The walk from Ben Thanh Market to the War Remnants Museum takes about twenty-two minutes (around 1.5 km, mostly shaded along Pasteur and Võ Văn Tần), and from there to the Cafe Apartment another twenty-two minutes. NOTE – The Scent Lab is a perfume workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — based on the second floor of 42 Nguyễn Huệ, at the end of that walk — rated ★4.9 by 500+ travelers on TripAdvisor and Google.
The humidity arrives first — thick, carrying charcoal smoke from a bánh mì cart, the iron scent of the market’s wet aisles, and somewhere overhead, jasmine drifting from a temple courtyard. That’s how a Saigon morning begins, before anyone decides what to feel.
Why this three-stop walking route works for a Saigon morning
Most one-day Saigon guides hand you a list. Six attractions, six taxis, six photographs that look identical to everyone else’s. This is not that. This is a single morning with three places that belong together — a market, a museum, and a building full of cafés that you can finish at on foot.
The route is roughly 3.2 kilometres of walking, broken into two sections of about twenty-two minutes each. You cross from District 1 into District 3 and back. You move from the loud abundance of Ben Thanh Market through the long silence of the War Remnants Museum, and you land — by lunchtime — on Nguyễn Huệ pedestrian street, where the Cafe Apartment rises nine floors above the city.
The order matters. You begin with the sensory overload of the market — fish sauce, lemongrass, coffee, dried mango, the steam of bún bò bowls. You spend the middle hours in a museum that asks you to slow down and look at things that hurt. And you end with coffee, lunch, and — if you want it — an afternoon making something with your hands. A bottle to carry the morning home.
Stop 1 — Ben Thanh Market (7:30–9:00)
Start early. Ben Thanh Market opens at six in the morning, and by half past seven the food stalls along the eastern aisle are already running. The southern gate — the clock tower entrance most travellers photograph — faces Quách Thị Trang Square. The eastern side, on Phan Bội Châu, is quieter and has the better breakfast stalls.
What to eat before the walk
A bowl of bún bò Huế from one of the corner stalls — the broth deep with lemongrass and chilli paste, threaded with annatto oil that stains your spoon orange. A glass of cà phê sữa đá, the ice already half-melted by the time you finish paying. A bánh mì from the cart outside the eastern gate, the baguette still warm from the morning oven, pâté and pickled daikon and a slice of chilli pressed into the seam.
For a deeper look at the market’s stalls, food courts, and what to buy versus what to skip, we wrote a Ben Thanh Market area guide that covers the layout and the vendors worth seeking out.
When to leave the market
By nine. The market is louder than the museum, and you want to arrive at the War Remnants Museum before the heat starts climbing past thirty degrees. Exit on the western side, onto Phan Bội Châu, and walk south to Lê Lợi.
Walking from Ben Thanh to the War Remnants Museum (9:00–9:25)
Cross Lê Lợi at the pedestrian light, then turn left onto Pasteur. Pasteur Street is one of the most walkable streets in District 1 — mango trees shade most of the sidewalk, and the colonial-era façades on the left side are some of the best-preserved in the city. You pass the Diamond Plaza on your right, then the old French-era post office at the next intersection.
The walk is about 1.5 kilometres, roughly twenty-two minutes if you don’t stop. Most travellers stop. There’s a small ice-cream cart near the corner of Pasteur and Lý Tự Trọng that has lotus-seed sorbet, which is worth the three-minute pause.
Turn right onto Võ Văn Tần. The museum is six blocks down, on your right. You’ll see the red-brick gate and the line of school groups before you see the building itself.
Stop 2 — War Remnants Museum (9:30–12:00)
The War Remnants Museum sits at 28 Võ Văn Tần in District 3, in what used to be the Xuân Hòa Ward. It opens at 7:30 in the morning and closes at 5:30 in the evening, every day of the week including holidays. Admission is 40,000 đồng — about $1.70 — and discounted for students with ID. There is no strict dress code, but most Vietnamese visitors come in respectful clothing, and the museum’s content asks for the same quietness you’d give to any memorial.
What to expect inside
Three floors of photography, military hardware, and reconstructed prison cells from Côn Đảo. The Requiem exhibition, on the second floor, holds photographs taken by war correspondents who did not come home — every photograph in that gallery is a final image. The first-floor gallery on Agent Orange is the room most visitors find hardest to leave.
Plan for two to three hours. We wrote a longer piece on the history behind the museum’s collection if you want to read before you arrive. Many travellers say they wished they had — the museum is denser than it looks from the outside.
A note on what the museum smells like
Paper. Old paper, mostly — the kind that has spent years absorbing the city’s humidity and giving it back as a quiet, slightly sweet dust. There is no incense here, no flowers. The air-conditioning hums low. You move slowly between rooms because the photographs ask you to. That stays.
Walking from the museum to the Cafe Apartment (12:00–12:25)
Exit the museum gate, turn left back onto Võ Văn Tần, then right onto Pasteur and walk south. At Lê Lợi, turn left. You’ll see the Saigon Opera House at the far end, and a block before it, on the right, the pedestrian section of Nguyễn Huệ opens up.
