571,528 Passengers over 7 Tet Peak Days in 2026 Showed Real Demand
During the seven peak days of the 2026 Lunar New Year period, from the 29th day of the final lunar month through the sixth day of Tet, Metro Line 1 carried 571,528 passengers — 42% above plan. This does not mean the Metro has replaced other forms of transport, but it does show that the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien line is being used at meaningful scale during periods of high travel demand.
Total ridership from the 29th day of the final lunar month through the sixth day of Tet.
Actual ridership exceeded the operator’s transport plan for the peak holiday period.
For journeys along the line, travellers gain an option that is not entirely dependent on road traffic.
Travellers still need to walk or use another mode at the beginning and end of many journeys. Its real value is providing a fixed corridor between areas close to stations — especially useful when both work and leisure plans are concentrated along the same route.
It Is Not Just Adding a Day Off to a Business Trip — It Is Reducing Friction between Two Different Rhythms
Bleisure — the combination of business and leisure — is often described simply as extending a work trip for sightseeing. In practice, it works best when the hotel, meetings and places you want to explore connect without consuming too much time in transit.
A morning may be reserved for meetings, while late afternoon shifts into a museum visit, café, dinner or a walk through the city. The Metro becomes useful when your stay is close to stations that serve both sides of the journey.
Instead of repeatedly changing transport between the centre and eastern districts, part of the itinerary can follow the same Metro Line 1 corridor.
When the station is close to both your stay and your destination, dinner or a few hours exploring the city becomes much easier to fit in.
Instead of choosing only by district, travellers can consider which station they need to be near and where most of the work schedule takes place.
From Ben Thanh to Thao Dien, Each Station Opens onto a Different Urban Experience
Metro Line 1 does not replace walking or last-mile transport, but it makes several clusters of destinations easier to understand along one corridor.
Convenient for Ben Thanh Market, the Museum of Fine Arts area and central streets; from here, travellers can continue on foot or connect to Nguyen Hue, Bach Dang and nearby commercial districts.
Useful for Dong Khoi, the Saigon Opera House, Nguyen Hue, central shopping centres and the city’s historic architectural core.
Provides access to the riverside and Ba Son corridor, useful for itineraries between the historic centre and newer riverfront development.
A practical transition point between the centre and eastern Ho Chi Minh City, with closer access to the Landmark 81 – Vinhomes Central Park area than the central stations.
Well suited to itineraries around Thao Dien: cafés, international dining, shopping, riverside living and the city’s expatriate community.
The final stations support access to Vietnam National University and Suoi Tien Theme Park; travellers should check which station is most suitable for their exact destination.
Stay Central When Both Business and Free Time Revolve around District 1
For travellers whose meetings, partner offices and dinner plans are concentrated in the centre, Ben Thanh is the most intuitive base. The bleisure value comes from the fact that many after-work activities are walkable, while the Metro opens an additional route toward the eastern side of the city.
CityHouse MARK El Pino Realm
Directly opposite the Museum of Fine Arts and close to Ben Thanh Market and Ben Thanh Metro Station — a good fit for travellers who want most of their urban experience concentrated around where they stay.
This property works especially well for centre-focused bleisure trips: meetings in the morning, followed later by the Museum of Fine Arts, Ben Thanh Market, Nguyen Hue or nearby dining areas without having to build a complicated itinerary.
Explore El Pino Realm
Stay East When You Want a Slower Rhythm after Work
Thao Dien supports a different kind of bleisure trip. Instead of placing all leisure time in the city centre, travellers can live within an area that already has its own cafés, restaurants, shopping and international community, using the Metro when they need to head into the centre.
Two Different Stays for Two Different Rhythms
MARK Atelier Thao Dien leans toward a more premium, private experience; NEST Metro Thao Dien focuses more on practical long-stay convenience near the station.
CityHouse MARK Atelier Thao Dien at 45 Nguyen Duy Hieu suits specialists and international travellers who value a quieter environment, French Neoclassical architecture with modern Indochine influences, and the ability to remain connected to the Metro within Thao Dien.
Explore Atelier Thao DienCityHouse NEST Metro Thao Dien is positioned by CityHouse close to Thao Dien Station and Vincom Mega Mall, making it a more practical base for longer business stays, families or travellers who expect to use the Metro frequently.
Explore NEST Metro Thao DienYou value architecture, privacy and a quieter pace, and you want most of the leisure side of the trip to happen within Thao Dien itself.
You expect to use the Metro often, have a repeated multi-day work schedule or want to stay close to the everyday conveniences of Thao Dien.
The Metro Is Most Useful When Work and Leisure Sit along the Same Corridor
Choose a base close to most meetings or offices instead of trying to stay equally close to every possible destination.
From Ben Thanh to Thao Dien, or the other way around, travellers can move from a business district into a dining or leisure area along the same Metro corridor.
Good bleisure does not have to mean a packed schedule. Sometimes its greatest value is simply saving enough travel time for the evening to feel like real downtime.
Check the real walking distance to the station, the location of your meetings, how many transfers you will need and what you want to do after work. A property slightly farther from a station but in the right neighbourhood may work better than one beside a station that does not fit the rest of your itinerary.
Quick Information about Metro, Bleisure and CityHouse Stays
Bleisure combines business and leisure within the same trip — for example, travelling to Ho Chi Minh City for work while using evenings or an extra day to explore the city.
The Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien line connects the central city with the eastern corridor, including stations such as Opera House, Ba Son, Tan Cang, Thao Dien and the Suoi Tien area.
It refers to ridership during the seven peak days of the 2026 Lunar New Year period, from the 29th day of the final lunar month through the sixth day of Tet. It is not an average weekly ridership figure.
CityHouse MARK El Pino Realm is located within the Ben Thanh – Museum of Fine Arts cluster and is presented by CityHouse as being close to Ben Thanh Metro Station.
CityHouse MARK Atelier Thao Dien suits travellers looking for a more premium and design-led experience, while CityHouse NEST Metro Thao Dien is better suited to guests prioritising station access and practical longer stays.
No. The Metro is most useful when both origin and destination are close to the line. For meetings farther from stations, travellers will still need to combine walking, taxis, ride-hailing or other forms of transport.
Bleisure Begins with Choosing the Right Base — Not Trying to Do Everything
Ben Thanh offers a central, walkable urban rhythm. Thao Dien offers a quieter international lifestyle. Metro Line 1 brings the two sides of the city closer together — while your choice of stay determines where you want each day to begin and end.
Explore CityHouse Stays near the Metro
