Ho Chi Minh City Events - November 2026

8 dated events in Ho Chi Minh City in November 2026, with the dates, the venues, what each one costs and the sources behind every line.

What is on in Ho Chi Minh City in November 2026

November 2026 is a fortnight of free outdoor spectacle bracketed by two ticketed evenings. The city's Culture Day programme runs from 18 to 24 November and stacks four things into one week within walking distance of each other — a street festival, two exhibitions and the fireworks — which is why the month reads as crowded even though only two rows cost money.

Vibrant HCMC · Shopping Season 2026

Wed 11 – Sun 15 November 2026
Lam Sơn Park, District 1, plus Diamond Plaza, Nowzone, Union Square (B2) and Chi Lăng Park

The city's own year-end retail push: 100+ brands and about 97 promotion packages worth more than 250 billion VND, with the launch evening on 11 November.

The programme opens at 19:00 on Wednesday 11 November at Lam Sơn Park, next to the Opera House, and the week then runs at four satellite sites across the centre: Diamond Plaza, Nowzone, Union Square (level B2) and Chi Lăng Park in front of Vincom Đồng Khởi.

Every listing for the week on the city's own events portal carries the words "Free entry". The city press puts the offer at more than 100 brands and roughly 97 promotion packages worth over 250 billion VND.

Sources: city events portal · Dân trí, 6 Nov 2026 · Kế hoạch 591/KH-UBND

QVTHXV — “15 Years of Đường Về” live concert

Saturday 14 November 2026, 20:00–23:00
Capital Theatre, 212 Lý Chính Thắng, Nhiêu Lộc, District 3

Quái Vật Tí Hon play their 2011 album Đường Về in full, all twelve tracks, plus new material, on the fifteenth anniversary.

One night only, and the only ticketed concert in this month's list: a cult band playing a whole album back to the audience that grew up with it, rather than a touring act passing through.

Tickets are sold through Ticketbox. Four tiers: Tí Hon 1/2 at 1,200,000 VND (both listed sold out on 8 November 2026), Quái Vật 1/2 at 2,000,000 VND, Cửa Hang at 4,000,000 VND and Hang QVTH at 8,000,000 VND.

Sources: Ticketbox seller page · districtm.vn

Ngày hội Đại đoàn kết — “Sắc màu văn hóa Việt”

Wed 18 – Tue 24 November 2026, all day; opening ceremony 19:00 Sunday 22 November
Nguyễn Huệ Walking Street, Sài Gòn ward, District 1

The city-level Great Unity festival on the street it was built for: folk performance, sport demonstrations and heritage craft stalls, free and open-air.

A week-long street festival rather than a ticketed show: the walking street itself is the stage, and the opening ceremony at 19:00 on Sunday 22 November is the one moment worth timing a visit for.

No ticket, no gate, no queue — you walk into it on the way to the river.

Sources: Báo Pháp luật & Đời sống (city plan) · VnExpress, Nov 2026 · VietnamPlus (VNA)

HCMC International Photography Festival

Thu 19 – Tue 24 November 2026
Lê Văn Tám Park (District 1), Book Street (Nguyễn Văn Bình), Đồng Khởi Street, plus the City Photography Association and the Union of Literature & Arts Associations

Outdoor print exhibitions across three central locations, with workshops and contests alongside them — the part of the Culture Day programme you can see in an afternoon on foot.

The photographs are hung outdoors in Lê Văn Tám Park and along Book Street and Đồng Khởi, so this is a walk rather than an appointment. Two further venues — the City Photography Association and the Union of Literature and Arts Associations — carry the indoor part.

It overlaps the Great Unity festival on Nguyễn Huệ and the fine-art exhibition at the Fine Arts Museum, which means one afternoon in District 1 covers all three.

Sources: vietnam.vn (Dept of Culture & Sports announcement, 5 Nov 2026) · VnExpress (venues)

Art exhibition “TP.HCM – Văn hóa sáng tạo, kiến tạo tương lai”

Fri 20 – Tue 24 November 2026
The Fine Arts Museum, District 1, and the outdoor space of Lam Sơn Park

The curated painting and sculpture show of the same Culture Day cluster — indoor, and a five-minute walk from the photography park.

