Why go
Hanoi is quieter and more layered than Ho Chi Minh City: French villas, colonial railway lines running between houses, and an Old Quarter where each street once sold one trade and several still do.
Five things to do
- 01
Phở for breakfast
Standing, before 8am, at a street kitchen.
- 02
Hoàn Kiếm at dawn
Tai chi around the lake.
- 03
Temple of Literature
Vietnam's first university, founded 1070.
- 04
Bún chả in a plastic chair
Grilled pork, herbs, dipping broth.
- 05
Ceramic mosaic river wall
Four kilometres of it, walkable.
Neighbourhoods
Old Quarter
Thirty-six guild streets, still specialised.
French Quarter
Opera house, boulevards, the old prison.
Tây Hồ
West Lake, temples and expat cafés.
Long Biên
An Eiffel-era bridge and a riverside market at 3am.
Getting around
Buy the transport card on arrival — every city on this list has one, and it is cheaper than single fares within about four journeys. Walking covers more than the map suggests: most of the districts above are within thirty minutes of each other on foot.
Taxis and ride apps are worth it late at night and when you are carrying luggage. Everything else is faster on the metro, the tram or the ferry, in that order.
Where to eat
The rule that holds in Hanoi is the rule that holds everywhere: eat at the busy place, at the hour the locals eat, and order the thing the kitchen makes most of. Reserve for dinner in the districts above; lunch rarely needs it.
Two days here
- Morning: Phở for breakfast
- Afternoon: walk Old Quarter
- Evening: Temple of Literature
- Day two: Ceramic mosaic river wall
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Places to stay in Hanoi, priced by each site in its own currency.
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