The most unusual thing to do in Ho Chi Minh City is also one of the easiest: paint your own pottery at Ceramic4You in Thảo Điền and collect it, glazed and fired, a few days later. After that, it depends what you are into. You can learn to play padel in an afternoon, get a suit made, race go-karts up three floors of a shopping mall, or shoot clay pigeons at the Cu Chi Tunnels.
This is the list for when you have done the War Remnants Museum and the Independence Palace, or for when you live here and are bored. The first ten are Saigon Scene partners, so members get a discount, and we put partners first. The last four are not partners and are here because they are good. If you are visiting for the first time, start with our guide to the 26 best things to do in Ho Chi Minh City, which covers the landmarks with 2026 prices.
| Activity | Where | Good for | Member deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pottery painting | Thảo Điền | Dates, rainy days, souvenirs | 10% off |
| Padel | Thủ Đức | Groups, beginners | 10% off |
| Board games | Thảo Điền | Groups that cannot agree | 10% off |
| Made-to-measure clothes | Thảo Điền | Something to take home | – |
| A planned tattoo | Bùi Viện | People who have done their research | 10% off |
| Vietnamese lessons | District 1, Thảo Điền | Anyone staying a while | 10% off |
| Wine | Đề Thám, Thảo Điền | A quieter night | 10% to 20% off |
| Football at 3am | Bình Thạnh, Thảo Điền | Fans in the wrong time zone | 10% off |
| Gyms, yoga, pilates | Thảo Điền, An Phú | Staying fit on a long trip | 10% off |
| A self-portrait studio | District 7 | A photo that is not a selfie | 10% off |
| Cooking class | District 1, Xuân Hòa | Food lovers | – |
| Go-karts | Thảo Điền, Thủ Đức | Families, adrenaline | – |
| Silver jewellery workshop | Old District 3 | A souvenir you made | – |
| Clay pigeon shooting | Cu Chi | Something nobody else did | – |
9 of these 14 places give Scene Pass members up to 20% off, outside happy hours. Join by 30 Nov for 399,000₫ a year, kept for as long as you stay. Get Scene Pass
1. Paint pottery at Ceramic4You
4 Lê Văn Miến, Thảo Điền.
Pottery painting has quietly become one of the best weekend things to do in Saigon, and Ceramic4You is where we send people. You pick from more than 90 bisque shapes, mugs, plates, vases and bowls, then paint them with the glazes on the wall, and the studio fires the piece for you to collect a few days later. That timing matters if you are only here for a week, so go early in the trip. It works as a date, as a hungover Sunday, and as the one thing from your holiday you will still have on a shelf in five years.
2. Play padel at PadelHub
90 Song Hành, Thủ Đức.
Padel went from nothing to everywhere in Saigon in about two years. It is played in doubles on a small walled court, and it is much easier to pick up than tennis: most beginners have real rallies going within twenty minutes. PadelHub has the courts and will sort out rackets and balls, and it offers a free trial class to start.
3. Spend a night on board games at Sip N Play
17A Xuân Thủy, Thảo Điền.
Some nights nobody wants a club. Sip N Play is a board game café with a wall of games and the latest consoles, and four hours will vanish. It is the answer for a group that cannot agree on anything else, and for the afternoon the rain will not stop.
4. Get something made at Saang Dresses
15 Đỗ Quang, Thảo Điền.
Having clothes made is one of the real luxuries of being in Vietnam, and it costs a fraction of what it would at home. The trick is to avoid the shops that promise a suit in 24 hours. Saang Dresses is a slow-fashion boutique that designs and makes all of its clothing in its own workshop, which is the opposite of the tourist rush job. If you want fabric of your own, buy it at Tân Định Market first.
5. Get a tattoo you actually planned at Phoenix Studio
81 Bùi Viện.
Saigon’s tattoo scene is serious, and the standard at the top end is as high as anywhere in the region. Phoenix Studio Tattoo does custom designs and cover-ups, and it is the one to book properly rather than wander into after a night on Bùi Viện. Go and talk to them first, sober, then come back.
6. Learn some Vietnamese
Vietnamese has six tones in the north and five in the south, and the difference between them is the difference between ordering soup and saying something unrepeatable. Saigon Vietnamese also softens sounds the north keeps, which is why a textbook can leave you stranded down here. Even ten lessons changes how the city treats you. Vietnamese Language Studies teaches in the centre and offers a free trial lesson. V2 Vietnamese Tutoring in Thảo Điền teaches online and in person.
7. Drink wine somewhere serious
Wine carries heavy import duty in Vietnam, so it has never been the obvious choice here, which makes the places doing it properly worth finding. Terroir Wine Bar on Đề Thám pours around 20 wines by the glass from a list of more than 100 bottles, with a sommelier and Detroit-style pizza. In Thảo Điền, Wine Embassy and The Gate are a short walk apart.