Large-scale installations fill the museum and spill into Lam Sơn Park. Keep it as the second exhibition of the week only because the medium and the venue differ from the photography festival: museum painting against outdoor prints, a walk apart.

Sources: vietnam.vn (Dept of Culture & Sports announcement) · Tuổi Trẻ (names the exhibition in the city programme)

Vietnam Culture Day — 3D mapping and fireworks

Mapping 21 – 24 November 2026 (evenings); Tuesday 24 November: arts programme from 20:00, fireworks at 21:00
86 Lê Thánh Tôn (People's Committee HQ) and the Rex Hotel; fireworks at Nguyễn Huệ Walking Street, Công viên Bạch Đằng (Thủ Dầu Một ward) and Quảng trường Tháp Tam Thắng (Vũng Tàu ward)

Twenty minutes of projection mapping on a colonial façade followed by a fifteen-minute high-altitude display — the biggest free spectacle of the month.

The mapping runs on the façade of the People's Committee headquarters at 86 Lê Thánh Tôn and on the Rex Hotel across the street, on the evenings of 21 to 24 November. On the 24th the arts programme starts at 20:00 and the fireworks go up at 21:00, high-altitude, for fifteen minutes.

Three fireworks sites this year: Nguyễn Huệ Walking Street in Sài Gòn ward, Công viên Bạch Đằng in Thủ Dầu Một ward, and Quảng trường Tháp Tam Thắng in Vũng Tàu ward. The two out-of-centre sites are 25 to 60 minutes away — the Nguyễn Huệ one is the one you can walk to.

The 24th is a new one-day public holiday this year: Văn bản 10065/VPCP-KGVX of 2 October 2026 grants civil servants the day off, so expect a crowd and plan to arrive on foot.

Sources: VnExpress (21:00, three corrected sites, mapping window) · Báo Pháp luật & Đời sống (20:00 arts programme)

HOZO 2026 kick-off night

Monday 23 November 2026, 20:00
Saigon Riverside Park (Công viên bờ sông Sài Gòn), An Khánh ward

The city's flagship international music festival opens its 2026 edition on the riverfront, free.

This is the kick-off night only. The main HOZO nights have not been announced, so treat this as the one dated HOZO evening in the month rather than the festival itself.

The riverside park is a 15 to 20 minute ride from District 1 — the trade-off for a bigger site than anything in the centre.

Sources: Báo Pháp luật & Đời sống (20:00, 23/11, Saigon Riverside Park) · vietnam.vn (Dept of Culture announcement)

HBSO — “Rare Masterpieces by Great Romantic Composers”

Sunday 22 November 2026, 20:00
Saigon Opera House (Nhà hát Thành phố), 7 Công trường Lam Sơn, District 1

Van Anrooy's Piet Hein Rhapsody in its Vietnam premiere, Weber's Clarinet Concerto No. 2 and Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2, under Leon Bosch.

Clarinet soloist Hoàng Ngọc Anh Quân, conductor Leon Bosch, and the resident orchestra in its own 1900 theatre — which is also the only way to sit inside that building rather than photograph it from the square.

The box office is in the theatre basement at 7 Công trường Lam Sơn, District 1; the number is 028 3823 7295.

Sources: HBSO programme page (organiser) · evabiz.vn (same date, venue, soloist and conductor)

Before you go

Everything except the concert and the orchestra is outdoors and free, so the month does not depend on booking ahead: turn up, and the evenings are the best hours of the day. The 24th is a public holiday this year, which means crowds at Nguyễn Huệ and heavy traffic around the centre — walk or take a Grab bike rather than drive. Two things need a ride rather than a walk: the HOZO kick-off in An Khánh ward, and the two out-of-centre fireworks sites on the 24th — budget 25 to 60 minutes each way.

More Ho Chi Minh City events

All 2026 Ho Chi Minh City events · December 2026 · 2027 calendar

Download the November 2026 iCal feed (.ics) to put these on your phone.

What has not been announced

HOZO's main festival nights are not published — only the 23 November kick-off is dated. The New Year's Eve programme for 31 December has not been announced either. Neither is listed as an event here, because neither has a date you could plan around.