What to do in Hanoi? Top 10 visits in Hanoi not to be missed
Do you want to visit Hanoi? If you are looking for a change of scenery and authenticity, go to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam! Hanoi has a thousand-year-old history. With its natural charm and colonial architectural influence, this city attracts tourists from all over the world.
This bustling city has a rich heritage and has kept its authentic soul. In our opinion, it is probably the most charming city in Vietnam with all its beauty and authenticity.
With its hundreds of pagodas, its preserved architecture, its street vendors, its unique atmosphere and its excellent cheap street food, all the ingredients are gathered for a total change of scenery and an unforgettable discovery.
1. Sneak into the “36 streets of Hanoi”
The visit of Hanoi cannot be ignored by the interesting experience of the old quarter. The old quarter is the soul of this thousand-year-old city. It is also called “36 streets and guilds of Hanoi” where each trade had and still has for some its own street, jewelers street, votive papers street, traditional medicine street etc. Built in the 15th century, it was then redesigned under the French colonization in the middle of the 19th century. In spite of the modernization, the balance between tradition and modernity remains preserved. While walking in its small streets and alleys, you will be able to contemplate old monuments, or typical old houses such as the one of 87 Ma May street, as well as pagodas or temples. You will also be able to observe the very particular way of life of Hanoians.
2. Visit museums like no other
Many museums are worth a visit in Hanoi, but two of them are unique: the Ethnography Museum and the Vietnamese Women’s Museum. Located a little away from the city center, the Ethnography Museum is easily accessible by bus, cab or even by motorcycle for the bravest. The outside part of the museum allows to admire and to penetrate inside typical houses of some Vietnamese ethnic groups. The interior is dedicated to the discovery of the heritage, the customs, the costumes as well as the objects of the daily life of each of the 54 ethnic groups which populate the country.
As for the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, it highlights the role and cultural or historical contributions of women thanks to the 20,000 objects, including many traditional costumes, meticulously presented and staged. “A top museum”, “interesting for men”, “a museum to see”, all impressions felt by those who had the opportunity to discover this place.
Note during the visit to Hanoi: Le musée et le mausolée du président Ho Chi Minh, ainsi que le temple de la littérature – la première université du Viêt Nam – sont également des sites populaires pour les visiteurs intéressés par l’histoire et la culture vietnamiennes.
3. Taste the local cuisine…in the street!
A visit to Hanoi will not be complete if you miss its cuisine. It is impossible to talk about Hanoi’s cuisine without mentioning its innumerable “street food”, which offer a wide variety of dishes, inexpensive and very popular with the locals. The best addresses are found on the sidewalks or in the gargotes made of a few tables and stools. One week will not be enough to try all the dishes with evocative names, such as Pho, traditional soup, Banh Mi, Vietnamese sandwich, or cà phê đá, iced coffee with sweet milk, or the traditional egg rolls!
4. Attend great shows
Appearing in the 12th century, water puppets are an original folk art rooted in peasant culture and tales. This typically Vietnamese art translates all the soul of the countryside with its traditions, its rituals, its characters, its domestic animals, its genies. Each show lasts about 50 minutes and seduces the Vietnamese and foreign public with scenes of daily life in the countryside: work in the fields, buffalo fights, fishing parties, folk games, but also scenes of a more legendary nature.
“My village” is another show to see in the evening in Hanoi. It is the most famous Vietnamese circus show on the international scene. Using bamboo poles, the artists offer the audience an exotic and poetic journey into an imaginary village, where singing, acrobatics, mime, juggling and tightrope walking are mixed.
The “Tinh Hoa Bac Bo” show (La Quintessence du Tonkin): It is a show with the largest water-covered stage in Vietnam and presented by amateur actors from the surrounding villages, most of them are peasants.
Through this well-lit outdoor show, one can discover the traditions, culture and spiritual life of Vietnamese people through the performance of 150 actors.
Note: In Hanoi, you can watch water puppet shows presented every afternoon and evening at the Thang Long Puppet Theater (57b Dinh Tiên Hoàng street), the National Puppet Theater (361 Truong Chinh street) or at the Vietnam Cultural Space (16 Lê Thai Tô street)
The show “My village” takes place in the evening at the Hanoi Opera House (1 Tràng Tiên street) and at the Tuông Theatre of Vietnam (51A Duong Thành street).
