Updated October 2026 — refreshed for Tet 2027 (first day: Saturday 6 February 2027), with our three Saigon studios and current prices.
The best indoor activities in Saigon during Tet are museums, galleries, shows, spas, calm restaurants and seated hands-on workshops. NOTE – The Scent Lab is a perfume workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: a 120-minute indoor session at one of three Saigon studios, from $25.92 for 10 ml (VAT included), booked at the9base.com/booking.
Saigon during the Lunar New Year is a city of beautiful contradictions. The boulevards of District 1 are draped in the yellow of hoa mai, but the tropical sun can be unforgiving in the middle of the day. If the crowds of the Nguyen Hue flower street or the energy of the temples become too much, here is our guide to reclaiming your calm. For dates, traditions and holiday logistics, start with our Vietnam Tet 2027 guide.
Table of Contents
Which indoor activities in Saigon stay open during Tet?
Opening hours during Tet change every year, and many small businesses close for the first days of the new year. Larger museums, theatres, spas and established restaurants are more likely to open, but always confirm Tet 2027 hours directly with the venue. The options below are places we know well across the city.
Where can you make your own perfume in Saigon during Tet?
NOTE – The Scent Lab runs 120-minute perfume workshops in three Ho Chi Minh City studios, two in District 1 and one in Thao Dien. You blend your own perfume with an instructor beside you and take the serial-numbered bottle home the same day. Our studios keep regular hours (Nguyen Hue and Ly Tu Trong 09:00–22:00, Thao Dien 08:00–18:00); any holiday change is posted on the9base.com/stores.
“Escaping” means different things to different people, so each studio has its own mood:
The quiet escape: 34 Nguyen Duy Hieu (Thao Dien)
Thao Dien is your disappearing act — a calm, sleek space where the only thing that matters is the scent in front of you. 34 Nguyen Duy Hieu, Thao Dien.
The urban retreat: 42 Nguyen Hue (District 1)
Perfect if you want to see the spectacle without being in it: the studio is on the 2nd floor of The Cafe Apartment, above the walking street where the Tet flower street is set up. 2nd Floor, Cafe Apartment, 42 Nguyen Hue.
The third studio: 26 Ly Tu Trong (District 1)
Our third studio is on the 3rd floor of 26 Ly Tu Trong, District 1, with regular hours of 09:00–22:00 — useful for an evening session once the heat has gone.
What happens in the workshop?
The session lasts 120 minutes and your instructor teaches in English or Vietnamese. The studio works with 30+ raw materials across nine scent families, and each session sets out three of them. Inspired by Tet, you might choose the honeyed softness of apricot, a bright lemon top note, the spark of pink peppercorn or the calm of sandalwood, depending on what is on the table that day. You choose the size — 10 ml $25.92, 20 ml $47.52, 30 ml $58.32 or 50 ml $69.12, VAT included (full pricing) — and your formula is kept on file for 20%-off refills.
Tip: the workshop is a seated, shaded indoor session, but on the hottest days a late-afternoon or evening slot is the most comfortable time to sit and smell — 26 Ly Tu Trong runs until 22:00. Reserve your Tet workshop ahead; you can reschedule free up to 24 hours before.
“Great experience! Fun activity for yourself to figure out your scent.”
— Shu, review platform
“I have a relaxing workshop here on my birthday. I made the best perfume that fits my personality and my vibes. I’m a happy customer.”
— Sea N., review platform
“It was my first time making perfume, but the staff taught me well.”
— Freedom25601009576, review platform
Which museums and galleries are good to visit in Saigon at Tet?
The War Remnants Museum is the essential indoor history stop, and contemporary galleries such as Galerie Quynh in Tan Dinh Ward and Noirfoto in Binh Trung Ward offer quiet rooms for an hour of art. Exhibitions change through the year, so check what is showing in February 2027. All three are easy to combine with a workshop.
