Nguyen Hue Walking Street

flowcomm · CC BY 2.0

A seven-hundred-metre paved boulevard — the city's outdoor living room.

Nguyen Hue was once a canal, filled in to make a boulevard, then paved and closed to traffic in 2015. The result is seven hundred metres of open ground running from the City Hall down to the river — and all of Saigon uses it as a shared yard. In the evening teenagers skateboard, children run toy cars, dance crews rehearse in front of the glass frontages, balloon sellers work the crowd. At Tet the whole street becomes a flower avenue. Standing at the top and looking down, French-era buildings alternate with glass towers — nowhere else are the two layers of Saigon as visible at once.

Visitor information

When is the best time to visit Nguyen Hue Walking Street?

Early evening; busiest and best at Tet

How long do you need at Nguyen Hue Walking Street?

1 - 2 hours

What are the opening hours of Nguyen Hue Walking Street?

All day; closed to traffic at weekends during posted hours

Did you know

The boulevard was originally a canal, later filled in to make a street.
It was paved and turned into a pedestrian street in 2015.
It runs about 700m from the City Hall down to the Saigon river.
At Lunar New Year the whole street is decorated as the Nguyen Hue flower avenue.

Travel tips

Come from dusk onward — by day the paving throws back the heat and there is almost no shade.
The café apartment at 42 Nguyen Hue is right off the street: one old block with dozens of cafés stacked up its floors.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguy%E1%BB%85n_Hu%E1%BB%87_Boulevard

Updated: 2026-08-16