The boulevard stretches from Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa Street, right across from the Independence Palace, to Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm Street, right across from the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

[3] According to scholar Vuong Hong Sen, the boulevard was opened in 1872, following the completion of the Saigon Governor's Palace.

[4] Initially, the boulevard was quite short, stretching only from the palace to rue Catinat.

It was then extended in two stages: first as far as rue de Bangkok (present-day Mạc Đĩnh Chi Street) and then all the way to the Botanical and Zoological Gardens.

In 1986, it was renamed again to Lê Duẩn Boulevard to commemorate Vietnam Communist Party General Secretary Lê Duẩn, who passed away earlier that year.