French mansion to open to the public soon

Visual JEP 2025.jpg — A poster promoting European Heritage Day. Photo: CONSULATE GENERAL OF FRANCE IN HCMC

Visitors will have the opportunity to admire a typical architectural work of the late 19th century, stroll under the shade of ancient trees and enjoy French cuisine. This year, the event is expected to welcome about 1,500 visitors.

The tour of the French Villa as part of the European Heritage Day is always a highly anticipated event for the public. Built in the late 19th century, the villa with its Indochinese architectural style is an iconic landmark of Ho Chi Minh City. Visitors will have a digital experience on the tour, discovering the history and anecdotes of the Villa. For the first time, audio commentary will be introduced to enrich the experience for visitors.

In addition, in response to the France-Vietnam Year of Innovation, the French Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City will also organize a miniature exhibition of French inventions in the garden. Each artifact is associated with stories of cooperation between France and Vietnam, from the fields of culture, science, health to transportation.

1,500 registrations will be opened on the Facebook page of the French Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City on September 11.

The French mansion was built by Navy engineers in 1872, at the same time as typical works of old Saigon such as: Norodom Palace (1868-1873, now Reunification Hall), Notre Dame Cathedral (1877-1880), City Post Office (1886-1891)...

In the reception area, now used for events at the French Consulate General, visitors can admire the harmonious arrangement of furniture from the Nguyen Dynasty in Hue. The antiques here represent the decorative and spiritual arts in Vietnam in the 19th and 20th centuries.

When mentioning the French Palace, we cannot ignore the garden with an area of over 1.5 hectares. The ancient trees here, some of which are as old as the Palace, are a hiding place for many animals such as weasels, squirrels, chameleons and some rare birds.

European Heritage Days was initiated by the French Ministry of Culture and took place for the first time in 1984. Within the framework of this initiative, the public has the opportunity to visit buildings that are normally not open to visitors because they are used for other purposes (administrative, diplomatic, economic, etc.).

MINH CHAU

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/dinh-thu-phap-sap-mo-cua-don-cong-chung-post812461.html