8. Watch football at an unreasonable hour
European kick-offs land somewhere between 10pm and 5am here, which has created a specific and slightly deranged local institution: the 3am football bar. Rafters Sports Bar on Phạm Viết Chánh and Fox Football in Thảo Điền will have it on, and there will be people there. There are always people there. Our guide to the best sports bars in Ho Chi Minh City has the rest.
9. Keep up the training
The fitness scene here is excellent and cheap by any international standard, and most places sell day or trial passes so you can try before committing. In Thảo Điền, Yoga Pod does yoga, Birr Pilates does pilates, and Hustle Gym is a full gym. MOVE Vietnam is a boutique gym on Võ Trường Toản in An Phú. Our guides to gyms in Ho Chi Minh City and yoga and Pilates classes in Saigon cover the rest.
10. Take a proper photo of yourself at Fotopop
Floor 2, Block C, Panorama, 212 Trần Văn Trà, District 7.
Self-service photo studios are everywhere in Vietnam now: you book a slot, close the curtain and press the remote yourself, with no photographer hovering. Fotopop Studio does it well. Twenty minutes, and you leave with something better than the four thousand near-identical shots on your phone.
11. Take a Vietnamese cooking class
Cooking is culture you can taste, and both of these classes start with a trip to a local market to buy what you will cook. Saigon Cooking Class, at 80/1 Nguyễn Trãi in the old District 1, runs three-course classes with professional chefs, plus market tours and private sessions. Hoa Túc has two branches, at 74/7 Hai Bà Trưng in Sài Gòn Ward and 29 Ngô Thời Nhiệm in Xuân Hòa Ward, and adds a seasonal dessert to the menu. Both teach in English and book up ahead at weekends.
12. Race go-karts
Two options, both electric. Infinity Racing is on the fifth floor of Vincom Mega Mall Thảo Điền at 161 Võ Nguyên Giáp, open 10:00 to 22:00. Its 300-metre indoor circuit climbs through three levels of the building, which is as strange and as fun as it sounds, and it is air-conditioned, which in Saigon is half the appeal. Out east, City Park at The Global City in Thủ Đức has indoor and outdoor tracks and makes a good afternoon with the rest of the development, which has events most weekends. Check prices on the day.
13. Make a silver ring at Ddreamer
26/4 Street No. 3, Đô Thành residential area, old District 3.
The best souvenir is the one you make yourself. Ddreamer, a Saigon silver jewellery brand since 2014, runs beginner workshops where you turn raw 925 silver into a ring, pendant, earrings or a bangle, shaping, heating, soldering and polishing it yourself with a jeweller guiding you. All the tools and silver are included. It is a good couples’ afternoon, and you leave wearing the result.
14. Shoot clay pigeons at the Cu Chi Tunnels
Bến Dược, Cu Chi Tunnels historical site, An Nhơn Tây commune. Daily, 09:00 to 17:00.
Yes, you can shoot clay pigeons near Saigon. Saigon Clay Shooting, which runs under the city’s shooting federation, opened a range inside the Bến Dược tunnels site in April 2026, so you can fire a shotgun at flying targets with certified staff and then go underground. Expect age and height minimums, last listed as 14 years and 150 cm. Pair it with a visit to the tunnels themselves, which are covered in our things to do in Ho Chi Minh City guide, with the 2026 ticket prices.
How we picked
We live in Saigon, and these are the things we suggest when friends have done the landmarks. The first ten are Saigon Scene partners and are marked with their member offer: members get 10% off at most of them and 20% off at Terroir. Partners come first on our lists, and we say so. The last four have no commercial relationship with us. We checked in October 2026 that every venue here is still trading. Opening hours and prices change often, so check with the venue before you go.
Unusual things to do in Ho Chi Minh City: your questions answered
What is something unusual to do in Ho Chi Minh City?
Paint your own pottery at Ceramic4You in Thảo Điền, race go-karts up three floors of Vincom Mega Mall, make a silver ring at Ddreamer, or shoot clay pigeons at the Cu Chi Tunnels. For something that only works here, watch a European football match at 3am in a full bar.
What can you do in Saigon when it rains?
Pottery painting, a cooking class, board games at Sip N Play, the indoor go-kart track at Vincom Mega Mall Thảo Điền, or a jewellery workshop. All of them are indoors and most take two or three hours.
Can you get clothes tailored in Saigon?
Yes, and for much less than at home. Allow several days and at least one fitting for anything that matters, and avoid shops promising a suit in 24 hours. Buy fabric at Tân Định Market if you want to choose it yourself.
Do Saigon Scene members get discounts on these activities?
Yes, at the partners marked on this page: 10% off at most of them and 20% off at Terroir Wine Bar. Show your membership in the Saigon Scene app when you pay.
