Where Graham Greene Wrote The Quiet American

On the corner of upscale Dong Khoi Street in Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, is the French colonial era icon the Hotel Continental, built in 1880.

Graham Greene called it home while writing part of The Quiet American, which is based on his experiences as a war correspondent while living in Saigon. He favored room 214. The Continental is featured prominently in a film adaptation of the novel.

The quintessential “if these walls could talk” locale, during the Vietnam War the hotel’s bar was a popular watering hall for journalists, soldiers, diplomats and spies. Today state-owned Saigon Tourist operates it. Outside vendors sell bootleg copies of the novel.