The most unique things to do in HCMC aren’t on the first page of any guidebook — they’re the experiences where you stop watching and start creating. NOTE – The Scent Lab is a perfume workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (★4.9, 500+ reviews) where travelers design custom fragrances in 90 minutes — and it’s just one of ten things in this city that most tourists walk right past. This unique things to do HCMC guide covers everything you need to know.
The motorcycle nearly clips your elbow. You don’t flinch — you’ve been in Saigon for three days now and you’ve learned the rhythm. Step into the street, let the bikes flow around you like water around a stone. The exhaust mixes with incense from the temple on the corner. Someone is grilling corn over charcoal in a doorway. Above you, a tangle of power lines frames a strip of impossible blue sky.
You’ve done the War Remnants Museum. You’ve checked off the standard things to do in HCMC. You’ve taken the photo at the Post Office. You’ve eaten phở on a plastic stool. And now you’re wondering — is there something else? Something that doesn’t feel like ticking boxes on someone else’s list?
There is. Here are ten things in Ho Chi Minh City that most travelers miss — many of them hidden gems locals love entirely — and each one asks you to create, not just consume.
1. Blend Your Own Perfume at a Workshop Inside the Cafe Apartment
We’re biased, obviously. But here’s why this makes the list: 42 Nguyen Hue — the building tourists know as “the Cafe Apartment” — is one of the most photographed spots in Saigon. Millions of people visit every year. They ride the elevator, take photos of the facade, maybe get a coffee. Then they leave.
What they miss is the second floor.
That’s where NOTE – The Scent Lab runs a 90-minute workshop where you create your own custom perfume. You sit at a blending table with 30+ professional-grade ingredients — Vietnamese lotus, cinnamon, French jasmine absolute, Haitian vetiver — and a workshop instructor who helps you build a fragrance from concept to bottle. No experience needed. You leave with a personalized perfume (a full Eau de Parfum), a handwritten label, and a formula that’s saved permanently so you can reorder when you’re back home missing Saigon.
The insider part: from the studio, you can hear Nguyen Hue below. Read our best craft workshops in HCMC guide for more creative experiences — the saxophone busker who plays every evening, the skateboarders, the couples taking wedding photos. Tourists discover pottery two floors below us, vinyl records play above, and jasmine base notes drift from our studio out into the hallway. It’s Saigon in a building.
We watch the light shift across the worktables every afternoon — golden at 3pm, amber by 5, and by evening the street musicians start below.
“I wandered in — I was actually looking for a different store, but the ambiance was so nice I decided to just do the fragrance workshop. Vy and Sofia were very patient and helpful.”
Workshops can be booked online with instant confirmation — no deposit required for standard sessions. Payment by credit card, bank transfer, or cash on arrival.
2. Take a Cooking Class in Someone’s Actual Home
There are dozens of cooking classes in HCMC, and most are good. But the unique ones happen in actual Vietnamese homes — not commercial kitchens dressed up to look homey. A host in District 3 or Binh Thanh invites you into their kitchen, takes you to the wet market at 7am when the vendors know them by name, and teaches you dishes that never appear on restaurant menus. The kind of thing a Vietnamese grandmother makes on a Tuesday.
What makes it different from a restaurant meal: you understand the WHY. Why this herb with this meat. Why the broth simmers for exactly this long. Why the fish sauce from Phu Quoc is different from the one from Phan Thiet. You’re not eating — you’re learning a language.
If you enjoy the creative process of a cooking class, you might love how it compares to a perfume workshop — two different sensory crafts, one city.
3. Walk the Alleys of District 4 at Sunset
District 4 has a reputation that keeps most tourists away. A decade ago, that reputation was earned. Today, it’s one of the most fascinating neighborhoods in Saigon — a tight grid of alleys where life happens at street level. Families cook dinner on the sidewalk. Kids play badminton in the road. Temples hide behind auto repair shops.
The unique thing to DO here isn’t a specific attraction — it’s the walk itself. Enter from the Saigon River side, near Ton Dan Street, and zigzag through hẻm (alleys) numbered 40-something through 80-something. You’ll find a 50-year-old bánh xèo stall, a barber who cuts hair in his living room, and a Catholic church with a Vietnamese dragon on its facade. Nobody is trying to sell you anything. That’s the point.