The Cafe Apartment is at number 42. You’ll see it before you read the address — a nine-storey building with balconies that have been turned, floor by floor, into a vertical neighbourhood of cafés, bookshops, vintage clothing stores, and one small perfume studio.
Stop 3 — The Cafe Apartment, and NOTE on the second floor
We’re on the second floor. The pottery studio is two floors below us. Vinyl records play above us. And from the courtyard side of the building, jasmine and bergamot drift out of our studio doors most afternoons. If you’ve made it from Ben Thanh through the museum and across Nguyễn Huệ, you’ve walked roughly 3.2 kilometres — about the length of a long meditation.
For lunch, the third and fourth floors have some of the better Vietnamese kitchens in the building. The seventh floor has a rooftop space that catches the late-morning light. We’ve written a complete floor-by-floor guide to the Cafe Apartment if you want to plan the rest of the building before you arrive.
“Kty Chin led us through a wonderful perfume making workshop. A beautiful way to spend a breezy afternoon in Ho Chi Minh City and we came away with bespoke perfume.” — Sasha K., ★5 TripAdvisor.
If, by one in the afternoon, your morning’s images and scents have left you wanting to make something — a bottle to carry it home — the studio is open daily on the second floor of 42 Nguyễn Huệ.
“A great way to pause from the chaotic and overwhelming part of your holiday in Saigon.” — Peter H., ★5 TripAdvisor.
Practical notes for the route
Saigon’s mornings sit around twenty-six to thirty degrees year-round. Bring water. The walking sections are mostly shaded but not all — Pasteur is generous with mango trees, Lê Lợi less so. Sun protection between ten and three in the afternoon is the difference between a good day and a hard one.
Comfortable shoes matter more than you’d expect for a 3.2-kilometre walk on Saigon sidewalks. The pavements rise and fall around motorbike parking, and crossing intersections in District 1 and District 3 takes the same calm patience you’d give to a slow piece of music — step into the traffic, keep your pace steady, don’t stop. Locals will read your movement and flow around you. That said: most travellers find this route easier than they expect, because the rhythm of the three stops — loud, quiet, slow — pulls you along without you noticing the distance.
The whole route works in light rain. Ben Thanh has covered aisles, the museum is indoors, the Cafe Apartment has a central staircase that stays dry. For heavy rain, you can detour into our rainy day Saigon indoor guide — which keeps the same general arc but adapts the walking parts.
If you’re carrying a custom fragrance home — your own, made at the workshop, or a ready-made bottle from our online store — the museum bag check on the ground floor is happy to hold it during your visit.
“I have a beautiful souvenir to take home and every time I smell it, I will remember Saigon.” — herbaljo, ★5 TripAdvisor.
Most travellers say they wished they’d booked the workshop earlier in their trip. The studio is open daily on the second floor of 42 Nguyễn Huệ.
Find NOTE – The Scent Lab
- 42 Nguyễn Huệ (2nd floor, Cafe Apartment), District 1, HCMC — Get directions → · TripAdvisor
- 34 Nguyễn Duy Hiệu (Thảo Điền, Thủ Đức), HCMC — Get directions → · TripAdvisor
How to find us:
- 📍 42 Nguyễn Huệ — Watch direction video on TikTok →
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the Ben Thanh to War Remnants Museum to Cafe Apartment walk take?
About fifty minutes of walking in total — roughly 1.5 kilometres from Ben Thanh to the museum and another 1.7 kilometres from the museum to the Cafe Apartment. With stops, the whole route is a half-day: five to six hours, including breakfast at the market, two to three hours at the museum, and lunch or a workshop at the building.
What’s the dress code for the War Remnants Museum?
There is no strict dress code, but Vietnamese visitors typically come in respectful clothing — shoulders and knees covered. The museum displays graphic war photography, including the Agent Orange exhibition, and the quietness of the galleries is part of the experience. Heavy bags can be left at the ground-floor bag check.
Can I do this route with kids?
Ben Thanh Market and the Cafe Apartment are family-friendly at any age. The War Remnants Museum is generally recommended for ages twelve and up — the photography and the Agent Orange galleries can be difficult for younger children. Many families do the market and the Cafe Apartment together and skip the middle stop with very young kids.
What if it rains during the walk?
Saigon’s rainy season (May to October) brings short afternoon storms rather than all-day rain. The whole route works in light showers — Ben Thanh has covered aisles, the museum is indoors, and the Cafe Apartment has interior staircases. For heavy rain, our rainy day Saigon indoor guide covers shelter-first alternatives.
Should I book the afternoon perfume workshop in advance?
For weekends and peak tourist season (December through March), yes — most travellers say they wish they’d booked earlier in their trip. The workshop is around ninety minutes, with sessions running throughout the afternoon. Walk-ins are welcome on quieter weekdays but limited by available seats.
Can I extend this route into a full day?
Yes. Many travellers add the District 1 Saigon Opera House and Notre Dame Cathedral in the late afternoon, or finish with sundown drinks on Bùi Viện. Our District 1 walking tour guide connects to the morning route for a complete day.
Information in this article was accurate at the time of writing. Opening hours, prices, and walking routes may change — we recommend double-checking with official sources before your visit.
