Saigon Central Post Office

Finished around 1891, the post office is one of the best preserved pieces of the colonial city centre and still does the job it was built for. The front is ochre and cream with a clock and green shutters. Inside, an arched hall runs the length of the building under a curved roof carried on riveted iron ribs, with tiled floors, wooden benches and old telephone cabins along the sides. Two painted maps survive high on the end walls, one showing the telegraph lines of southern Vietnam, the other Saigon and its surroundings in the early 1890s. Counters at the far end still sell stamps and take parcels, and there is usually a queue.

What you actually see

• The vaulted hall - a long arched interior on riveted iron ribs, tiled and lined with benches.
• The 1890s wall maps - painted telegraph and city maps high on the end walls.
• The wooden phone cabins - varnished booths along the side aisles, long out of use.
• The facade and clock - ochre stucco, green shutters and a clock above the entrance arch.

When to go

December to April is the dry season in the south. Weekday mornings are calmest, since by mid-morning tour groups fill the aisle and the light through the end windows turns harsh. It keeps the ordinary working hours of a post office, longer than most sights, and half an hour covers it. Postcards and stamps can be sent from the counters.

Honest expectations

It is a functioning post office rather than a museum, so souvenir stalls now line most of the hall and the aisle is crowded with people posing. Anyone hoping for quiet architecture will find a busy shop floor instead. The cathedral opposite has been under a slow restoration for years, wrapped in scaffolding and fencing, which spoils the square outside.

Nearby

The cathedral square, Dong Khoi street and the old opera house are within a few blocks.