What’s Around Silverland Ben Thanh: A Walking Guide to the Market, Le Loi and Beyond

The fresh-food section of the market opens at four in the morning, and the bookshop on Le Loi stays open until nine at night. Almost everything in this guide sits between those two hours, and within a few hundred metres of our door at 14-16 Le Lai. It is written for travellers still choosing a hotel and for guests who have already booked, and every place below comes with an address and opening hours, arranged in the order of a day.

Updated October 2026. Opening hours and details are checked against each venue’s own published information. The distance to the Metro station is the hotel’s own published figure. Hours can change on public holidays.

What’s around Silverland Ben Thanh: the quick answer

• In the hotel: Bason Café Ben Thanh on the ground floor (7:00 to 22:00) and Smith’s Kitchen & Bar on the 12th floor (6:30 to 23:00).
• On foot: Ben Thanh Market, Godmother on Le Loi, Saigon Centre, ARTBOOK, Xoi Ga Number One, Bep Me In, the Mariamman Temple and the Fine Arts Museum.
• Metro: Ben Thanh station on Line 1 is about 40 m from the hotel door.
• Hours to remember: the market runs 7:00 to 22:00 (fresh food and eating stalls from 4:00), Godmother opens at 8:00 and ARTBOOK on Le Loi stays open until 21:00.
• Splitting the day: coffee and the market in the morning, Le Loi at midday, a temple or museum in the afternoon, one proper dinner in the evening.

At Ben Thanh Market, each street leads to a different story. Around the market it is trade and everyday bargaining; out on Le Loi it is a commercial boulevard with a shopping centre and bookshops; towards Pho Duc Chinh the streets give way to a museum and architecture. From Silverland Ben Thanh at 14-16 Le Lai, each of these directions starts with a single step out of the door.

What matters is not how many places you can cover in a day but the ability to return to the hotel and rest between outings. That is what makes an itinerary lighter, especially for someone fresh off a flight or still working in the city.

What’s around the hotel at a glance

You want	Go to	Opening hours
Coffee downstairs	Bason Café Ben Thanh, entrance at 15-17-19 Nguyen An Ninh	7:00 to 22:00
A long, late breakfast	Godmother, 70B Le Loi	8:00 to 21:00 (to 22:00 on Saturday and Sunday)
The market and gifts	Ben Thanh Market	7:00 to 22:00
Shopping, or shelter from sun and rain	Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi	Each shop sets its own hours
Books and gifts	ARTBOOK, 26 Le Loi	9:00 to 21:00
A quick lunch	Xoi Ga Number One, 15 Nguyen Trung Truc	Restaurant hours
A Vietnamese dinner	Bep Me In, 136/9 Le Thanh Ton	Restaurant hours
Dinner without leaving the hotel	Smith’s Kitchen & Bar, 12th floor	6:30 to 23:00 (dinner from 17:00)
A temple and a museum	Mariamman Temple, 45 Truong Dinh; Fine Arts Museum, 97A Pho Duc Chinh	Each has its own schedule
Going further by train	Ben Thanh Metro station, Line 1	About 40 m from the hotel door

If you’re still choosing a hotel: who this neighbourhood suits

The strength of this location is specific: the market, Le Loi and the Metro station are all short walks, so you can split a day into several outings and return to your room between them. Breakfast, then back for your wallet. Gifts bought, then drop the bags. A rest before dinner. In areas a few kilometres from the centre, every return trip costs a ride.

This is not a quiet side street. The area around the market is busy with trade and foot traffic all day, so if you want to be close but still have a calm evening, plan the evening around one good meal and an early return to your room.

One thing to know in advance: this guide is written for people on foot. The Opera House, Nguyen Hue and the Independence Palace belong to other outings and need a ride or a Metro trip. If your plans centre on historic sights, allow a few rides during the day.

The rest of this guide follows the rhythm of a day, from morning coffee to dinner, with two walking routes at the end.

Morning: coffee by the market, or a brunch that takes its time

Bason Café Ben Thanh: where old objects find a second life

Ground floor, Silverland Ben Thanh, entrance at 15-17-19 Nguyen An Ninh. Open 7:00 to 22:00.

The hotel’s address is 14-16 Le Lai, but Bason Café Ben Thanh on the ground floor opens onto Nguyen An Ninh. That is worth remembering if you are meeting someone for coffee before the market: give them the Nguyen An Ninh address and they will not get lost.

The café tells its story through materials. The ceiling is made from a collection of vintage air conditioners, a skylight from the bottoms of glass bottles, and one corner shows antique sewing machines. In a neighbourhood of long-established trade, the design gives you more to look at than a backdrop for photographs.

You can start the day with a coffee just below your room and then head to the market. If you are not in a hurry, a few extra minutes looking at the materials and the space are already part of the morning.

