With a panoramic view, Bach Dang Wharf not only impresses with its poetic landscape and unique architecture. This place also marks many ups and downs and changes of Ho Chi Minh City. Let’s visit this interesting place with Origin Vietnam.
1. Where Is Bach Dang Wharf Park?
With a prime location, Bach Dang Wharf Park is located at 2 Ton Duc Thang Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It is about 1 km east of the city center and about 9 km southeast of Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
2. How Is Bach Dang Wharf Park Unique?
Bach Dang Wharf is a famous port right in the city center and has a view directly overlooking the Saigon River. In the past, Bach Dang Wharf was also the busiest commercial port in Saigon. And today, along with Thu Ngu Flagpole, Nha Rong Wharf, Mong Bridge, Tran Hung Dao Statue, and cannons, Bach Dang Wharf has created a heritage axis of Saigon, marking the historical values of the city’s formation and development.
Although located in a beautiful location, for many years, Bach Dang Wharf was almost a deserted, forgotten riverbank. However, recently, Bach Dang Wharf has been renovated with constructions and tourism development projects, becoming one of the golden tourist attractions in Saigon.
If in the past, Bach Dang Wharf only served for mooring boats, today, Bach Dang Wharf has been re-planned into two main areas: the port and the park with an area of about 23,400m2, and a riverside road of up to 1.3km long.
Surrounding Bach Dang Wharf are a series of waterway services such as: floating restaurants, cruises, river buses, and parks along the river. It creates a modern yet green tourist complex right in the heart of Saigon.
3. History Of The Formation Of Bach Dang Wharf Park
The name Bach Dang wharf is associated with the event of the Vietnamese defeating the invaders three times on the Bach Dang River in 938, 981, 1288.
The people of Saigon built a statue of Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan standing majestically pointing towards the wharf. To commemorate the glorious and heroic feat of our Dai Viet army and people in the Bach Dang battle, which defeated the Mongols for the third time in 1288.
At the end of the 18th century, the riverbank from the old Ba Son factory – now the Ba Son station of Metro Line 1 Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien and the head of Ba Son bridge – was a shipyard. Later, Le Van Duyet used it as a place to assemble warships.
During the French colonial period, the French colonialists built this area into a port, anchoring many types of ships from within and outside the country.
After the French colonialists left, the Republic of Vietnam government used this place as an area to display artillery, anchor ships, welcome distinguished guests and conduct military parades on the river. In 1955, this riverside road was renamed Bach Dang wharf road.
With its charming beauty next to the Saigon River, from the late 1950s to 1960s, Bach Dang wharf was the ideal dating place for many couples.
It is worthy visiting Bach Dang wharf park
Before 1975, the wharf was just a road along the Saigon River, stretching from Ba Son factory to the beginning of Ham Nghi street and connecting to Chuong Duong wharf road. At that time, there were two famous restaurants on the river at Bach Dang wharf, Ngan Dinh and My Canh, which were among the most luxurious in Saigon.
After the liberation of the South in 1975, many items in this riverside area were degraded. Many sections of railings are broken, concrete foundations are eroded, … constructions are dirty, river banks are full of trash, …
In April 2021, the Ho Chi Minh City government decided to renovate and renew the entire Bach Dang Park. On March 17, 2022, Ben Bach Dang Park was inaugurated, giving it a completely new look.
4. How To Get To Bach Dang Wharf Park?
Ben Bach Dang is located in District 1, the center of Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, there are many routes leading here such as:
- Nam Ky Khoi Nghia – Ham Nghi – Ton Duc Thang.
- Ly Tu Trong – Dong Khoi – Ton Duc Thang.
- Le Thanh Ton – Nguyen Hue – Ton Duc Thang.
4.1 Traveling by plane:
If you depart from other distant provinces to Saigon, there are currently more than 50 domestic and foreign airlines operating direct flights to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. For domestic flights, you can refer to major domestic airlines. Such as: Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways, Pacific Airlines, VietJet Air, or Vietravel Airlines all sell air tickets to Saigon.
