Pink Church in Ho Chi Minh – A Beautiful Pink-Colored Attraction

While Notre-Dame Cathedral in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City is the undisputed representative cathedral of Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam, considering that it has been under maintenance for several years, this Pink Church can be called the current representative cathedral of Ho Chi Minh City.

Especially, the fact that the exterior of the church is “pink” alone catches the eye of passersby, and even Vietnamese people actually call this church “nhà thờ màu hồng,” which means Pink Church, following the color of the church.¹

The unique color has drawn attention to this church in various media, and in the American luxury travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler, the article “The Most Beautiful Pink Places to Visit Around the World” featured this Tan Dinh Church as a representative.

The 153-year-old Pink Church

Judging by the color alone, one might think it was built recently, but surprisingly, it is an old Catholic church completed in 1876, and the pointed towers, large and splendid stained glass, and high ceilings inside reflect the traditional European Neo-Gothic architectural style.

As it is over 150 years old, the color of this church was not originally pink, but during the renovation in 1957, it was painted in this pink color.

In Vietnam, there are other churches painted pink to attract public attention, such as the representative church of Da Nang, and there is even a church painted purple.

This church has a pink interior and exterior, making it one of the few good places to take pretty pictures in Ho Chi Minh City.

Address and How to Visit Ho Chi Minh Pink Church

Place Name	Ho Chi Minh Pink Church
Place Name	Tân Định Church
Address	số 289 đường Hai Bà Trưng, Phường 8, Quận 3, TP.HCM
Opening Hours	08:00 ~ 11:00, 14:00 ~ 16:30
Mass Times	Weekdays: 05:00, 06:15, 17:30, 19:00 Sundays: 05:00, 06:15, 07:30, 09:00, 16:00, 17:30, 19:00
Closed	None
Admission	Free

This church is beautiful whether visited during the day or at night, but I personally recommend visiting during the day.

Hai Ba Trung Street, where this pink church is located, is one of the chronic congestion sections in Ho Chi Minh City and traffic congestion is extremely severe.

The church’s site is not very large, but there are a lot of visitors. Especially between 5-7pm during rush hour, it’s better not to think about going at all.

Travel time and cost when using Grab

When using Grab, search for Tan Dinh Church as the destination.

• From Dong Khoi Street: 1.6km, about 5 minutes, 40,000 VND
• From Bui Vien Backpacker Street: 3.6km, about 10 minutes, 60,000 VND

Mass is conducted in Vietnamese at the Pink Church, and it gets extremely crowded with locals during mass times.

What are good places to visit along with the Pink Church?

This Tan Dinh Church is not far from the city center, but it is isolated in a place that doesn’t really need to be visited when traveling to Ho Chi Minh City.

Also, the area around this church is a place to pass by but there isn’t really anything to do.

Still, for those who want to see the Pink Church, I’ll introduce places that are relatively good to visit together. Below is the travel route, and all destinations are within a 5-10 minute walk.

Cong Cafe

There are about 20 Cong Cafe branches in Ho Chi Minh City, and there is one right across from the Pink Church.

It’s not very large in scale and there’s no particular reason to visit this branch, but if you haven’t been to Cong Cafe yet, it’s worth a visit while you’re here.

Tan Dinh Market

If you go a little north from Cong Cafe, there is a typical local Vietnamese market called Tan Dinh Market.

The most famous market in Ho Chi Minh City is Ben Thanh Market, but Ben Thanh Market has long been more of a tourist attraction and a kind of huge “souvenir shop” visited by foreigners rather than a “market”.

In that sense, this Tan Dinh Market is a truly local market. There are hardly any foreigners visiting here. On the other hand, because it is a local market, prices are cheaper than Ben Thanh Market.

What they sell is almost the same as other markets in Vietnam, mainly groceries, clothes, miscellaneous goods, food, fruits, fabrics, etc.

Pharmacy Street

If you plan to buy bear Viagra or Adagrin in Ho Chi Minh City, you can purchase it around here.

In a previous post, I explained that if you need medicine late at night in Ho Chi Minh City, you can visit this pharmacy street. There are literally dozens of pharmacies lined up densely on this Hai Ba Trung Street.

You don’t necessarily have to visit here to buy medicine. It is also sold at drugstores in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. However, if you want to take care of everything at once, it’s good to stop by and purchase here.