25 Things to do in Hanoi

Exploring Vietnam during the month of December has been an amazing Journey . Itinerary in Vietnam started with Hanoi which is its capital. Here are 25 Things to do in Hanoi .

1. Old Quarter

Old quarter is the crazy busy but the collection of charming little alley ways which forms the centre of Hanoi , the capital city . It is structured as 36 streets which are criss cross and walkable . Each street has a name and is popular for something or the other ( apparently these streets were set up to offer a trade/craft to the Thang Long citadel at the time, some of the streets continue to specialise in those even now .

There are little eateries with little stools for people to sit and enjoy a meal or two.( interestingly as a culture people prefer to have even breakfasts outside regardless of the financial situation , which explains why you see people in those cafes even in the early hours) . You can also see people on a busy street with a little mat and enjoying a picnic with some food which you may not expect in a busy street .

Definitely recommend an accomodation somewhere around here especially given a lot of city attractions are a walk away.

Below were some of my favourite streets:

Hang Gai – Silk Street
Hang bac – Silver Street
Hang Ba – Religious items
Ta Hien Street – For beer and food.

Best way to enjoy is to get a map of the old quarter and see which streets you would like to enjoy .

You can read more about old quarter here

2. Hoan Kiem Lake

Very well positioned this historically significant lake is close to the old quarter . Also called as sword lake, this significance of this lake is based of the legend of King Le Loi, who received a holy sword from the Golden Turtle Genie to defeat invaders.

You can walk around the lake and visit – Emperor Ly Thai To Statue , Hanoi Post Office , King Le Thai To status , St Josephs cathedral & Ngoc son Temple and the office for booking the water puppet show.

3. Ngoc Son Temple

Ngoc Son Temple (Jade Mountain Temple) was erected in the 19th century in the memory of Tran Hung Dao, the greatest military commander of the Tran Dynasty who led the Vietnamese Army to several victories over the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century. The temple is also build with careful architectural considerations with the pillar structure reminding the nib of a pen pointing towards the sky being one among those (Pen tower and the ink slab) . The red colour paired Huc bridge leads to the Ngoc Son Temple.

Read more about Ngoc Son Temple here https://vietnamdiscovery.com/hanoi/attractions/ngoc-son-temple/

4. Bier Street

One of the busting 36 streets in the old quarter , Bier street (Ta Hien street) is popular for its food, drinks and nightlife in general. Streets get busy by 630-730 PM and you can see people inviting you to the little cafes lining the street . Plenty of options to eat and drink including barbecues and vegetarian/vegan options.

I recommend walking across the street before you choose where to sit down for your evening

5. Water Puppet Show

Brightly coloured puppets recreate the live of Vietnamese with glimpses of farming , boat rowing etc .Puppeteers stand in the water during the show and manage the movements of the puppets. Made with figwood and painted with lacquer the puppets are colourful .

6. Van Phuc Silk Village

Situated outside Hanoi, silk village is an area where silk has been produced for over 1000 years . You get to walkthrough the streets lined with textiles and craft items . Also will get to see how silk is produced using silkworms/coccoons etc ( which we could not unfortunately!) . It is situated 10 mins away from the city centre but will take around 25 minutes to get there in the traffic . Grab will be great option to travel to the Van Phuc.

7. Make your own pottery at Bat Trang Ceramic Village

Hanoi is quite popular for its ceramics and you can see them up for sale in many streets . There is the opportunity for visiting a very old ceramic village at Bat Trang where you get buy nice ceramics as well as put yourself behind a ceramic wheel and make your own pottery . There are plenty of tours from Klook/Viator or get your guide you can choose from. This activity will take upto half a day. Unfortunately I did not get to do this due to time limitation.

8. Overnight Cruise at Halong Bay

Everyone must have come across a beautiful picture of Halong Bay atleast once . With more than 1500 islets , this UNESCO heritage site is popular for its limestone karsts which are estimated to be 500 million years old. Whilst this can be a day tour I highly recommend opting for atleast an overnight cruise to enjoy what this place has to offer .

I oped for La Regina Legend overnight cruise which was one of the highlights of my Vietnam trip which included a beautiful stay, cave tours, kayaking and luxurious and delicious meals.

9. Day Tour to Ninh Binh

Ninh Binh is a UNESCO heritage site located 2 hours away from Hanoi and famous for having the first capital of Vietnam located here , paddy files & beautiful limestone caves. Plenty of day tours are available with slightly different itineraries . This was one of my favourites due to its natural beauty .

Bai Dinh Pagoda on the way
Hoa Lu – The ancient capital of Vietnam between 10-11th centuries
Mua Caves
Trang An – ride through the caves on Sampans ( row boats) or
Tam Coc, Hand Ca , Hang Hai & Hang Ba

10. Train Street

This is a controversial but exciting thing to do in Hanoi . This is a street which has got scary proximity to a running train . Visitors get to enjoy beverages in the little shops lining the street and wait for a train to arrive ( it has a timetable but not always followed). This is no station and hence the train just passes by . The scary/ exciting ( however you want to explain) is that people will be walking on the rail track comfortably until a minute before the train arrives. Then magically people appear from various cafes to shove you into the shops/little spots around the rail track to make way for the train ( and also probably to save you from getting hit !) .

We arrived there just in time before the train arrived , so it was mad rush; where as people who go in advance would get to sit around have some beverages and enjoy the ambience and excitement.

Soon after the train left the police appeared and all shops were asked to pull their shutter down ( sort of a curfew for a good 20 mins) , we then ended up having more beverages inside a closed little cafe . Then slowly the shutters were up and people were allowed to leave.

