By rail
Hanoi station, the Reunification Express south
Southeast Asia · Vietnam
Hanoi, Vietnam
Old Quarter lanes, lakes and street food
Getting there
By air
Noi Bai International (HAN), ~30 km
Best time to visit
October to December and March to April — mild and dry
Don't miss
Hoan Kiem Lake
The Temple of Literature
The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
The Old Quarter
Things to do
An Old Quarter street-food walk
The water puppets
Weekend walking streets around Hoan Kiem Lake
Cyclo rides
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: NKSTTSSHNVN · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Layers for cool winter evenings, a rain jacket, comfortable walking shoes
A quieter corner
The Long Bien Bridge at dawn, with the Red River's banana islands below
Questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Hanoi?
October to December and March to April, when it's mild and dry. Bring layers for cool winter evenings, a rain jacket and comfortable walking shoes.
What should I eat in Hanoi, and when?
Pho for breakfast, bun cha at lunch, and egg coffee in the Old Quarter. An Old Quarter street-food walk ties it all together.
Where should I be at dawn in Hanoi?
On the Long Bien Bridge, with the Red River's banana islands below.
How far is Hanoi's airport from the city?
Noi Bai International (HAN) is about 30 km out. Heading on by rail? Hanoi station is where the Reunification Express runs south.
About Hanoi
- Riverside
- Lakeside
Where it is
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, in the north of the country on the Red River, in the delta plain inland from the Gulf of Tonkin, and its old districts are dotted with lakes such as Hoan Kiem and West Lake.
History
In 1010 Emperor Ly Thai To moved his court here and named the city Thang Long, rising dragon, and it remained the seat of Vietnamese dynasties until the Nguyen moved the capital to Hue in the early 19th century. Under French rule it became the capital of French Indochina, then of North Vietnam from 1954 and of reunified Vietnam from 1976, and it marked its thousandth anniversary in 2010.
People
Hanoians speak the northern dialect of Vietnamese, widely regarded as the national standard. Street life centres on the pavements, with tiny stools, food stalls and morning exercise around the lakes, and the Old Quarter's streets are still named after the trades once practised on them.
Known for
- The Old Quarter and its guild streets
- Hoan Kiem Lake and the Temple of Literature
- Pho and bun cha
- Water puppet theatre
- The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Did you know?
The Temple of Literature, founded in 1070 to honour Confucius, became the seat of Vietnam's first national university, the Imperial Academy, in 1076; stone stelae there record the names of its doctoral graduates.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.