Nguyen Hue Walking Street, Saigon: Car-Free Hours, Events, Tips

Nguyen Hue walking street (phố đi bộ Nguyễn Huệ) is the 670-metre boulevard in central Ho Chi Minh City that runs from the Ho Chi Minh statue in front of City Hall down to Ton Duc Thang street and the Saigon River. The wide central plaza is for walkers at all hours and costs nothing to visit. The traffic lanes on both sides are a different matter: under a 2019 city rule, the most recent we could find, they close to every kind of vehicle from 19:00 to 23:00 on Saturdays and Sundays, and stay open to motorbikes and cars the rest of the week. Come in the evening, ideally at the weekend, when the whole street belongs to pedestrians.

Where does Nguyen Hue walking street start and end?

The street starts at the top, by the bronze statue of Ho Chi Minh that stands in front of the yellow-and-white City Hall, the People’s Committee building on Le Thanh Ton street. From there it runs south-east for 670 m to Ton Duc Thang, the riverside road; Bach Dang wharf and the Saigon River are on the far side of it. The boulevard is 64 m wide in all, and the stone-paved middle is the walking part. It opened at the end of April 2015 as the city’s first walking-only street. The statue was unveiled a few weeks later, on 17 May 2015.

Everything a first-time visitor looks for is within a few minutes of the statue. The Rex Hotel sits on the corner of Nguyen Hue and Le Loi, and the Saigon Opera House (Nha hat Thanh pho) is about 300 m away along Le Loi. There is a musical fountain at the Le Loi crossing. Walk about 400 m, five minutes, down the street from the statue and you reach the café apartment block at number 42. Keep going and the plaza ends at Ton Duc Thang. That riverside road is not part of the weekend closure, so cross at the lights.

When is Nguyen Hue walking street closed to traffic?

Two rules apply. The central plaza has been closed to vehicles since 2015, so you can walk it any day, any hour. The two lanes on each side carry ordinary traffic on weekdays. Then there is the weekend closure: from 19:00 to 23:00 every Saturday and Sunday, all vehicles are banned from the whole of Nguyen Hue between Le Thanh Ton and Ton Duc Thang. That is the rule the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport announced in February 2019, in force since 1 March 2019, and the most recent official notice we could find. In December 2023 the department backed a District 1 proposal to close six side streets around Nguyen Hue over the same Saturday–Sunday, 19:00–23:00 window.

Many travel guides give 18:00–22:00 instead, and one says 18:00–23:00 every day. We found no official notice from 2024 to 2026 that changes the 2019 rule, and none that includes Friday. In practice it makes little difference to someone on foot. The plaza is already car-free, and the side lanes are just the edge of it.

The street also closes for events, sometimes for several evenings in a row. The city closed it from 18:00 to 23:00 on 9–11 December 2022 for a music festival, for example, and from 17:00 to 23:00 on 20–21 May 2023 for another event. In March 2026 the city made Nguyen Hue its preferred venue for large downtown events, under a directive that also requires each event to be on an approved yearly calendar. The reason given was traffic jams, noise and light pollution, and complaints from residents.

What’s on at Nguyen Hue: Tet flower street, New Year and festivals

Nguyen Hue flower street: 2026 dates and the 2027 plan

For the Lunar New Year (Tet) the city fills the street with flower displays, and the whole length becomes pedestrian-only for about a week. In 2026 the flower street, themed “Spring converges, steadily rising” (Xuân hội tụ – Vững bước vươn mình), opened at 19:00 on 15 February, the 28th day of the last lunar month, and closed at 21:00 on 22 February, the sixth day of Tet. The 2025 edition ran from the evening of 27 January to 21:00 on 2 February. Saigontourist builds it under a city plan.

For Tet 2027, the Year of the Goat (Đinh Mùi), the city approved the design concept in late October 2026: three chapters titled Connection, Convergence, and Transformation and Breakthrough, with yellow mai (apricot) blossom as the main motif around the statue. Opening dates had not been announced when we checked in November 2026. Lunar New Year’s Day falls on 6 February 2027, and in 2025 and 2026 the street opened on the evening of the 28th of the last lunar month and closed on the fifth or sixth day of Tet, so early February 2027 is likely. Wait for the official dates before you book around it.

Expect crowds. In visitors’ videos from 2026, the opening night and the first days of Tet are packed shoulder to shoulder.

New Year countdown, 30 April and Halloween

The city held its countdown to 2026 on the street. The plan put booths, DJs and bands there from 16:00 to 22:00 daily from 27 to 31 December 2025 and the main stage show from 19:00 to midnight on 31 December, and fireworks went up from 00:00 to 00:15 on 1 January. Plans for the countdown to 2027 had not been announced when we checked in November 2026. The nearest high-altitude fireworks site was at the head of the Saigon River tunnel, across the river in An Khanh ward.

In 2025, for the 50th anniversary of Reunification Day (30 April), the street was decorated and there were street-art programmes on Nguyen Hue and Bach Dang wharf on 29 and 30 April. On Halloween, 31 October 2026, visitors’ videos show the street full of people in costume. On ordinary weekend evenings the entertainment is free and unplanned, and in visitors’ videos that means live music, singers, dance groups practising routines, and now and then an organised stage show.

42 Nguyen Hue: the café apartment building

About 400 m down the street from the statue, 42 Nguyen Hue is a nine-storey apartment block from 1960 whose balconies are now almost all café, restaurant or shop signs. People still live there, some families for three generations, according to a 2026 VOV report.

The lift costs 3,000–5,000 VND per person; a 2025 guide puts it at 5,000 VND, and visitors’ videos from 2025 mention about 3,000. Some cafés refund the fee when you order. The stairs are free. Drinks in the cafés cost roughly 40,000–100,000 VND, a few places more. In visitors’ videos, the upstairs cafés charge more than places at street level. You are paying for the balcony view over the street.

