September 23 Park in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

September 23 Park is a long central green space stretching beside Phạm Ngũ Lão and Lê Lai in the Bến Thành area of Ho Chi Minh City. It sits between Bến Thành Market and the backpacker quarter around Bùi Viện, making it one of the easiest public parks for travelers to encounter without planning a separate trip. The park is free and currently listed as open around the clock. Its character is transitional in 2026, however: the underground Bến Thành metro hub already occupies part of the site, new passenger canopies have been added, and the city is studying a very large underground commercial and parking complex beneath the park. The green space remains public, but the area is increasingly also a transport interchange.

The park covers roughly nine hectares and historically developed on former railway land after the old Saigon railway station was removed. Today it is divided into several sections rather than functioning as one uninterrupted lawn. Trees, paved paths, small landscaped areas, bus facilities and metro infrastructure all share the corridor. That mixed use explains why some parts feel like a neighborhood park while others feel like a transport plaza.

Bến Thành station is the most important recent change. Metro Line 1 opened in December 2024, and the station sits beneath the eastern part of the park and nearby Quách Thị Trang Square. In September 2026, a new covered pedestrian connection through the park was already in use, guiding passengers between bus stops and metro entrances. The canopy stretches through part of the park and makes the space more functional in heat and rain.

The park remains a popular place for everyday city life. People sit under trees, exercise, meet friends, practice English with foreigners and rest between Bến Thành and the backpacker area. Recent 2026 visitor material still describes it as a green break from the surrounding traffic. Evenings bring more activity because nearby Phạm Ngũ Lão and Bùi Viện attract restaurants, bars, hostels and street life.

Current sources list the park as open twenty-four hours a day with no admission fee. There is no meaningful “last entry,” because this is an open urban park rather than a gated attraction. The best times are early morning for cooler walking and late afternoon or evening for people-watching. Midday can be hot, and some parts of the park offer better shade than others.

A major future project is now in public consultation. In August 2026, Ho Chi Minh City authorities were reviewing a proposal for a four-level underground commercial and parking complex beneath September 23 Park, directly connected with Bến Thành station. The proposal covers more than nine hectares and would keep the above-ground park public, with extensive green space retained. This is a planning proposal rather than a completed project, so visitors should not expect an underground mall yet.

That planning context matters because the park is likely to keep changing. Transport entrances, future metro lines, bus facilities and underground development all compete for space below or beside the greenery. Travelers should therefore think of September 23 Park as a living piece of city infrastructure rather than a preserved historic garden.

The eastern end connects directly with Bến Thành Market and Quách Thị Trang Square, while the western sections reach toward the backpacker neighborhood and Thai Binh Market area. This makes the park useful as a pedestrian connector. Visitors can use it to move between market sightseeing, the metro and Bùi Viện while avoiding some of the busiest sidewalks.

Accessibility is generally good on the main paved routes, especially around the newer metro infrastructure. Elevators and escalators serve the station, and the park itself is mostly flat. Construction, bus operations and temporary event installations can still create detours, so wheelchair users may prefer the newer station-side paths.

A normal park visit takes thirty minutes to an hour, but many travelers simply pass through it. The park becomes more interesting when treated as a place to observe how central Ho Chi Minh City is changing: mature trees and everyday social life sit above a major metro interchange and proposed underground commercial district.

The new transit canopy reinforces that dual identity. It is not ornamental park architecture; it exists to move people between buses and the metro while protecting them from sun and rain. For visitors, this means the park is becoming more useful as a transport space even while remaining somewhere to sit and rest.

September 23 Park is not the city’s most beautiful landscaped park, but it is one of its most revealing. It connects old Saigon tourist geography with the new metro era. Use it as a place to rest, orient yourself and move between Bến Thành and Phạm Ngũ Lão, while remembering that the transport and construction landscape is still evolving in 2026.

The park remains useful now.