Godmother: when the morning is for brunch

70B Le Loi. Open 8:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 8:00 to 22:00 on Saturday and Sunday.

Not everyone wants to head straight into the market. Godmother serves brunch dishes such as beef cheek scramble, Arnold Bennett omelette and salmon tacos, suited to a long breakfast. Heading along Le Loi also brings you to Saigon Centre and the shops, so this morning leans towards eating and watching the street rather than touring the market.

Do not line up both places in the same morning just to complete a list. Pick Bason Café Ben Thanh or Godmother as the main stop and leave the other for the next day.

Inside Ben Thanh Market: pick one gate, remember one street

General hours 7:00 to 22:00; fresh food and eating stalls open from 4:00.

The market has four gates for four streets. According to the market’s published rules, the south gate faces Le Loi and the clock tower, the north gate Le Thanh Ton, the east gate Phan Boi Chau and the west gate Phan Chu Trinh. For a photograph with the clock tower, use the south gate. If you only want to browse, any nearby gate will do.

Inside, the food, fabric and handicraft stalls make up part of the area’s daily trade. What is interesting about a daytime visit is not necessarily how many gifts you buy. You can watch how each section is arranged, ask the name of a speciality, or take your time choosing one thing that truly suits the person receiving it. Individual stalls keep their own hours, so if shopping is the main goal, give it a daytime slot.

If you are buying food to take home, read the packaging and check the import rules at your destination. For goods sold by the set or by weight, asking the price before deciding is far more useful than general bargaining advice.

With only a short break, pick one side of the market and look at it properly. A first visit does not need every gate. For more on the market itself, we have a separate guide to Ben Thanh Market.

Midday on Le Loi: indoors, out of the sun, and a bookshop

Saigon Centre

65 Le Loi. Each shop and restaurant sets its own hours.

Step out onto Le Loi and the neighbourhood changes: instead of market lanes, a wide boulevard with modern shops. Saigon Centre is somewhere to cool off in the sun or shelter from rain, and a place to find the thing missing from your suitcase. Because hours differ shop by shop, look at the hours of the specific place you want.

ARTBOOK Le Loi

26 Le Loi. Art, photography, architecture and design books, plus Vietnamese gifts. Open 9:00 to 21:00.

If you want a gift that feels different from a hurried souvenir, ARTBOOK gives most of its space to large-format books on painting, architecture and photography. For international visitors, the language of a publication often matters more than the beauty of the cover, so open the book before buying. Large photo books are heavy, so leave room in your suitcase for the weight as well as the space.

The shop stays open until 21:00, later than many places nearby, so there is no need to rush. Once you have bought a lot, walk back to Silverland Ben Thanh to drop the bags before heading out again.

Lunch: a bowl of Saigon-style sticky rice with chicken

Xoi Ga Number One

15 Nguyen Trung Truc, beside Ben Thanh Market.

Xoi Ga Number One grew out of a street vendor’s cart that the family dates to the late 1950s, and the MICHELIN Guide lists it as a street-food address. The menu centres on sticky rice with chicken and sweet-corn sticky rice, a lunch that is light but enough to carry you through the afternoon.

The chicken version usually comes with chicken, egg and giblets; if you do not eat one of these, say so when you order. Vegetarians should ask whether the corn rice is cooked with animal fat or served with anything extra. A good meal is one where you understand what you ordered.

Afternoon: another direction, the Mariamman Temple and the Fine Arts Museum

Mariamman Temple

45 Truong Dinh.

From the market, head towards Truong Dinh to reach the Mariamman Temple, a Hindu place of worship. The figures decorating the façade are enough to signal how different it is from the trade around it. When you go in, dress modestly, follow the guidance on footwear and photography, and keep your distance from people at prayer. It is a place of worship, not a spot to stage photographs.

Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum

97A Pho Duc Chinh.

On another afternoon, give your time to the Fine Arts Museum. It has works and architecture worth looking at slowly. If you only have about an hour between two meetings, the market is the more flexible choice; the museum deserves a stretch of its own, so you can read about the pieces and stop at the works that interest you.

The difference between these two directions is why we do not think every place near the hotel needs to fit into one walking loop. Some places suit looking from the outside; others need you to step in and spend time.

Evening: one meal, then home

Bep Me In

136/9 Le Thanh Ton, down a small alley.

For dinner, Bep Me In on Le Thanh Ton serves Vietnamese home cooking in a small alley tucked behind tall buildings. Shrimp and pork pancake, coconut egg fried rice and crispy basa fish with soy dip are dishes made for sharing, so it suits a group. The restaurant has been in the MICHELIN Guide’s Bib Gourmand list since the first Vietnam edition in 2023. Because it sits down an alley, enter the exact number 136/9 when booking a ride or opening a map.