4.2 Traveling by bus:
City buses usually stop at Me Linh Square or Ton Duc Thang Street. Then, you walk a short distance to Bach Dang Wharf Park. Besides the city center bus, you can also choose the double-decker bus which is also very familiar.
4.3 Traveling by motorbike, private car or taxi:
With these means of transport, you can completely proactively plan your tour by specific routes on Google map.
4.4 Traveling by water bus:
One of the unique routes you can experience is taking a river bus with the special service of Saigon Waterbus. You can choose from any wharf: Hiep Binh Chanh, Lam Dong, Thanh Da, Binh An, to travel to Bach Dang wharf with a ticket price of only about 15,000 VND/person/trip.
5. Activities And Experiences At Bach Dang Wharf Park
5.1 Walking, sightseeing, checking in at Bach Dang wharf park
With impressive scenery and windy riverside space, this is a check-in location that attracts a large number of tourists to come and have fun and enjoy the breeze every day. Bach Dang wharf has a view of the river, in the distance are skyscrapers and the extremely unique Thu Thiem 2-cable bridge. When coming here, you can walk, enjoy the fresh air, and take pictures at Bach Dang wharf.
5.2 Admiring the statue of Hung Dao Dai Vuong
In the Bach Dang wharf area, there is an extremely majestic statue of Hung Dao Dai Vuong. The statue is 6m high, standing tall on a triangular platform nearly 10m high. Tran Hung Dao wears a military uniform, one hand pointing down to the river, the other hand resting on the hilt of his sword, saying “If I don’t defeat the Yuan invaders this time, I swear I will never return to this river again”. The majestic image of General Tran Hung Dao evokes the national pride of every visitor.
5.3 Experiencing the waterbus – a unique river bus
On your journey to explore Bach Dang wharf, don’t miss the opportunity to experience the extremely interesting river bus (waterbus). The waterbus will take you through 4 stations: Bach Dang, Binh An, Thanh Da and Linh Dong. When you arrive at these places, you will have the opportunity to enjoy the feeling of leisure, coolness and refreshment when traveling on the poetic Saigon River.
Not only that, you can also admire the massive architectural works of Ho Chi Minh City such as Saigon Bridge, Landmark 81 building, Bitexco building, … from a completely new perspective. Before coming here, you should book tickets online on the Saigon Waterbus application to avoid waiting time.
5.4 Admiring the magical Bach Dang wharf at night
One of the experiences that you should not miss when coming to Bach Dang wharf is admiring Saigon at night. When night falls, this place becomes more brilliant and sparkling thanks to the lights from the streets and high-rise buildings. In the poetic scene of Bach Dang wharf at night, you can slowly enjoy the rare fresh and cool air. Besides, this is also an ideal place for you to enjoy attractive Asian – European dishes on luxurious Bach Dang wharf yachts.
5.5 Enjoying luxurious coffee at Bach Dang wharf
After walking around the river wharf, you can stop by the cafes at Bach Dang wharf to rest. Near this location, there are many great cafes, standing out with spacious, airy spaces. Besides, quality drinks are also a big plus for these locations. In particular, Waterbiz Coffee is the most ideal destination.
6. Enjoying Saigon Specialties When Visiting Bach Dang Wharf Park
When visiting Bach Dang wharf park, you can not only immerse yourself in the poetic scenery, open view and listen to historical stories about this place. You also have the opportunity to enjoy the specialties of this youthful city. Such as: beef noodle soup, fish sauce noodle soup, offal, tapioca dumplings, crab soup, Southern Vietnamese pancakes, noodles, Saigon sandwiches, etc.
