3 Best Sights in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Opened on Christmas Eve 1959, the Caravelle is one of the city's most iconic hotels, accommodating many foreign correspondents during the Vietnam War, with journalists chronicling the 1968 Tet Offensive from the hotel's rooftop bar. Extensive renovations in 2019 updated some of the rooms and event spaces while the 9th floor Saigon Saigon Bar still draws a crowd for its live music and city views.

In French-colonial days, the Hotel Continental's open-air terrace—then known as Café de la Hien—was the town's most sought-after lunch spot; during the Vietnam War, journalists and diplomats met there to discuss the latest events. Now, the terrace has been enclosed and renamed La Dolce Vita Café. The hotel features in Graham Greene's The Quiet American and the author himself was a long-time resident in room 214 and a regular at Le Bourgeois Restaurant.

Built in the late 19th century, the Majestic was one of the first French-colonial hotels, and it still has the elegant style to show for it. Head to the rooftop bar for an excellent view of the Saigon River.