Lying charmingly in the heart of the city's District 1 area, at the start of the famous Le Loi Avenue, the building still retails many lively evidences for the influence of French architecture in Vietnam. Tourists in Vietnam travel certainly can't take their eyes off the elegant architecture of the Saigon Opera House (or Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theater) when paying a visit to Ho Chi Minh City.

At the turn of the 20th century, this magnificent building, designed by French architect Ferret Eugene, was built as a classical opera house with 800 seats to entertain French colonists. nyone who has been to France can recognize many similarities between the Opera House and the Petit Palais. In fact, just like the Reunification Palace, the applied ornament, balustrades, cartouches, and roof were imported directly from France.

In order to celebrate the 300th birthday of Saigon, the municipal government invited some of famous architects and artists to restore the house in 1998.

Saigon Opera House - Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam

 Today, renovated with new materials, the theatre is equipped with state-of-the-art electric appliances, lighting and sound systems, and safety equipment. Many original architectural and decorative features have been incorporated, including a stone veranda, white stone statues at the entrance, colorful granite tiled floors, chandeliers, bronze statues in front of the stairs and richly-engraved auditorium arch and wall statues. The Opera House is surrounded by new shopping plazas and posh hotels, which allow you to combine the trip to the Opera House with a shopping tour.

The Saigon Opera House becomes a theater for a variety of Vietnamese traditional and classical performances such as plays, concerts, ballet, opera, and Vietnamese traditional dance. Moreover, this house - the brightest building of Ho Chi Minh City - is also one of the exciting destinations which visitors joining tours in Vietnam should not miss when visiting this city.