From the 36 streets to the Temple of Literature — and the bays, karsts and mountains within reach.
Most of Hanoi’s sights fall into two clusters: the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake and the French Quarter, which you explore on foot, and Ba Dinh and West Lake, a short ride west and north, with the mausoleum, the citadel, the Temple of Literature and the pagodas.
Beyond the city lie some of Vietnam’s great landscapes. Ninh Binh is an easy day trip; Ha Long Bay is better with a night on board; Sapa needs at least a night or two.
Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem & French Quarter The 36 streets — Hanoi at its busiest and most delicious
A tangle of narrow streets north of Hoan Kiem Lake, each once named after the trade carried on there. Tube houses, temples hidden behind shopfronts, street food on every pavement and Ta Hien beer street at night.
Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem & French Quarter The Lake of the Returned Sword, the heart of the city
The green lake at the centre of Hanoi, with the Turtle Tower on its islet and Ngoc Son Temple reached by the red The Huc bridge. On weekend evenings the streets around it close to traffic and become a walking street.
Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem & French Quarter Where the railway runs a hand’s width from the front doors
A stretch of the old railway through the Old Quarter where trains squeeze between the houses. Cafés line the track — but access has been restricted on and off for safety, so check the current situation before you go.
Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem & French Quarter Hanoi’s biggest covered market
A large market hall on the northern edge of the Old Quarter, mostly wholesale fabric, clothes and household goods inside, with food stalls around it and a weekend night market starting outside.
Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem & French Quarter Puppets that dance on water, with live music
Water puppetry began in the rice-farming villages of the Red River delta. In Hanoi you can see it at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre beside Hoan Kiem Lake and at other theatres: short shows, live musicians, dragons, farmers and fireworks on the water.
Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem & French Quarter Boulevards, villas and the Opera House
South and east of Hoan Kiem Lake, the colonial-era city of tree-lined avenues, ochre villas, the Opera House, the Metropole hotel and grand public buildings — quieter and more spacious than the Old Quarter.
Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem & French Quarter The colonial jail later nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton”
The surviving part of a prison built by the French to hold Vietnamese political prisoners, later used for American airmen during the war. Today a museum with cells, exhibits and an often sobering account of both eras.
Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem & French Quarter A century-old steel bridge over the Red River
The long cantilevered bridge built in the French era, bombed and repaired many times during the war and still used by trains, motorbikes and pedestrians. Walk out for river views and the banana fields below.
Ba Dinh & West Lake Vietnam’s first university and its stone stelae
A temple to Confucius founded in 1070, which became the Imperial Academy. Walk through five courtyards of gardens and gates to the stelae on stone turtles that record the names of successful doctoral candidates.
Ba Dinh & West Lake Ba Dinh Square, the mausoleum and the lotus pagoda
The granite mausoleum on Ba Dinh Square where Ho Chi Minh’s embalmed body lies in state, with his stilt house, the Presidential Palace grounds and the little One Pillar Pagoda next door. Strict dress code and limited opening times.
Ba Dinh & West Lake A thousand years of royal Hanoi, UNESCO-listed
The heart of the old royal city: the Doan Mon gate, the foundations of palaces excavated across the road, the Kinh Thien palace platform and the bunkers used by the army command during the war. Quiet, shady and under-visited.
Ba Dinh & West Lake Hanoi’s largest lake and its oldest pagoda
A wide lake north of the centre, ringed by a long path, cafés and the expat district of Tay Ho. On a narrow causeway sits Tran Quoc, regarded as the city’s oldest pagoda, with a slender red tower.
Ba Dinh & West Lake The country’s 54 ethnic groups under one roof — and in the garden
One of the best museums in Vietnam, in the Cau Giay district west of the centre. Indoor galleries cover the dress, crafts and rituals of each ethnic group; the garden holds full-size traditional houses.
Day trips from Hanoi Limestone islands rising from the Gulf of Tonkin
Vietnam’s most famous landscape: hundreds of karst islands and islets, a UNESCO World Heritage site, two and a half to four hours by road from Hanoi. Day cruises are possible; a night on board, or on Cat Ba Island beside Lan Ha Bay, is better.
Day trips from Hanoi Rice fields and karst cliffs, two hours south
The “Ha Long Bay on land”: limestone towers rising from rice paddies and rivers. Row through caves at Trang An or Tam Coc, see the temples of the old capital Hoa Lu and climb the steps of Mua Cave for the view.
Day trips from Hanoi A boat ride and a climb to a cave sanctuary
A complex of Buddhist temples in the limestone hills south-west of Hanoi. Rowing boats carry pilgrims up the Yen stream, then a path or cable car climbs to Huong Tich cave. The pilgrimage season after Lunar New Year is extremely crowded.
Day trips from Hanoi Centuries of ceramics across the Red River
A village of potters on the far bank of the Red River, a short trip from the centre. Browse workshops and the ceramics market, and try the wheel yourself.
Day trips from Hanoi Laterite houses and a slower pace west of the city
A village near Son Tay with old houses and walls of reddish laterite stone, a communal house, temples and family-run snacks — a glimpse of rural northern Vietnam about an hour or more from Hanoi.
Day trips from Hanoi Group the sights by area to save time in traffic: the Old Quarter and lake one day, Ba Dinh and West Lake the next. The mausoleum opens only on some mornings, so plan that day around it. See the travel guide for itineraries and the day trips guide to compare excursions.
Taste pho, bun cha and egg coffee with a local guide, watch the water puppets, cross the city on the back of a Vespa — then spend a day among the limestone islands of Ha Long Bay or the rice fields of Ninh Binh. Compare the tours and book in a couple of taps.
