The Ho Chi Minh City Museum or the Gia Long Palace as it is referred does tend to get bashed a bit on reviews I found on a lot of the big travel websites.
We didn’t find it too bad though, but we do like this sort of stuff more than most.
You have to take things for what they are sometimes and not compare them too much to other places or museums you have visited.
Sure some of the tourist attractions in Ho Chi Minh and in Vietnam differ to what you expect.
But if you are interested in the history of Vietnam and like to read and learn about it with an open mind, all of the museums and other experiences cover all of the bases.
I don’t usually complain about complainers, so I’ll leave this here.
The day started for us the same way we usually do when we are venturing out into the city with a visit to Ben Thanh Market.
We caught the bus into the cities heart and got off just around the corner from the market.
It was early afternoon and not a Public Holiday this time, so it was busier than last time we were there.
If you use Ben Thanh Market as a base in the city like we have, you can walk to most of the major tourist attractions in Ho Chi Minh City.
So, like us, if you are on a budget you can catch the bus into the city, get off at the Ben Thanh Market stop and then walk to places like the Ho Chi Minh City Museum.
This gives you a real look into the city as well rather than the views looking out from a taxi.
It takes about 10 minutes to walk from the market to Ho Chi Minh City Museum.