What's sold where at Ben Thanh Market: stall areas, stall numbers and how to find your aisle
Ben Thanh Market is one building divided into four numbered trading areas — the market's operator, the Ben Thanh Market Management Board, calls them Khu vực I to IV — and the stalls themselves carry numbers, so you can walk straight to the part of the hall that sells what you came for instead of circling the whole market. The four areas split by odd and even numbers: Area I (odd, stalls 1–741) and Area III (odd, stalls 743–1,145) hold the odd-numbered stalls, while Area II (even, stalls 2–794) and Area IV (even, stalls 796–1,392) hold the even-numbered ones. The operator counts nearly 1,400 trading households in the building today, grouped mainly into fabrics, clothing, footwear, bags, souvenirs, confectionery and tea–coffee. This page turns that numbering scheme into plain directions: go to Ô 3A for coffee and dried goods, Area I for fabric and tailoring, Area IV for ceramics and housewares.
How the market is laid out
The operator divides the covered hall into four areas (Vietnamese Khu vực), and each area into smaller blocks it calls Ô — the numbered sub-areas the stall numbers sit inside. Two areas run on odd stall numbers and two on even, so a stall's number alone tells you which half of the building you are standing in:
- Area I — odd numbers, stalls 1 to 741
- Area II — even numbers, stalls 2 to 794
- Area III — odd numbers, stalls 743 to 1,145
- Area IV — even numbers, stalls 796 to 1,392
The market's published rules require every stall holder to display a stall-number board in the Management Board's standard format, which is why the numbers above the stalls are the market's own official numbering and not just a shop's own sign. The Board's current count of traders is nearly 1,400 business households (hộ kinh doanh): a household is a trading family and its pitch, which is not exactly the same thing as a numbered stall, and that is why the household count and the top stall number, 1,392, do not line up precisely. Treat both as the operator's own figures.
One thing to keep clear: this is the building plan, not the guide to the four gates. Which gate to walk to — South (Cửa Nam, the clock-tower side), North (Cửa Bắc, on Lê Thánh Tôn), East (Cửa Đông) or West (Cửa Tây) — is a separate topic, covered on our about page and in the map and location guide. This page is about where to walk once you are inside.
Area I and Area II — the fabric and clothing half
Areas I and II hold the market's textile and clothing trade, together with children's goods, leather, shoes and bags. If you came for tailors' fabric, áo dài cloth or a made-to-measure garment, this is the half to head for.
Area I — odd stall numbers, 1 to 741
| Ô | Stall numbers | What is sold |
|---|---|---|
| Ô 1A | 1–627 | Fabrics and cloth, clothing, children's goods, bags, embroidered pictures, bedding (mosquito nets, blankets, sheets), sewing notions and thread |
| Ô 1B | 629–665 | Leather goods, bags, raincoats, tablecloths |
| Ô 1C | 667–741 | Cosmetics, jewellery |
Area II — even stall numbers, 2 to 794
| Ô | Stall numbers | What is sold |
|---|---|---|
| Ô 2A | 2–520 | Fabrics and cloth, clothing, children's goods, embroidered pictures, bedding and sheets |
| Ô 2B | 522–794 | Footwear, beaded bags, general goods (sundries) |
Go here for: tailoring and dress fabric, áo dài cloth, children's clothing, shoes and bags. The bulk of Area I (Ô 1A) is fabric and ready-made clothing; if you want a garment cut to measure, start there and expect to be quoted per metre of cloth. For what these things usually cost and how to bargain, see the price guide and our shopping guide.
Area III — coffee, dried goods, worship goods and fresh food
Area III is the half most visitors are really looking for when they ask where the coffee and dried goods are. Its first block, Ô 3A, is the market's food-technology aisle — the tea, coffee, confectionery and spice trade — and the same area carries the worship-goods aisle and the fresh-food and vegetable blocks.
Area III — odd stall numbers, 743 to 1,145
| Ô | What is sold |
|---|---|
| Ô 3A | Food technology: confectionery, tea and coffee, sugar, butter, milk, beans, processed seafood, spices, fish sauce |
| Ô 3B | Jewellery (plated goods) and hats; worship goods (bronze ware, incense lamps, joss paper); kitchenware (packaging, cake moulds); chemicals |
| Ô 3C | Fruit and vegetables |
| Ô 3D | Staple foods |
| Ô 3E | Fresh food: seafood, livestock, poultry |
| Ô 3F | Vegetables |
Go here for: ground and whole-bean Vietnamese coffee, loose tea, sweets, dried and processed seafood, spices and fish sauce (all in Ô 3A), and for anything to do with ancestor worship — the bronze ware, incense and joss paper in Ô 3B. The fresh-food blocks (Ô 3C–3F) are the local produce side of the market, busiest in the early morning. For dishes and where to eat, see the food and dining guide.
