Ho Chi Minh City has two traditional markets, Chợ Bến Thành and Chợ An Đông. Ben Thanh Market is close to the city center, with convenient transportation but high level of sightseeing. An Dong Market is located in District XNUMX, far away from the city center. But the prices are relatively cheap. When we visited Ho Chi Minh City for the first time, we simply wanted to experience the local market atmosphere. In addition, the hotel was located near the Ben Thanh market, so we took time to take a stroll in the morning.
Distribution of stalls in Ben Thanh Market
Chợ Bến Thành (Chợ Bến Thành) is located in the first district of Ho Chi Minh City. The indoor high-rise space is planned for more than 1,600 stalls. It is planned according to product categories and covers a wide range of consumer goods such as clothing, shoes, bags, vegetables and fruits, dried goods, and cooked food.The entire market can be divided into six areas, A, B, C, D, E, and F. The AB area is mainly for daily necessities, the CD area is mainly for personal supplies and processed food, and the EF area is for the bulk of fresh ingredients and provides shade. The indoor space, but there is no air-conditioning facility.
- Area A: clothing, children's products, bed sheets, furnishings, electrical appliances, pottery
- Zone B: cosmetics, jewelry, shoes, ready-to-wear, hats, cleaning supplies
- Area C: Vegetables, flowers, cooked food, processed food, jewelry, watches
- Zone D: tea, coffee, sugar, milk, beans, processed food, electronic products, glasses, leather bags
- E+F area: seafood, meat, fish and shrimp, poultry, vegetables, fruits, art, handbags
The total area of the Ben Thanh Market is 1,056 square meters. The indoor stalls are open during the day from 07:00 to 19:00. After the indoor stalls close at 7 pm, the open-air spaces on the east and west sides of the market will be transformed into a Penang night market. , Selling all kinds of cooked food and daily necessities and other typical roadside stalls in the night market, making Ben Thanh Market can be visited during the day and night. There are many gourmet restaurants in the nearby lanes, and there are also many jewelry shops that provide currency exchange services, quite like Pratunam Market in Bangkok. style of.
▲ The Bencheng Market is planned to have more than 1,600 stalls, selling daily groceries, personal items, processed food and fresh ingredients.
A visit to Ben Thanh Market
We walked all the way from the Saigon Center Shopping Mall to the Ben Thanh Market. We entered from the south side entrance of the East Gate. From the beginning, we strolled through the stalls in Area A selling clothing and leather bags. The stalls in this area are quite dense and the aisles are narrow. Buy here. The clothes of Little Hamburger was said to be like a folklore teacher when I returned home. It can be seen that the clothes in this area really have a traditional flavor. Because the level of sightseeing in Ben Thanh Market is already high, many people would suggest starting from at least a XNUMX% discount.
Continue from Area A to the North Gate Exit. In order, you will find the daily necessities in Area B, and the cooked and processed food stalls in Area C. You can see the daily life in Vietnam from the daily necessities in Area B. It is also a good place for digging treasures. Try eating while strolling around in Area C. There are various processed foods in this area, especially the types of dried fruits. You can try them before buying them. In addition, there are cooked food stalls similar to food courts. Those who are not afraid of heat can eat directly here.
Continue to D zone is coffee, tea and processed foods, suitable for those who love coffee, and finally meat, vegetables and flowers in EF zone, which are not suitable for the shopping needs of tourists, but if you participate in the cooking experience course in Ho Chi Minh City If this is the case, this is the place where the cooking teacher will bring to visit and introduce the ingredients. After finally leaving from the north gate, we just followed by looking for a gourmet restaurant hidden in the alleys.
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▲ We entered from the south side entrance of the East Gate, and we were oncoming a booth selling clothes.
▲Many of the sales staff at the stalls in the Bencheng Market are multilingual, so communication is not a problem and they are quite good.
▲ There are many dried fruit and processed food stalls in the CD area. You can try them first and then weigh them for purchase.
▲ The cooked food stall in Area C is the food court of Ben Thanh Market. Those who are not afraid of the heat can taste delicious local snacks here.
▲ The EF area is a place where all kinds of meat, vegetables and other fresh ingredients are sold, which is more suitable for the needs of local people.
▲ If you participate in a cooking experience course in Ho Chi Minh City, you may come here to visit and introduce the ingredients first.
▲ At the north gate of Bencheng Market, there are many gourmet restaurants in the alleys.
Traffic information and surrounding environment of Ben Thanh Market
Ben Thanh Market is located in the first district of Ho Chi Minh City. Ben Thanh Market is the bus terminal of Ho Chi Minh City. It is also the intersection of the M1, M2, M3A, and M4 subway routes. This shows the city's representativeness of Ben Thanh Market.The Ben Thanh Market was originally built in the French colonial period at the end of the 18th century. It was originally a brick and wood building with a thatched roof. It was next to the canal waterway and gathered merchants from France, China and India. After filling the canal waterway and pond in the early 20th century, it was rebuilt as it is today. The buildings of the Ben Thanh Market can be said to be buildings of considerable historical significance.
Ben Thanh Market has four main entrances, east, west, north and south, and 12 auxiliary gates. The three-sided clock tower on the south is the main entrance, and the bus terminal is opposite. The jewelry stores such as Hà Tâm and Mai Vân opposite the west gate are well-known money exchanges in Ho Chi Minh There are stalls selling fresh ingredients in the north gate, and there are many hidden gourmet restaurants in the opposite lane, which are also worth visiting.
▲ In front is the south gate of Ben Thanh Market, with a three-sided clock tower above it.
▲ After leaving Ben Thanh Market, we ate at the Bếp Mẹ Ỉn Vietnamese restaurant near the North Gate.
◎ Ben Thanh Market, Ho Chi Minh City. Ben Thanh Market
– Address: Chợ, Lê Lợi, Phường Bến Thành, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh
– Tel: +84 28 3829 9274
– Official website: http://www.chobenthanh.org.vn/