This is an unofficial attraction and visiting it is questionable in certain ways , would I do it again – most likely not because was not fully aware of the ongoing issues when I visited . Also was taken by a license tour operator. There seems to be a blanket ban and around 30 cafes all of them operate without license but being a crowd pulling attraction it keeps going on ( may be with the silent support from government) . Read more here.

11. Spa & Massages

Vietnam is popular for its massages with a lot of massage parlours lining up the streets starting from very small prices. If you are like me who enjoy spas and massages, definitely a must to do . They are available in all price ranges. I enjoyed a full body massage at La Belle Vie Spa . Before the massage they provided a herbal tea which had this very unique flavour . When I asked more about the ingredients, the lovely masseuse later gifted me with a bag of Monk fruit which unfortunately I couldn’t bring back home because of the restrictions. Generosity was just amazing .

12. Tran Quoc Pagoda & One Pillar Pagoda

Difference between a temple and a pagoda is that Pagoda is a Buddhist worship place where as a temple could be to worship anybody. There are two pagodas in and around Hanoi which are good to visit

Tran Quoc Pagoda

Situated near the Westlake around 5km from the city, Tran Quoc pagoda is a key pagoda with over 1000 years of history and the oldest one in Vietnam. After my visit I also read that the sacred Bodhi Tree with heart-shaped leaves was donated to the temple in 1959 by the Indian President Rajendra Prasad (a glimpse of my heritage which unfortunately dint get to take a photo of!) . People believe that this Bodhi tree is a branch of the original Bodhi tree under which Buddha got his enlightenment and hence people come to visit and worship.

13. Lake Tay Ho ( West Lake)

Westlake is the largest lake in Hanoi and hosts quite a few attractions around it including the Tran Quoc pagoda around it .

Couple of key attractions are.

Flower Valley – which has a large area of flowers and a great location for photoshoots . Also has large entertainment area where you can purchase and alcohol and relax . I visited during day time , but was told the evening vibes are great as well as many local families come for relaxation
Lotus Pond – which is in bloom during June

14. Temple Of Literature

Founded in 1070 by Emperor Le Thanh Tong, The temple of literature is dedicated to the philosopher Confucius (Khong Tu) and was the site of Vietnam’s first university, Quoc Tu Giam (1076). The altars popular amongst the students praying for good grades , this temple has a lot of artefacts from the past in the honour of the scholars. There is an entry fee and and almost an hour will be required to visit the place. Interestingly at the beginning the university admission was exclusively for those born of noble families, but after 1442 it became more egalitarian which is similar in a few other countries as well.

15. Exploring Vietnamese Food

Vietnam is a foodie’s haven with all the varieties of food which you can get . Best would be to join a food tour which will be a great option to explore .

Bun Cha ( Have it at Buncha Obama )
Bahn Mi ( Have it at Bahn Mi 25 )
Pho ( the fragrant vermicelli and meat soup with amazing flavours )

The coffee culture in Hanoi is very good as well and these are probably the most key ones to try .

Condensed Milk Coffee
Weisel Coffee ( who doesn’t want to have the coffee from civet Poop ! :D)
Egg Coffee

Below are the things which I did not manage to do while in Hanoi which will give me a reason to visit it again

16. Rice Terraces of Sapa Valley

Sapa Valley is popular for its rice terraces and rural landscape . I did not enough time to include Sara valley in my itinerary. Although there are day trips from Hanoi to Sapa it would be better to stay a couple of days in Papa given there is a lot to explore . There are good hiking spots as well. Weather plays a crucial role in what you can actually do in Sapa , so would be wise to check it . More about Sapa here.

17. Cooking Classes

Cooking Classes in Vietnam are apparently an important thing to try. They include shopping in market for fresh ingredients followed by cooking in most cases. There are plenty of cooking classes available on Klook/Viator/GetyourGuide apps.

18. Hanoi Social Club

Owned by two europeans , this place is built as a bridge between European and Vietnamese culture . A lot of space to hang out, have some delicious food & enjoy music. Read more about Hanoi Social Club here.

19.Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is the resting place of Ho Chi Minh where his embalmed body is preserved and kept . This is done apparently in a way much similar to that of Lenin in Moscow. The mausoleum is closed from 4 September to 4 November while his embalmed body goes to Russia for maintenance . Also the entry is limited during the museum hours ( due to which I could not go inside) and also have strict dress codes.

You can read more about the Mausoleum here

20. Military History Museum

For those who love to know more details about Vietnam war and French involvement this is a great place it seems like with the exhibition including many planes, missiles, flag tower and vehicles

21. Hoa Lo Prison Museum

Nicknamed as Hanoi Hilton by the US prisoners of Vietnam war , this prison museum has the exhibits pertaining to the war .

22. National Museum of Vietnamese History

Around 40,000 exhibits present the histories of conflict and revolution within Vietnam, from the movements against the French occupation to the establishment of the Communist Party and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Click here for more information

23. Vietnamese Women’s Museum

This probably is one of the things with I regret the most for not visiting – It apparently show cases women in family , Women in History and women’s fashion. Read more about Vietnamese Women’s museum here

24. Hanoi Opera House

Hanoi Opera house was built by two French architects in early 1900’s . It may not be one of my first preferences to see a show in here ( mostly because I am nota. big fan of shows ) , but if you have enough time something to explore.

25. St Joseph’s Cathedral

Popular for the fact that it was one of the first architectural buildings built by French colonists in Indochina, it is a good spot to visit . The lightings are visible even at the night – Read more about St Joseph’s Cathedral , Hanoi here.