Area IV — handicrafts, ceramics, housewares and the eating area
Area IV covers the market's craft and household-goods trade — lacquer and handicrafts, porcelain, glass and plastic housewares — and it also holds the eating area (Ô 4C, ẩm thực) and the processed-food stalls where locals buy giò and chả to take home.
Area IV — even stall numbers, 796 to 1,392
| Ô | What is sold |
|---|---|
| Ô 4A | Handicrafts, home appliances, porcelain and glassware |
| Ô 4B | Handicrafts, rattan and bamboo, plastic household goods |
| Ô 4C | Food / eating area (ẩm thực) |
| Ô 4D | Processed foods: giò, chả, cold cuts, canned goods |
| Ô 4E | Fresh food |
| Ô 4F | Vegetables and fresh food |
Go here for: ceramics and tableware, rattan and bamboo baskets, plastic housewares and general souvenirs (Ô 4A and Ô 4B), and for the sit-down eating area (Ô 4C). The processed-food stalls in Ô 4D are where you buy vacuum-packed giò and chả. If you are shopping for a gift to carry home, the housewares and handicraft blocks here overlap heavily with what is sold in the shopping guide.
The Lê Thánh Tôn side
Along the street frontage on Lê Thánh Tôn — the North Gate (Cửa Bắc) side of the building — the market sells fruit, fresh flowers and artificial flowers. This is the market's flower-and-produce frontage rather than a numbered indoor block, so if you are looking for a bouquet or a crate of fruit to take away, walk the Lê Thánh Tôn side first. It is also the most colourful exterior of the market — best photographed in the morning, when the stalls are being set out.
Using the numbers when you are inside
Once you are standing in the hall, the numbering does the navigating for you:
- Read the number on the board above the stall. Every stall is required to display its number in the Management Board's standard format, so the board is the market's own numbering, not the shop's.
- Odd or even tells you the half. Odd numbers (1–741, 743–1,145) sit in Areas I and III; even numbers (2–794, 796–1,392) sit in Areas II and IV.
- Ask for the "Ô". Inside the market the sub-area is called an Ô (say it "oh"). Asking a stall holder "which Ô is that?" is faster than describing the product.
- Note the number if you plan to come back. A stall number is the market's own address for a pitch — useful if you want to return, send someone else, or raise a problem later.
Two practical facts for planning the walk. The market's rulebook sets opening hours of 07:00–22:00, with fresh-food and eating stalls allowed to open from 04:00 (Nội quy chợ, Điều 1) — so the produce and food areas in Areas III and IV come alive well before the rest of the building. And entry is free: visitors pay no entry fee, only for what they buy. Opening times are covered in full on our opening hours page, and how to reach the market on the getting here page.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the food court at Ben Thanh Market?
The sit-down eating area is Ô 4C in Area IV, the block the operator lists as ẩm thực (eating). Fresh-food and dining stalls also run through Area III (Ô 3C–3F) and Area IV (Ô 4D–4F). Dishes, seating and prices are on our food and dining guide.
Where do I buy coffee and dried goods?
Head for Ô 3A in Area III (odd stall numbers, 743–1,145). It is the operator's food-technology block: tea and coffee, confectionery, sugar, milk, beans, processed seafood, spices and fish sauce. It is the single aisle to aim for if you want Vietnamese coffee or dried goods to take home.
Which side of the market sells clothes?
Areas I and II — the odd-numbered Area I (1–741) and even-numbered Area II (2–794). Between them they carry fabric, ready-made clothing, children's goods, footwear and bags, with cosmetics and jewellery in Ô 1C. Tailoring and áo dài cloth sit in Area I's Ô 1A.
How many stalls does Ben Thanh Market have?
The market operator, the Ben Thanh Market Management Board, puts the number at nearly 1,400 trading households (hộ kinh doanh) across its four areas; the indoor stall numbers run to 1,392 in Area IV. A "household" is a trading family and its pitch rather than a precise stall count, so the two figures are close but not identical. Both are the operator's own published numbers.
Related guides
- What to buy at Ben Thanh Market — what each product category is and what it sells for.
- Price guide — likely prices and how to bargain before you buy.
- Food and dining guide — the dishes and the eating area.
- Map and location — where the market sits and how to place it on the map.
- Getting here — metro, taxi and walking directions.
- Opening hours — the daily schedule and best times to visit.
- Other markets in Saigon — alternatives to Ben Thanh.
- The night market — the evening stalls around the building.
The market's own official pages are the primary source for this directory: the operator's product-group and zoning page (ngành hàng) and benthanhmarket.vn.