | Open around the clock | Flowers, evening street food |
| 6 | Russian Market | District 1 | About 9:00 AM–6:00 PM | Winter clothes, imported goods |
| 7 | Dan Sinh Market | District 1 | About 7:00 AM–6:00 PM | War surplus, tools, camping gear |
| 8 | Hanh Thong Tay Market | Go Vap | Day market; busiest after 6:00 PM | Budget fashion, night food |
| 9 | Ba Chieu Market | Binh Thanh | Day market; night stalls outside | Local food, dried goods |
| 10 | Thu Duc wholesale market | Thu Duc | Around the clock; busiest at night | Seeing the city’s produce trade |
Hours are typical and can change for Tet and public holidays; stalls in the day markets often close earlier than the building itself.
Ben Thanh Market
Ben Thanh Market is the most famous market in Ho Chi Minh City, a covered market with a clock tower in the centre of District 1, open since 1914 and selling souvenirs, textiles, coffee, cashews and street food under 1 roof. It is the first stop for most visitors, and the streets around it turn into a night market in the evening.
The market has 4 main gates and 12 side entrances, with clothing and souvenir stalls in the centre and food counters at the back. The practical details are:
- Address: Le Loi Street, District 1
- Opening hours: About 6:00 AM–6:00 PM; night market around the building about 6:00–11:00 PM
- What to buy: Coffee, cashews, lacquerware, silk scarves, ceramics
- What to eat: Banh xeo, bun, spring rolls, che and fresh fruit at the food counters
Prices are aimed at tourists, so a counter-offer at about half the first quote is normal.
Binh Tay Market
Binh Tay Market is the main wholesale market of Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown, built in 1930 with a central clock tower, a courtyard and dragon decorations, and reopened after restoration in 2022. Hundreds of stalls sell dried food, spices, tea, fabric and household goods, mostly to traders, which gives it the busiest atmosphere of any market in the city.
The practical details are:
- Address: 57A Thap Muoi Street, District 6
- Opening hours: About 6:00 AM–7:30 PM; some food stalls stay open late in the evening
- What to buy: Dried fruit, spices, tea, candied ginger and lotus seeds at near-wholesale prices
- Nearby: Thien Hau Temple and Cha Tam Church within a 10–15 minute walk
The courtyard garden and the restored roof are the best spots for photos, especially in the morning when the traders are busiest.
Tan Dinh Market
Tan Dinh Market is a District 1 neighbourhood market known for its fabric hall, where silk, satin, linen and cotton are sold by the metre, next to the pink Tan Dinh Church. The market has served the area for nearly a century and sells food and everyday goods alongside the fabric, with far fewer tourists than Ben Thanh.
The practical details are:
- Address: Hai Ba Trung Street, District 1
- Opening hours: About 6:00 AM–6:00 PM
- What to buy: Silk and satin by the metre for kurtas, blouses or an ao dai; jewellery shops on nearby Nguyen Huu Cau Street
Tailors around the market can turn a length of silk into a kurta or ao dai in 2–3 days, so buying fabric early in the trip leaves time for fittings.
An Dong Market
An Dong Market is a multi-storey market in District 5 on the edge of Chinatown, selling clothes, ao dai, fabric and accessories on its upper floors, with a food court and dry goods in the basement. It mixes Vietnamese and Chinese products and is less crowded with tourists than Ben Thanh.
The practical details are:
- Address: 34–36 An Duong Vuong Street, District 5
- Opening hours: About 7:00 AM–6:00 PM
- What to buy: Ao dai, clothes, fabric and Chinese-style goods
- Nearby: Thien Hau Temple, about 1 km away in Cholon
The market’s floors, prices and food court are covered in the guide to An Dong Market, which helps plan a Chinatown morning with Binh Tay.
Ho Thi Ky Flower Market
Ho Thi Ky Flower Market is the largest flower market in Ho Chi Minh City, a lane of wholesale flower stalls in District 10 that runs around the clock, with a busy street-food alley beside it in the evening. Flowers arrive overnight from Da Lat and the Mekong Delta, and the stalls sell fresh and dried flowers at wholesale prices.
The practical details are:
- Address: 52 Ho Thi Ky Street, District 10
- Opening hours: Open around the clock; busiest early morning and evening
- What to try: Mixed rice paper salad, crab noodle soup and other snacks in the food alley
The flower lanes are best for photos in the early evening, and the history, prices and food stalls are covered in the guide to Ho Thi Ky flower market.
Russian Market
The Russian Market (Cho Nga) is a 3-floor indoor market in District 1 selling winter clothes, jackets, backpacks and imported goods, named after the Russian traders who shopped here in the 1990s. It is the best place in the city to buy warm clothing before a trip to Sapa, Hanoi in winter or a cold-country connection.
The practical details are:
- Address: 328 Vo Van Kiet Street, District 1
- Opening hours: About 9:00 AM–6:00 PM
- What to buy: Jackets, sweaters, backpacks, matryoshka dolls and imported snacks
Prices are fixed at some stalls and negotiable at others, so asking 2–3 stalls before buying gives a fair idea of the going rate.
Dan Sinh Market
Dan Sinh Market, known as the War Surplus Market, sells military-style jackets, helmets, boots, camping gear, tools and hardware in a covered market on Yersin Street in District 1. Some items are originals and many are reproductions, so it suits curious browsers more than collectors.
