6+ Fascinating Secrets of Saigon’s Iconic Notre Dame Cathedral

Nestled in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon stands as one of Vietnam’s most cherished architectural treasures. With its towering spires, red-brick façade, and serene aura, the cathedral is not just a place of worship but also a cultural and historical landmark that attracts countless visitors every year. Built between 1877 and 1880 by French colonists, the structure reflects neo-Romanesque design, blending European architectural artistry with local craftsmanship. Its significance transcends religion, as it has become a symbol of Saigon’s rich and diverse history. Let’s unravel with Anvui Travel about five fascinating secrets of this timeless masterpiece.

Saigon’s Notre Dame Cathedral

1. HISTORY OF THE FORMATION OF SAIGON NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL
As one of the prominent religious architectural works in the center of Saigon, not everyone knows clearly about the history of Notre Dame Cathedral. When was Notre Dame Cathedral built? According to the introduction of Notre Dame Cathedral, this work was started in 1877, completed in 1880, designed and supervised by architect J. Bourad.

Old pictures of Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral

On April 11, 1880, the dedication and inauguration ceremony of the church in District 1 was organized by Father Colombert with the presence of the Governor of Cochinchina, Le Myre de Vilers. Because all construction and interior decoration costs for this work were covered by the Governor of Cochinchina, the total amount at that time was up to 2,500,000 French francs, at first this work was called the State Church – built and managed by the French State.

Later, the building was renamed Notre Dame Cathedral, officially named Immaculate Conception Cathedral Basilica, and was conferred the title of Basilica in 1962.

2. SOME FEATURES OF THE NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL’S ARCHITECTURE
After more than a century of construction, Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral is still a destination chosen by many tourists when coming to Ho Chi Minh City. This unique architectural work possesses many attractive highlights for tourists such as:

2.1. The basilica inside the church
Inside Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral is a specially designed basilica with the ability to withstand 10 times the entire architecture of the building. The interior of the church is designed to include 1 main nave, 2 secondary nave, 2 rows of chapels. The entire basilica is 93m long, 35m widest and 21m high dome. With this area, the Notre Dame Cathedral inside the basilica can accommodate up to 1,200 people.

Explore the sanctuary inside the Notre Dame Cathedral

2.2. Bell Tower of Notre Dame Cathedral
When visiting the church, visitors will be truly impressed by the bell tower. This structure is considered the soul of the church. Initially, the structure only had 2 bell towers 36.6m high, without a roof. In 1895, the cathedral built 2 more roofs to cover the bell tower, 21m high. Thus, the total height of the bell tower is 57m. After that, the structure hung 6 more bells including 6 tones (do, re, mi, sol, la si) hung on the 2 bell towers. Each bell has an elaborate pattern on its surface.

2 towering square towers can be seen from afar

2.3. Altar area at Ho Chi Minh City Notre Dame Cathedral
If you have visited Ho Chi Minh City Notre Dame Cathedral, you should not miss the altar area. The altars here are all delicately carved from solid marble. There are 56 multi-colored glass windows joined together to create an impressive image. All the lines, moldings and patterns of the altar area are in Roman and Gothic style, both solemn and elegant.

A majestic and elegant architectural style

2.4. Park area outside Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral
The map of Ho Chi Minh City Notre Dame Cathedral has an area that young people are very enthusiastic about checking in, which is the park outside the church. In the center of the front yard of the cathedral is the statue of Our Lady of Peace sculpted by G. Ciocchetti in 1959. The statue is 4.6m high, weighs 8 tons, and is made of white marble from Italy.

The park outside the Notre Dame Cathedral is a check-in spot for many tourists

2.5. Some other highlights in the architecture of Ho Chi Minh Notre Dame Cathedral

Bronze statue of Pigneau de Béhaine: Cast by the French in 1903. The character of the statue is Bishop Pigneau de Béhaine (Bishop Bá Đa). He led a young boy – Prince Nguyễn Phúc Cảnh (son of King Gia Long). This was considered a symbol of harmony between Catholicism and the Nguyen Dynasty at that time. By 1945, the statue was demolished, leaving only the marble pedestal.
Statue of Our Lady of Peace: After a period of leaving the marble pedestal empty, in 1958, priest Giuse Phạm Văn Thiên asked sculptor G.Ciocchetti to carve a statue of Our Lady of Peace (made of Italian Carrara stone) to place here. The statue of Our Lady is standing upright, holding a globe in her hand, on the globe is a cross. Our Lady’s eyes look up to the sky as if praying for peace for the Vietnamese people.

Statue of Our Lady of Peace

3. OPENING HOURS OF NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL HO CHI MINH CITY

Notre Dame Cathedral Mass hours:

From Monday to Saturday: 5:30 AM, 5:30 PM
Thursday – Friday: 8:00 PM
Sunday: hours include: 5:30 AM, 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM (mass in English), 4:00 PM, 5:30 PM, 7:00 PM (Sunday).

Specifically, according to the Notre Dame Cathedral mass schedule, the church will have 2 masses on weekdays, 1 mass starting at 5:30 AM and 1 afternoon mass at 5:30 PM. On Sundays alone, there will be 7 masses, taking place at 5:30 AM, 6:45 AM, 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM (mass in English), 4:00 PM, 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM.

Church schedules depend on many factors

4. ENTRANCE FEE TO SAIGON NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL
Visitors enter the cathedral completely free of charge.

5. WHAT TO EAT NEAR NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL?
Once you’re here, what to eat near Notre Dame Cathedral? Visitors can enjoy street food such as:

Saigon Coffee: Iced milk coffee, a specialty of the city named after Uncle Ho;
Street food: Crab soup, banh can, hu tieu, banh trang tron, bot chien,…

Crab soup – famous street food near the Notre Dame Cathedral

6. SUGGESTED PLACES TO VISIT NEAR SAIGON NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL
After visiting Notre Dame Cathedral, you can visit other famous places in the area such as:

Independence Palace;
Turtle Lake;
Vietnam History Museum;
Bitexco Financial Tower;
“Check-in in the clouds” at Landmark 81;
Nguyen Hue Walking Street;
Ben Thanh Market.

Having arrived at Notre Dame Cathedral, visitors can take the opportunity to visit Ben Thanh Market

Whether shopping, sightseeing or enjoying cuisine, the area around the church is worth exploring.
Notre Dame Cathedral is an attractive tourist destination in Ho Chi Minh City that visitors should visit. This place is not only a famous architectural work of art but also a historical witness of Saigon, having witnessed many fluctuations, changes and developments of this young city. Therefore, this place always attracts millions of domestic and foreign tourists every year.

Anvui hopes that the knowledge shared above will be useful to you. Don’t forget to visit Anvui Travel’s YouTube channel to see wonderful travel moments. Customers are looking for a professional, affordable tour operator. Don’t hesitate to contact Anvui Travel via info@anvuitravel.com or (Hotline): +84 912 683 908!

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