4. Learn Vietnamese Calligraphy from a Thư Pháp Master
On weekends near the Jade Emperor Pagoda, you might spot elderly men practicing thư pháp — Vietnamese calligraphy using Chinese characters, adapted with Vietnamese soul. Some of them teach. It’s not advertised. You ask. They decide if you’re serious enough.
The experience is meditative in a way that surprises Western travelers. You spend 90 minutes learning three characters. The brush must move a certain way. The ink must flow at a certain speed. Your teacher will tell you that calligraphy is not about the result — it’s about the state of mind you achieve while creating it.
Sound familiar? That’s the same philosophy behind fragrance creation — the process matters as much as the product.
5. Visit a Vinyl Record Shop in a Former War-Era Apartment
Saigon has a growing vinyl scene, and the best shops are hidden inside apartment buildings — the same kinds of buildings as the Cafe Apartment, but without the tourists. On Ton That Dam Street, there’s a second-floor shop where a collector has spent 20 years accumulating Vietnamese and international records. He’ll play you Vietnamese jazz from the 1960s — pre-war recordings that sound like a different planet.
You can’t stream this music. Some of it doesn’t exist digitally. The only way to hear it is to sit in that room, on that chair, and listen to the crackle and warmth of analog sound. That’s what makes it unique — it can only happen HERE.
6. Ride the Brand-New Metro Line 1 — Saigon’s First
HCMC’s first metro line opened recently, and it’s a genuine event in a city that has relied on motorbikes for decades. The line runs from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 through Binh Thanh and out to the eastern suburbs. For tourists, the ride itself is the experience — watching Saigon transform from dense urban center to sprawling suburbia through floor-to-ceiling windows.
Get off at Thao Dien station and you’re in one of HCMC’s most walkable neighborhoods. There’s another NOTE workshop here — at R Space on 34 Nguyen Duy Hieu in Thao Dien, offering the same custom perfume experience in a different setting: brighter, more spacious, with curved windows and afternoon light.
We wrote a full Metro Line 1 tourist guide if you want the complete station-by-station breakdown.
7. Get Lost in Cho Lon — Saigon’s Chinatown
Cho Lon (District 5) is Saigon’s Chinese quarter, and “getting lost” is literal advice. The streets are narrower here, the signage shifts to Chinese characters, and the sensory overload multiplies. Binh Tay Market is the anchor — a wholesale market where vendors sell dried herbs, Chinese medicine, and fabric by the bolt.
The unique thing to do: walk into one of the traditional Chinese temples (Thien Hau, Quan Am) and just sit. The incense coils hang from the ceiling like enormous spirals, releasing smoke that takes hours to reach the bottom. The scent is sandalwood and benzoin and something bitter-sweet that you can’t name. Time slows down.
For scent lovers, Cho Lon’s apothecary shops are a goldmine. Rows of wooden drawers containing dried roots, barks, flowers, and resins — some of which are the raw materials of perfumery. It’s the scent of the city at its most ancient.
8. Attend a Live Music Night at an Underground Venue
Saigon’s underground music scene has exploded. Venues like Saigon Outcast (District 2), The Observatory (District 1), and various pop-up spaces host everything from Vietnamese indie rock to electronic music to experimental jazz. The difference between Saigon and Bangkok or Bali: the scene here is still raw, still discovering itself, and admission is often free or nearly free.
The best nights are unplanned. You hear about a show from a bartender, or you spot a handwritten poster on a telephone pole, or you follow the sound of drums down an alley. This is creating your own night — not following a pre-packaged itinerary.
9. Sketch the City with a Local Artist
Urban sketching groups meet weekly in HCMC — usually at a heritage building, a street market, or a riverside spot. Some welcome tourists. You bring a sketchbook (or buy one at a bookshop on Nguyen Van Binh — the “book street”), sit next to someone who’s been drawing Saigon for 30 years, and try to capture what you see.
You don’t need to be good. The point is observation. When you sketch something, you see it differently than when you photograph it. The curve of a colonial roofline. The way a woman’s conical hat catches the light. The chaos of a market stall arranged into a composition that somehow works.
Creating a visual record of the city, like creating a scent, forces you to pay attention in a way that passive tourism doesn’t.
10. Bottle Your Entire Trip — The Last-Day Workshop
Here’s the version of the perfume workshop that travelers talk about most: doing it on their last day.
