Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon stands at the heart of Ho Chi Minh City's French colonial quarter, its twin red-brick towers rising above Paris Commune Square. Built between 1863 and 1880, entirely with materials imported from France — the red bricks from Toulouse, the stained glass from Chartres — it remains one of the most recognisable buildings in Vietnam.
The cathedral is still an active Catholic church with regular services; mass is held in Vietnamese and is worth attending on a Sunday morning for the scale of the congregation. The building underwent major restoration work in recent years and the facade has been cleaned back to its original rust-red. The square in front, with the statue of the Virgin and the backdrop of the Central Post Office, is one of the set-piece views of Saigon.