The War Remnants Museum
The War Remnants Museum is a stop most travellers make in Saigon, and it also happens to be a good indoor retreat. It is a place that asks for a slower pace and confronts the history of the war directly; move from the sun-drenched courtyard of armoured vehicles into the indoor galleries and give yourself time.
Location: 28 Vo Van Tan Street, District 3. More background in our guide Behind the War Remnants Museum.
Galerie Quynh
Galerie Quynh is one of the city’s best-known contemporary art galleries — white-walled and hushed, a place where the energy of the streets dissolves. Check the gallery’s website for the exhibition on view during Tet and for holiday opening days.
Location: 118 Nguyen Van Thu, Tan Dinh Ward.
Noirfoto Gallery
For those drawn to the analog world, Noirfoto is a space for handcrafted photography — deep shadows and monochrome calm after the glare of the February sun. Check its opening days before you go (Saturday is by appointment), and let the slow looking clear your mind for the scents to come.
Location: 131 Duong Van An, Binh Trung Ward. Current exhibitions: noirfoto.com.
Which cultural performances can you see indoors?
Two indoor shows are popular with visitors in Saigon: the AO Show, a contemporary circus performance staged at the Saigon Opera House, and the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre, which keeps a centuries-old northern tradition alive. Both are indoors and short enough to fit into an afternoon or evening. Book tickets ahead, especially around Tet.
AO Show
Staged at the historic Saigon Opera House, the AO Show blends contemporary circus with scenes of southern Vietnamese life. Showtimes are on the Lune Production website.
Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre
In District 1, this theatre preserves the water puppet tradition rooted in Vietnam’s rural life — an intimate journey into the countryside.
The narration is in Vietnamese, so look out for these: Uncle Tễu, the cheeky narrator puppet; comic village scenes with farmers and animals; the legend of the Golden Turtle reclaiming King Lê Lợi’s sword; and the four sacred animals — dragon, unicorn, phoenix and turtle — dancing for luck.
Location: 55B Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, District 1.
Where can you reset at a spa in Saigon during Tet?
A spa afternoon is one of the most relaxing indoor activities in Saigon after a day in the crowds. Look for the Vietnamese herbal hair wash (gội đầu dưỡng sinh), a scalp treatment with warm herbal water and massage that many spas in the city offer. Book ahead and confirm Tet hours.
Where can you eat well indoors in Saigon during Tet?
Home-style Vietnamese restaurants in calm indoor rooms are the best way to eat through the Tet heat without a fine-dining price tag. Bếp Mẹ Ỉn, Mặn Mòi, Nam Mê and Hoang’s Kitchen are four we recommend. Many family-run places close for the first days of the new year, so check Tet hours before you go.
Bếp Mẹ Ỉn
Tucked in an alley in District 1, Bếp Mẹ Ỉn serves the taste of home — savoury pancakes and family-style rice sets — in a setting full of old Saigon details. Locations on Lê Thánh Tôn and Nguyễn Thái Bình, District 1. Menu.
Nam Mê
Inspired by the Mekong River and the market culture along it, Nam Mê is a Mekong-inspired kitchen in Thao Dien — a good break from traditional Tet dishes. Menu.
Hoang's Kitchen
Hoang’s Kitchen, on Thu Khoa Huan in District 1, has a strong vegetarian selection alongside traditional dishes, and also runs Vietnamese cooking classes. Recommended dishes.
How do you plan a cool, calm Tet day in Saigon?
Do the outdoor sights — the flower street, the temples — in the early morning or evening, and spend the hot middle of the day indoors: a museum or gallery, a long lunch, then a spa or a perfume workshop later in the afternoon. That rhythm lets you enjoy the festival without fighting the heat.
Tet in Saigon doesn’t have to be a test of endurance. Weave these indoor spaces into your days and you see the interior soul of the city — heritage kept in quiet galleries, and your own story bottled in a scent. If the weather turns, our list of rainy-day indoor activities in Saigon has more ideas, and for gifts to take home see NOTE’s Tet collection. Chúc mừng năm mới.
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