Smith’s Kitchen & Bar

12th floor, Silverland Ben Thanh. Open 6:30 to 23:00, dinner from 17:00.

If you have walked a lot during the afternoon, dinner inside the hotel can be a complete way to finish the day: no ride to book, no alley to find. Smith’s Kitchen & Bar serves dinner from 17:00 to 23:00, and you can rest in your room beforehand. The rooftop pool is open from 6:00 to 20:00, so a late-afternoon swim before dinner is also possible.

A comfortable evening does not need three stops. What matters is choosing which side of the neighbourhood you actually want to stay in.

Two walking routes

Short loop: getting your bearings after check-in

For the afternoon you arrive, when you simply want to know where you are.

1. From the hotel, stop at Bason Café Ben Thanh on Nguyen An Ninh if you would like a coffee.
2. Walk to Ben Thanh Market, pick a gate and look properly at one side.
3. If you still have energy, go out to Le Loi to see the clock tower at the south gate, then return the way you came.

This loop does not include time in the stalls or at a café table, so cut it short anywhere. If your feet are tired, turn back from the market.

Long loop: brunch, a book and lunch

Start around late morning, when the shops are open.

1. Follow Le Loi to Godmother for a late breakfast.
2. If it is hot, step into Saigon Centre to cool off or shop.
3. Continue to ARTBOOK on Le Loi and give yourself time with the books.
4. Return towards the market and have sticky rice with chicken on Nguyen Trung Truc.
5. Walk back to Silverland Ben Thanh and drop your things before thinking about dinner.

If the meal runs long, choose just one shopping stop. This loop does not include a full museum visit.

Tips for planning your day

• Early morning: the market’s fresh-food section opens at 4:00 and the whole market at 7:00, so a morning visit never has to wait.
• From 8:00: Godmother is open, which suits a late breakfast after walking the market.
• Evening: ARTBOOK on Le Loi is open until 21:00 and the market until 22:00, so both are still open after dinner.
• Rainy day: Saigon Centre and Bason Café Ben Thanh are the nearest places to shelter.
• Heavy shopping: call in at the market or ARTBOOK, leave the bags at the hotel, then carry on.
• Going further: Ben Thanh Metro station is about 40 m from the hotel door; our Ho Chi Minh Metro Line 1 guide has train times and fares.

Frequently asked questions

What is there to do within walking distance of Silverland Ben Thanh?

Ben Thanh Market, Godmother, Saigon Centre and ARTBOOK on Le Loi, Xoi Ga Number One on Nguyen Trung Truc, Bep Me In on Le Thanh Ton, the Mariamman Temple and the Fine Arts Museum. Bason Café Ben Thanh is on the hotel’s ground floor, and Ben Thanh Metro station is about 40 m from the door.

Where is an easy place to meet a friend for coffee near the market?

Bason Café Ben Thanh is on the hotel’s ground floor, but its entrance has the address 15-17-19 Nguyen An Ninh. Give that address to anyone who is not staying with us. It is open 7:00 to 22:00. For a longer brunch, Godmother at 70B Le Loi opens at 8:00.

Where should I start a walk around Ben Thanh Market?

The market has four gates: south, north, east and west. For a photograph with the clock tower, use the south gate on Le Loi; if you are only browsing, use whichever gate is nearest. Choosing a gate by what you want to see saves a lot of circling.

Should I visit the market and the museum in the same short outing?

Not if you have only about an hour. You can see part of the market quickly, but the Fine Arts Museum needs time for its galleries. Choose one for a short window and keep the other for another time.

Is it better to buy gifts at the market or at ARTBOOK?

The market has handicrafts, fabric and food; ARTBOOK leans towards books and cultural publications. Choose by recipient: for food gifts, check labels and import rules; for books, check the language and size for your luggage.

Where can I go near the hotel when it rains?

Saigon Centre on Le Loi is the indoor shopping option. Right below your room is Bason Café Ben Thanh, open until 22:00. The Fine Arts Museum has indoor galleries too, but save it for an outing you have chosen rather than somewhere to wait out the rain.

A day here is planned by the clock

The appeal of staying near the market is not how many places lie around you but the freedom to choose one small corner and stay longer. Some days that is a coffee on Nguyen An Ninh; some days a book on Le Loi; some days a dinner on the 12th floor.

If you have already booked, the simplest way to use this guide is to pick one of the two routes for your first afternoon and fit the rest into their opening hours. And if you are still comparing hotels, the question worth weighing is not the amenities list but the walking radius: here the market, Le Loi and the Metro station are all short stretches, and you can be back in your room in between. Room and service details are on the Silverland Ben Thanh page.