Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral

Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral, or Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica to be exact, is one of the most two famous cathedrals in Vietnam besides the Hanoi Cathedral. Situated right in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, it is a peaceful place for people who seek for old beauties and calmness amidst the active and continuously moving city.

Constructed between 1863 and 1880, with two bell towers reaching a height of over 58 meters, Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral was built on the site of an abandoned Vietnamese pagoda by French. Initially, it was calledSaigonChurch, a small wooden church which was reconstructed afterwards in 1877. The present-day cathedral was completed on Easter Day in 1880, and the name Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral was given in 1959 after Bishop Pham Van Thien held a ceremony to install the Peaceful Notre Dame statue made with granite fromRome. In 1962, the cathedral was upgraded and the name was changed to Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica.

The Notre-Dame Cathedral inHo Chi Minh Citywas constructed entirely with materials brought fromFrance: red bricks of the outside walls, which retain their bright and lively red color until today, came from Marseille; most of the original tiles still bear markings fromFrance, although many new tiles have replaced the ones damaged during wars.

The religious meaning and the special neo-Romanesque style of the architecture attract tourists across the world to pay a visit to it onHo Chi Minh Citytour. Due to its central location, the Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral is easy enough to visit when strolling between popular stops inHo Chi Minh Citysuch as theWarRemnantMuseum, theReunificationPalaceand the Central Post Office.