By then, you’ve collected a mental library of Vietnamese scents — lemongrass from the phở stall, frangipani from the park, the earthy sweetness of Vietnamese coffee, the green bite of fresh herbs piled high on every table. When you sit down at the blending table with all of that in your memory, ready to create your own signature scent, the ingredients stop being abstract. You reach for the lemongrass oil and you KNOW what it means. You smell the oud and it’s the temple in Cho Lon.
“I left with not only my handmade creations but also a wealth of new knowledge. Highly recommend.”
“The workshop was amazing! The teacher was friendly and very knowledgeable. Now I have my own perfume.”
We wrote a full guide to the last-day workshop concept — why waiting until the end of your trip makes the perfume better, and how to plan it into your schedule.
If you’re also looking for meaningful things to bring home, our unique souvenir guide covers the best handmade and artisan finds in HCMC.
The Thread That Connects All Ten
Look at the list again. Perfume blending. Home cooking. Alley walking. Calligraphy. Vinyl listening. Metro riding. Temple sitting. Live music. Urban sketching. Last-day bottling.
None of them are things you watch. They’re all things you do — things that require your hands, your nose, your ears, your attention. They’re experiences where you leave with something that didn’t exist before you showed up. A fragrance. A dish. A sketch. A memory encoded so deeply it surfaces when you least expect it.
That’s what makes Ho Chi Minh City genuinely unique as a travel destination in 2026. It’s not a city you visit. It’s a city you participate in. The motorbikes don’t stop for you — you learn to move with them. The street food doesn’t come with a menu — you point and trust. The experiences don’t come pre-packaged — you build them.
The best souvenir from HCMC isn’t something you bought. It’s something you made. And sometimes, it’s a smell on your wrist that brings back an entire city — the heat, the noise, the jasmine, the exhaust, the impossible, overwhelming aliveness of it all.
Visit thescentnote.biz to explore the full world of NOTE – The Scent Lab, or follow @note.workshop on Instagram for daily scenes from the studio.
Travelers who tried something different rated it 4.9 stars. Read their takes on TripAdvisor, Klook, and Google Maps.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most unique things to do in Ho Chi Minh City?
Beyond standard sightseeing, HCMC offers hands-on creative experiences: perfume workshops, home cooking classes, Vietnamese calligraphy, urban sketching, and exploring underground music venues. The best unique activities involve creating something, not just observing.
Where is the perfume workshop in HCMC?
NOTE – The Scent Lab has two locations in Ho Chi Minh City: inside the Cafe Apartment at 42 Nguyen Hue, District 1, and at 34 Nguyen Duy Hieu in Thao Dien. Both offer the same 90-minute workshop with 30+ ingredients. Book at workshop.thescentnote.com/book.
Is HCMC good for solo travelers looking for unique experiences?
Excellent. Many of the best experiences — perfume workshops, cooking classes, urban sketching, vinyl shops — are designed for individuals. The workshop is particularly popular with solo travelers who want a meaningful, introspective activity.
How many days do I need in Ho Chi Minh City for unique experiences?
Most travelers spend 3-5 days. Two days cover the main sights; the remaining days let you explore creative and off-the-beaten-path activities. Dedicate at least one day to District 1 and the Cafe Apartment area, and another to Thao Dien or Cho Lon.
What unique souvenirs can I bring home from HCMC?
Custom perfume (your own formula, made at a workshop), hand-drawn art from local artists, lacquerware from traditional workshops, Vietnamese coffee beans, and handmade pottery. The perfume is unique because your formula is saved — you can reorder anytime.
Where can I create a custom perfume in Ho Chi Minh City?
NOTE – The Scent Lab offers a hands-on custom perfume experience at two locations: 42 Nguyen Hue (Cafe Apartment, District 1) and 34 Nguyen Duy Hieu (Thao Dien). You blend a personalized perfume from 30+ ingredients with a workshop instructor in 90 minutes. No experience needed, and your formula is saved permanently for future reorders. Book at workshop.thescentnote.com/book.
Are these unique activities suitable for couples?
Yes. Perfume workshops, cooking classes, and alley walks are all popular with couples. At the perfume workshop, many couples create fragrances for each other — a personal, creative date that takes about 90 minutes.
Practical info: find our studio
