Notre Dame Cathedral & General Post Office
 The Notre Dame Cathedral & General Post Office |
The Reunification Palace sits at one end of the wide Le Duan Boulevard, which is lined with spacious parks on either side for two blocks in front of the Palace. On the other side of the park is Notre Dame Cathedral.
The cathedral was built by the French late in the 19th century. The twin towered neo-Romanesque facade faces a small square which still has a large statue of the Virgin Mary. You'll note that all the windows of the cathedral, including the rose window, are plain glass. The stained glass was a casualty of World War II and has never been replaced.
The beautiful colonial General Post Office facing the cathedral square was completed at about the same time as the cathedral. With its huge clock and cavernous interior, the post office has the air of an old-fashioned railway station. Note that the post office is one of many places where you'll be mobbed by people, including children, selling postcards and other tourist trinkets.