7. Accommodation When Visiting Bach Dang Wharf Park
When visiting this place, you can refer to some of the following accommodations:
- Ramana Saigon Hotel. Address: No. 323 Le Van Sy Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
- New Pacific Saigon Hotel. Address: No. 9-11 Ky Dong, Ward 9, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
- ICON Saigon – LifeStyle Design Hotel. Address: 65-67 Hai Ba Trung Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Aristo Hotel. Address: 03A Vo Van Tan Street, Ward 6, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
- The Reverie Saigon. Address: 22 – 36 Nguyen Hue, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Hotel Majestic Saigon. Address: 1 Dong Khoi Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Silverland Jolie Hotel & Spa. Address: 4D Thi Sach Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Liberty Central Saigon Riverside Hotel. Address: 17 Ton Duc Thang Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
8. Some Other Famous Tourist Attractions Near Bach Dang Wharf Park
8.1 Nha Rong Wharf
Located at 01 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Ward 12, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City. Nha Rong Wharf is a famous historical and cultural tourist destination that many foreign visitors are interested in.
When visiting Nha Rong Wharf, you will have the opportunity to admire the beauty of the first building built by the French in Saigon. In addition, you can also learn about Uncle Ho’s life through documents, images, and artifacts displayed at the museum.
- Opening hours: 7:30 – 11:30 and 13:30 – 17:30 from Tuesday to Sunday.
8.2 Nguyen Hue Walking Street
As one of the top entertainment venues in Saigon, Nguyen Hue Walking Street is located right next to Bach Dang Wharf. Every evening, this street is extremely crowded with people coming to enjoy the cool breeze and enjoy street snacks.
When visiting Nguyen Hue Walking Street, you can also take virtual photos with the rows of luxurious buildings, cafes with great views across the street. Visit the 42 Nguyen Hue apartment building, which stands out with restaurant and fashion shop signs on the opposite side. Or enjoy street music performances by dance groups.
- Opening hours: all day, except for Saturday and Sunday nights when vehicles are prohibited from entering.
8.3 Independence Palace
Independence Palace is a relic site that preserves many proud historical events of the Vietnamese people in the war for independence. With a design structure of more than 100 rooms, the inside of the Palace is divided into 3 main exhibition areas: a fixed area, a thematic area and a supplementary area.
When visiting the Independence Palace, you will have the opportunity to learn about the glorious time of Vietnam. Through historical photos, relics, living artifacts such as tank 848, f5e aircraft, tank 390, …
- Opening hours: 8:00 – 16:30.
8.4 Ben Thanh Market
Ben Thanh Market is a typical symbol when mentioning Saigon. Established in 1859, this market has become the largest trading point in the area at that time.
With an area of over 13,000m2, Ben Thanh Market provides a full range of products, essential goods such as clothes, fabrics, shoes, handicrafts, fresh food, … When visiting Ben Thanh Market, in addition to sightseeing, watching the bustling trading scene, shopping for traditional items. You can also enjoy the extremely delicious cuisine here.
- Opening hours: 04:00 – 19:00.
8.5 Bui Vien Western Street
Bui Vien walking street has long been a famous Western entertainment area for tourists in Saigon near Bach Dang wharf. In the evenings, this place is always bustling with entertainment activities such as singing, dancing, performing arts, etc.
In addition, from Bui Vien street, you can also visit other places less than 1km away such as: Notre Dame Cathedral, Buu Long Pagoda, Museum of Fine Arts, 29/3 Park, Galaxy Nguyen Du, etc.
- Opening hours: 19:00 – 02:00.
Located on the beautiful Saigon River, Bach Dang wharf park not only impresses with its poetic landscape and unique architecture. But it is also a place that records the ups and downs and changes of Ho Chi Minh City.
Join Origin Vietnam – a professional tour operator – and explore the modern, airy beauty of Bach Dang Wharf. With its stunning views, this is the perfect spot to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. Don’t miss out on this serene experience during your upcoming vacation. Book your Ho Chi Minh tours today and discover the best of Saigon!
