7 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Destinations for Family Travel

There’s more than one dish to try in Ho Chi Minh City, particularly at any number of street food vendors dotting roads and markets. Banh beo is a popular street food featuring rice cakes topped with savory items like scallions and dried shrimp. For a tasty noodle soup, try Banh Canh cua, made with crab as the broth base. Some places to try this and more are at Ben Nge Street Good Market and Ho Thi Ky Food Street. © David Bokuchava | Dreamstime.com

The city is home to a floating flower market, where hundreds of boats line up along Ben Binh Wharf for a week each year to sell flowers and small fruit trees. This year’s event took place in January and February, but the annual market returns each year. © Huy Thoai | Dreamstime.com

See the city come to life on Bui Thi Xuan, a section of the city full of fancy bars and restaurants, stores, cafés and luxury hotels. Named after a legendary female warrior, Bui Thi Xuan is alive day and night. © Ralfpoller | Dreamstime.com

While the city is connected by the Saigon River, it’s worth taking take a boat tour along the Mekong River. Many locals fish from the Mekong River and Delta, and various tour operators offer tours along the Mekong River from Ho Chi Minh City. © Milanrademakers | Dreamstime.com

Seafood is a main industry in the city, and the food and night markets of Ho Chi Minh City often sell seafood freshly caught in the region, including crabs, snails, scallops, mussels and more. © Nguyenkhanhvukhoa | Dreamstime.com

One of the largest parks in the city, Tao Dan Park features walkways, a reflecting pond and artwork. The park once hosted a bird park that drew songbird owners, and today the park is popular for both locals and visitors alike. © Huynh Thu | Dreamstime.com

Take a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, an extensive network of tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. These tunnels were used as hiding spots for soldiers and visitors are invited to crawl around the safer parts of the tunnels. You can also visit restored underground conference rooms where things like the Tết Offensive were planned. © Akarat Phasura | Dreamstime.com