| Notre Dame Cathedral tips and photos posted by real travelers and Ho Chi Minh City locals.
Dong Khoi, District 1
• 112 Photos
• 68 Reviews
See all Ho Chi Minh City Things To Do |
 | Ho Chi Minh City Notre Dame Cathedral Reviews | 1 - 10 of 68 |  |
 Notre Dame, Dong Khoi, HCMC by bpacker
The cathedral is closed to visitors except during mass on Sunday. So that's what I did. I popped in for the English mass at 930am, with other opportunistic tourists and a Vietnamese bridal couple, all decked out in their wedding finery.
After you've visited the church and gawked at the stained glass long enough, you could go to the Colonial-looking building which is just opposite. It's a post office and not a train station, if you're wondering.
To see photos of the stained glass, and other places of worship in HCMC, click on b'packer's HCMC page Leave a Comment Directions: Near the intersection of Dong Khoi and Nguyen Du sts., District 1
|
Visiting Ho Chi Minh City?
Read reviews about Ho Chi Minh City Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
Vietnam has the second largest catholic population in asia, of which the largest is in the philippines and the third in Timor leste due to the various missionaries coming from the philippines and by the french during colonization. It is the seat of the Catholic church in the city. The neo-Romanesque structure has two 40 metre iron spired towers and was built between 1877 and 1883 by the French with the stone ship from France .The church is one of the tallest buildings in the city and the oldest Catholic churches in Vietnam.
The first church was built on Rue 5 (today's Ngo Duc Ke Street). This had been a Vietnamese pagoda, which had been abandoned during the war. Bishop Lefevre decided to make this pagoda a church. The first church was too small, thus in 1863, Admiral Bonard decided to build a wooden church on the bank of Charner canal (Kinh Lớn). Lefevre put the first stone for construction of the church on 28 March 1863. The construction was completed in 1865 and was called "Saigon Church" but it was burn down and construction of the present concrete church finished in October 1877. This is one of the landmarks among the impressive avenues and open spaces north of Dong Khoi. The huge red-brick edifice with twin spires is placed between two streams of traffic and is a clear reminder that the French once ruled this city. Inside, the decor is relatively austere, but the church gets very full and very lively during services
Opens: 9:30am-11am Sun (Mass). Directions: City center, Dong Khoi, Near Post Office.
|
 | |  |
 the 40-meter twin towers
of Notre Dame by richiecdiscLeave a Comment Directions: Easy to find, follow the towers to this upscale part of town.
|
The Notre Dame Cathedral is located in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City and is one of France’s most ambitious projects in Indochina. The first stone for the Cathedral was laid in 1877 and 3 years later it was opened to the public. The bricks were shipped from Marseilles, and famous French artisans were commissioned to create the stained glass windows. The bell towers were added to the Cathedral in 1895, and have a height of 58meters. I have read that it is possible to climb the bell towers for a nice view of Ho Chi Minh City (but I didn’t go).
At the beginning, the cathedral was called “State Cathedral” due to source of the construction cost (2.5million French francs). In 1962, the Vatican gave the Cathedral the title Basilica and since then the name has been “Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica”.
I didn’t go inside the Cathedral, but just enjoyed the magnificent building from outside. In front of the Cathedral is a statue of the Virgin Mary. The white granite statue was erected in 1959 and has the title “Regina Pacis”. Locals swear that they on occasions have seen the statue shed tears...
|
| | |
From the City Centre it is an easy walk of less than 10 minutes to the Cathedral. The 40 metre high square steeples stand out on the skyline and help navigate the streets. The cathedral was built between 1877 and 1883 and has no stained glass windows as they were damaged during World War 2 and never replaced, the exterior walls being red brick have suffered water damage over the years. It can be seen where sections have been repaired , however there is need for considerable more work to be done. The lack of maintenance is typical of many classic old buildings highlighted as tourist attractions in HCMC.
We were unable to enter the cathedral as a service was in progress when we visited late afternoon. The entry doors were open but as the fence gates were locked we had to look over the fence through the open doors to glimpse the interior. Leave a Comment Directions: City center, just opposite the City's General Post Office.
|
| | |
Visiting Ho Chi Minh City?
Read reviews about Ho Chi Minh City Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
 Notre Dame Cathedral by muddybok
The neo-Romanesque architecture and its two 40m-high square towers tipped with iron spires dominate the Ho Chi Minh City's sky line. Leave a Comment Directions: City center
|
 The main facade by SirRichard
Pay atention to the times, as it is usually open only very early (4-9 am) or in the afternoons (14-18).
It is not really outstanding compared with european churches, but it makes a nice change after so many pagodas and temples?
There are masses on sunday mornings (9:30 I think). Leave a Comment Directions: City center
|
 notre dame cathedral by TomorrowsAngel
Unusually, this cathedral has no stained glass windows: the glass was a casualty of World War II.
A number of foreign tourists worship here, and the priests are allowed to add a short sermon in English or French to their longer presentations in Vietnamese. Leave a Comment Directions: City center
|
 by keeweechicLeave a Comment
|
 Stained Glass windows by muddybok
Of course Duc Ba (Notre Dame, Saigon) has got some of the nicest stained glass windows with Virgin Mary, Jesus & saints images on them. Leave a Comment Directions: City center
|
More Ho Chi Minh City Tips |
More Ho Chi Minh City Travel Deals Ho Chi Minh City Hotels
Going to Saigon? Use Travelzoo To Compare Hotel Rates. Search Now! Ho Chi Minh Map
Map out Fun Itineraries for your upcoming Trip to Ho Chi Minh City. Thailand Tours
National Geographic Award Winner Custom Itineraries & Private Guides Sponsored Links
- Dong Khanh Hotel
2B Tran Hung Dao St. Dist. 5, Ho Chi Minh City - Huong Sen Hotel
66-68-70 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City - Empress Hotel IMS Ho Chi Minh
136 Bui Thi Xuan Street District 1, Ho Chi Minh City - Windsor Plaza Hotel
18 An Duong Vuong St, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City - Sofitel Plaza Saigon
17 Le Duan Blvd District 1, Ho Chi Minh City - Somerset Chancellor Court
21 - 23 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St, Ho Chi Minh City - Continental Hotel
132-134 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City - Best Western Chancery Saigon All Suite Hotel
196 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai District 3, Ho Chi Minh City - Windsor Saigon Hotel
193 Tran Hung Dao Street Dis, Ho Chi Minh City - Tan Hoang Ngoc Hotel
52 Thu Khoa Huan St., Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City - May Hotel
28-30 Thi Sach Street,Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City - Que Huong - Liberty 1
167 Hai Ba Trung Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City - Asian Hotel
47R-148-150 Dong Khoi St., Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City - Legend Hotel Saigon
2A - 4A Ton Duc Thang St, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City - Saigon Star
204 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
|
