The Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum is a bit of a mixed bag. If you come hoping to see rooms of beautiful masterpieces you'll be sorely disappointed. This museum has a VERY small collection, and a fair bit of it is rather odd. There are some gems, however - it's interesting to see some of the violent and patriotic war-era paintings.

What makes this Gallery worth a visit, in my opinion, is not the artwork. It's worth it to see how much it differs from a gallery at home, and how much the arts can suffer during difficult times in history. It's housed in a beautiful old French Colonial building, which has unfortunately been allowed to deteriorate a lot inside. The paintings are hung in no particular order and the labelling is inconsistent and haphazard. Some rooms have no paintings at all.

While you are here, also check out the art shops underneath the main entrance. There is some really fantastic work by contemporary artists - much better than the art inside the gallery!