The practical details are:
- Address: 104 Yersin Street, District 1
- Opening hours: About 7:00 AM–6:00 PM
- What to buy: Canvas bags, caps, camping gear and tools
The market pairs with the War Remnants Museum, about 10 minutes away by Grab, for travellers interested in the city’s war history.
Hanh Thong Tay Market
Hanh Thong Tay Market in Go Vap is a long-running local market that turns into 1 of the city’s busiest budget night markets after dark, known for cheap fashion and student street food. Stalls run from traditional ao dai to trendy clothes at some of the lowest prices in the city, and the food lanes fill with young local crowds in the evening.
The practical details are:
- Address: 10/2 Quang Trung Street, Go Vap
- Opening hours: Day market from early morning; night market busiest from about 6:00 PM
- What to buy: Clothes, shoes, bags and accessories at local prices
The night market is crowded, so phones and wallets are best kept in a front pocket or a zipped bag. It is about 8 km from District 1, a 25–35 minute Grab ride in evening traffic.
Ba Chieu Market
Ba Chieu Market in Binh Thanh is a local market with a day hall for fresh food and dried goods and night stalls outside, little visited by tourists and good for local dishes. The dried-goods section sells local specialties at better prices than the tourist markets.
The practical details are:
- Address: 141 Bach Dang Street, Binh Thanh
- Opening hours: Day market about 8:00 AM–5:00 PM; night stalls in the evening
- What to eat: Bun bo Hue, banh khot and sticky rice
Ba Chieu sits a short drive from Landmark 81, so the market and the city’s tallest tower fit into the same afternoon.
Thu Duc Market
The Thu Duc agricultural wholesale market is 1 of the 3 main wholesale markets feeding Ho Chi Minh City, handling about 3,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables a day before Tet, with most trading at night and before dawn. It is a working market rather than a shopping stop, and suits travellers who want to see how the city’s food arrives.
The practical details are:
- Location: Thu Duc, north-east of the centre, about 40 minutes by car from District 1
- Opening hours: Around the clock; busiest from about midnight to early morning
- What to see: Trucks of fruit and vegetables from every region of Vietnam unloading and trading
Visitors keep to the side lanes, as forklifts and carts move fast between the halls.
How to Plan a Market Day in Ho Chi Minh City
The markets in Ho Chi Minh City group into 3 easy outings: District 1 (Ben Thanh, Tan Dinh, Dan Sinh and the Russian Market), Chinatown (Binh Tay and An Dong), and the evening markets (Ho Thi Ky, Hanh Thong Tay and Ben Thanh’s night market). A plan for 1 day looks like this:
| Time | Markets | Nearby |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Binh Tay and An Dong in Chinatown | Thien Hau Temple, Cha Tam Church |
| Afternoon | Ben Thanh, Tan Dinh or Dan Sinh in District 1 | Tao Dan Park, Bitexco Financial Tower |
| Evening | Ho Thi Ky flower lane, then Ben Thanh night market | Bui Vien walking street |
The 2 biggest markets each have their own guide: the stall layout, food counters and night market are covered in the guide to Ben Thanh Market, and the history of the Chinatown traders in the guide to Binh Tay Market. The shaded paths of Tao Dan Park are a 10-minute walk from Ben Thanh for a break between markets, and the 49th-floor Skydeck of the Bitexco Financial Tower gives a view over the whole district before the evening. Ba Chieu pairs with Landmark 81 in Binh Thanh, and the night ends on Bui Vien walking street, 10 minutes from Ben Thanh. The city’s hotels, transport and other sights are covered in the travel guide to Ho Chi Minh City.
Tips When Visiting Markets in Ho Chi Minh City
The most useful tips for the markets in Ho Chi Minh City are to carry small Vietnamese dong notes, bargain politely, watch bags in crowded night markets and visit in the morning before the heat. The tips that matter most are:
- Carry cash in small notes, as many stalls do not take cards.
- Start a counter-offer at about half the first price in tourist markets, and smile; fixed-price shops do not bargain.
- Keep phones and wallets in a front pocket or a zipped bag in night markets.
- Wear light clothes and a hat, and carry an umbrella for afternoon rain from May to November.
- Ask for vegetarian dishes as “chay” at food stalls, and check whether fish sauce is used.
Coffee, cashews, lacquerware and silk are the souvenirs that pack best, and the full list of Vietnam souvenir ideas, with prices, helps decide what to buy where. Shopping malls and boutiques beyond the markets are compared in the guide to Ho Chi Minh City shopping, and the main markets of Hanoi, Hoi An and Da Nang are covered in the guide to the markets in Vietnam.
Plan a Ho Chi Minh City Trip with Vietnamtour.in
The markets in Ho Chi Minh City fit into 1 full day when Chinatown takes the morning, District 1 the afternoon and the night markets the evening. The parts that catch most Indian travellers out are bargaining, the crowds at night and finding vegetarian food between the stalls. Vietnamtour.in has planned Vietnam trips for more than 428,000 Indian travellers since 2015, and the Vietnam tours by Vietnamtour.in that start or end in Ho Chi Minh City include a guided market walk with Indian or Jain meals nearby. Beach-first travellers often add a few days on the island with Phu Quoc island packages, 1 hour by air from the city.
To plan a market day around your own dates, share the travel dates, group size and departure city in the form below. A Vietnamtour.in expert will group the markets by area, arrange a guide who can help with bargaining, and book vegetarian or Jain meals near the markets in Ho Chi Minh City on your route.
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