Nguyen Hue Street was originally as “Kinh Lon” canal that ran from Saigon River to Gia Dinh Citadel, which was built by Nguyen Anh in 1790. People also called it “Cho Vai” canal because Chinese vendors selling fabric along the canal.

In 1861, it was renamed Charner canal, along both canal of which are two parallel roads named Rigault de Genouilly and Charner.

In 1887, Charner canal was completely filled in and changed its name to Charner Boulevard. By 1956, Charner Boulevard was officially renamed Nguyen Hue Boulevard and was considered to be the most beautiful street of the city.

Since 1960, Nguyen Hue Boulevard is commonly a marketplace for trading flowers during the end of the Lunar Years. During these years, the street is a common attraction for citizens to sightseeing and enjoy the Tet atmosphere. Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street was officially inaugurated on April 30, 2015, having a total length of 670m and a width of 64m with the entire area being carved in granite, attracting thousands of visitors every day.

Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street is open 24/7 and vehicles is permitted on both sides of the road. However, Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street will prevent vehicles from moving on Saturday and Sunday evenings in order to reserve private area for pedestrians. Besides that, the city’s exhibitions, street festivals, flower streets, cultural exhibitions, sporting events, and art performances are all held on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street. Some interesting places to visit around Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street: Saigon Opera House, Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon, Saigon Central Post Office, Ben Thanh Market, Bui Vien Street,…especially is Saigon-style street food.

Being one of Saigon’s oldest thoroughfares, Nguyen Hue Boulevard had undergone several transformations and it is currently a famous pedestrian street in the city.