Best time to visit Nguyen Hue walking street

Evening, after the heat drops and the buildings light up. Saturday and Sunday nights are the liveliest, with the side lanes closed from 19:00. One vlogger filming on a weekday estimated that weekends bring three or four times as many people, and others describe Saturday and Sunday nights as packed even without a festival. If you want space to walk and take photos of City Hall, a weekday evening is quieter. In the daytime the plaza is open but the side lanes carry traffic, so it works better as a route between sights than as a place to linger. The biggest crowds come with the Tet flower street, the New Year countdown and Halloween.

How to get to Nguyen Hue walking street

By metro: Opera House station

Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien) opened on 22 December 2024. One of its three underground stations, Opera House (Nha hat Thanh pho), is under Le Loi street next to the theatre, about 100 m from the Ho Chi Minh statue. A single ride costs 7,000–20,000 VND depending on distance, or 6,000–19,000 VND if you pay without cash. A one-day pass is 40,000 VND and a three-day pass 90,000 VND. On weekdays trains run from about 05:00 to 22:00 (2025 timetable). Hours have been longer on some holidays, such as New Year’s Eve, so check the last train in the HCMC Metro app or at the station if you’re staying late. From Ben Thanh station it’s one stop.

On foot from nearby sights

Walking distances from the Ho Chi Minh statue, measured on OpenStreetMap:

• Ben Thanh Market: 600–650 m, under 10 minutes along Le Thanh Ton.
• Notre-Dame Cathedral: about 700 m, 10 minutes by Dong Khoi and Nguyen Du.
• Saigon Central Post Office, opposite the cathedral: 650–900 m, 10–12 minutes.
• Bach Dang wharf and the waterbus pier: about 800 m, 10–15 minutes, across Ton Duc Thang at the river end.
• War Remnants Museum: about 1.5 km, 20 minutes.
• Bui Vien walking street: 1.3–1.5 km, about 20 minutes by Le Loi and Tran Hung Dao.

Add a few minutes for crossing the roads. Nguyen Hue, the cathedral, the post office and the Opera House make an easy loop on foot. For more ideas nearby, see our guide to things to do in Ho Chi Minh City.

From the airport

Tan Son Nhat’s international terminal is 7–7.7 km away by road, about 20–30 minutes outside rush hour. A Grab or Be car costs about 150,000–250,000 VND. Bus 109 costs about 15,000–20,000 VND and goes to Ben Thanh, a 10-minute walk from the street. Ask the driver to drop you at the Ho Chi Minh statue or the Rex Hotel; on weekend evenings the street is normally closed to cars from 19:00.

Is Nguyen Hue walking street safe? Pickpockets and bag snatching

The risk reported in the press is petty theft in crowds. Saigon Giai Phong newspaper reported in 2017 that theft groups had made the walking street a target, especially at weekends, on holidays and at Tet, and that youth volunteers were patrolling with the police to protect tourists. In December 2021, Thanh Nien newspaper reported that police detectives who had been following a man with six prior convictions caught him after he stole a young man’s bag on the street and ran. We found no police reports of theft on Nguyen Hue from 2025 or 2026, but the crowds at weekends and festivals are the same kind the older reports describe.

Keep your phone in a front pocket or a zipped bag worn in front of you, especially in the Tet and countdown crowds, and keep a hand on your bag while you watch a show or film one.

Street food and vendors on Nguyen Hue

Street vending is banned on the walking street under the city’s 2016 rules for the statue park and Nguyen Hue, and the rule boards along the plaza say so. Vendors still turn up. A 2023 report said that the city had ordered the district to clear them back in 2018, that they return as soon as patrols leave, and that police were asking people not to buy from them. In 2018 officials also said that vendor crowds give cover to pickpockets. If you do buy a snack or a drink from a cart, agree the price first.

For a proper meal, walk ten minutes to the Ben Thanh area, or go upstairs at number 42. If you’d like someone else to choose the stalls, our Premiere Street Food Tour picks you up from your hotel and takes in Nguyen Hue walking street along the way. The Highlights and Hidden Gems of Ho Chi Minh City at Night tour, a private evening tour, includes the walking street on its way to a rooftop bar.

Premiere Street Food Tour in Ho Chi Minh City

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Highlights and Hidden Gems of Ho Chi Minh City…

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FAQ

Sources: SGGP on the Department of Transport’s weekend closure (February 2019) and Vietnamnet on the same rule; Tien Phong on the side-street closures (December 2023); Nhan Dan on the street’s opening (April 2015); VietnamPlus on the statue (May 2015); Tien Phong and Thanh Nien on event closures; Viet Nam News on the 2026 events directive; Dai Bieu Nhan Dan on the 2026 flower street plan; PLO on the 2025 flower street; VOH and Dan Tri via the city press portal on the 2027 design (October 2026); VOH and SGGP on the 2026 countdown and fireworks; Dai Bieu Nhan Dan on 30 April 2025; VOH on the metro opening, SGGP on metro fares, Viet Nam News on weekday metro hours and SGGP on late New Year’s Eve trains; VOV on 42 Nguyen Hue (September 2026) and mia.vn on its lift fee and café prices (2025); SGGP (2017) and Thanh Nien (2021) on theft; PLO (2018) and Znews (2023) on the vending ban; airport fares from The Myst Dong Khoi and nexttripradar; distances measured on OpenStreetMap; visitor observations from about 30 YouTube channels (2019–2026), counted only where three or more channels agree. Banner and featured photo: Michael Coghlan / Flickr, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; the crops are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.