“Tinh hoa Bac Bo” presents its scenes 3 times a day in the entertainment complex of Baara Land, Sai Son commune, Quoc Oai district, 25km from downtown Hanoi, not far from the famous Thay pagoda. A shuttle bus in front of Hanoi Tower building (49 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem) allows you to go there for free.
5. Soak up the nightlife
As soon as night falls on the capital, Ta Hien, Luong Ngoc Quyen (near Ma May street) and Bao Khanh (cathedral district) streets, all located in the old quarter, come alive. Filled with restaurants and bars, they are the places to go to meet up with friends for a beer and a good meal. Once the meal is over, the cocktail bars, admittedly modest but bubbling with life, will allow you to enjoy the night and the music to which you can dance.
6. Shopping
It is not possible to count exactly how many markets there are in Hanoi because each neighborhood may have its own small open-air market, sometimes hidden in the alleys. The locals do their shopping there but it is also a place where you can learn a lot about the local culture. While most markets are held during the day, and especially in the morning, the flower market in Quang Ba and the fruit market in Long Biên operate mainly during the night, with two distinct sessions.
Another very unusual market could hold the attention, the market of Cho Gioi with its covered part dedicated to the food and clothing, but especially on the streets and the adjacent lanes a fair with the new and the occasions of ustensils, electric accessories, spare parts of car, scooter, proposed in stalls, on stalls, dedicated to each speciality. It is so big that you can ride a motorcycle through it. It is said that you could assemble a motorcycle with only the parts you find there.
The discovery of its markets is also one of the interesting activities not to be missed when visiting Hanoi.
7. Walking around Hoàn Kiếm Lake
Right in the heart of Hanoi, Hoàn Kiếm Lake, literally the lake of the “Returned Sword”, ranks high among the must-see sites. The lake is surrounded by lush greenery and rich historical and cultural structures including the Jade Mountain Temple, the Rising Sun Bridge, the Brush Tower or the Old Quarter. The perfect place to meet the locals who come to relax. Although surrounded by busy streets, the Restituted Sword Lake remains a romantic place. That’s why everyone comes to walk there, whether they are Hanoi’s inhabitants or people passing by as well as tourists. If you go there early in the morning, you will see Hanoians doing some gymnastic exercises and foreigners doing their morning jogging.
Note: The lake and surrounding streets are closed to traffic from Friday evening until Sunday evening. Take advantage of this pedestrian zone to discover all kinds of cultural, artistic and even sporting events.
8. Taste the local coffee
Colonial heritage, the coffee culture is very present in Hanoi. Coffee shops often serve Robusta, with a stronger taste than Arabica. Ideal to start the day in beauty, there are three types. Black coffee, coffee with concentrated milk, and coffee with eggs…Yes, coffee with eggs! Its sweet egg cream is worth a visit. “Café Giang”, at 39 Nguyen Huu Huân street, has been seducing its customers since 1920 not only by its egg coffee, but also by a little “old Hanoi” side, by its decoration.
9. Walking on the Long Biên bridge
Put into service in 1903, the Long Bien Bridge (formerly Paul Doumer Bridge) was the first steel bridge to span the Red River. Today, 118 years old, although cars can no longer use it, it is still crossed every day by trains, scooters, bikes and pedestrians. What could be more pleasant and enjoyable than taking great pictures and walking on this link between the past and the present, which offers a panoramic view of the river delta?
10. Discover the railroad that runs through the neighborhoods
The Vietnamese railway network was mainly built by the French colonial administration between the 19th and 20th centuries. In several districts of Hanoi, the railroad track insinuates itself between rows of houses stuck to each other and their inhabitants live on these rails. What surprises the visitors the most is the animation that precedes and follows each train passage. When the train approaches and sounds its characteristic whistle, everyone goes home. But as soon as it passes, life goes on as if nothing had happened. And we loved to see that!
The visit of Hanoi requires at least 2 full days because of its diversity, its variety and its number of places to do, it is a typically Asian city which attracts many tourists and will leave them unforgettable memories.
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