(VOVWORLD) - The Ho Chi Minh City metro line has been named one of the 12 best places to visit in Asia as part of TIME magazine’s list of the world’s greatest places of 2025.
 Ho Chi Minh metro line (photo: VOV) |
The first-ever metro system in Vietnam’s most populous city officially opened in December 2024. TIME editors highlighted that the introduction of mass rapid transit is a major milestone for a metropolis long known for its motorbike-congested streets.
Spanning 12.2 miles, the metro line runs from the historic Ben Thanh Market in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City to Thu Duc, a sub-city in the northeast, with a total of 14 stations. According to TIME, the metro system alleviates traffic congestion and reduces pollution in Vietnam’s commercial hub, where the population has nearly doubled over the past two decades. The magazine also noted that travelers can now avoid the city’s dense motorbike traffic and gridlocked roads to reach key attractions such as the French colonial-era Saigon Opera House, Nguyen Hue pedestrian boulevard, and the vibrant nightlife district of Bui Vien.
Other destinations on TIME’s list of the 12 best places to visit in Asia in 2025 include the Zebun Nessa Mosque in Bangladesh, the Nintendo Museum Uji in Japan, the Beijing Library in China, the Eagle Hunter Cultural Center in Mongolia, and the Wangduechhoeling Palace Museum in Bhutan.