Hanoi

Understand

thumb|300px|Hanoi Opera Housethumb|300px|Hanoi's Temple of Literature Invading forces from every direction agree: Hanoi makes a fine capital. It has held that title for more than a thousand years, through several invasions, occupations, restorations, and name changes. The Chinese conquered the imperial city of Đại La in 1408 and renamed it Tống Bình. Le Loi repelled the invaders in 1428 and applied the name of Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖). For his efforts, he received the crown and a slew of legends about his heroic exploits, many centred around Hoan Kiem Lake. The Nguyen Dynasty gave the city its modern name of Ha Noi in 1831, but they had transferred power to Hue by then. Hue remained the capital until 1887, when the French made Hanoi the capital of all Indochina. It changed hands again in 1954, when it was ceded to Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh after almost a decade of fighting, and it became the capital of North Vietnam. Upon reunification in 1975, it assumed that title for the entire country. (See also: Indochina Wars).

Hanoi retains much of its older colonial charm, despite the battles that have raged over it. Conflict had the effect of making it largely oblivious to modern architecture, and as a result, few buildings in the city center are higher than five stories. The Old Quarter, the area around and north of Hoan Kiem Lake, is second only to Hoi An for uninterrupted stretches of colonial and pre-colonial architecture, well-preserved on dense warrens of narrow, wonderfully atmos…

Get around

Getting around Hanoi can be a challenge: traffic slows to a crawl for most of the day, and the public transport system has not kept up with the city's explosive growth.

Do

Flavors of Hanoi, 25 Hang Be, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, ☏ +84 967 258 586, ✉ [email protected]. 09:00-21:00. A local foodie experiences provider, they offer personal street food tours to help visitors explore Hanoi’s Old Quarter and French Quarter through their taste buds.

Eat

Hanoi's most famous (and prevalent) dish is phở soup: "phở gà" (chicken noodle soup), "phở bò" (beef noodle soup), or "phở chay" (tofu noodle soup). Another local specialty is bún chả, grilled fatty pork over a plate of white rice noodles and herbs with dipping sauce.

There are hundreds of street restaurants in small kiosks on the sidewalk, with plastic tables and chairs on the pavement. Eating at these restaurants is a great way to experience the local food and culture. It is worth mentioning that food quality, freshness, and hygiene can vary greatly. On average, a bowl of noodle soup goes for 40-60,000 dong (June 2024) and market food stalls offer fruit portions, sausages, doughnuts and other foods. Check your change as a few vendors seem to forget to give it, and learn a little Vietnamese because vendors often will not speak any or much English (e.g. "bao nhiêu ?", meaning "how much?").

Drink

Bia hơi is abundant in the streets of the Old Quarter. At the crossing of Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen, commonly known as Beer Street, five separate venues fill up with travellers in the evenings. You can get more local atmosphere on some of the side streets.

Hanoi is a lively city on the weekends, but the Old Quarter closes relatively early (at midnight) on weekdays, so you might want to start your night early. Other places outside the Old Quarter stay open later and vary in closing times. Local young people gather around the cathedral located in Ly Quoc Su to have lemon ice tea (tra chanh) and sunflower seeds in street bars. After dark it gets quite crowded.

Sit on a plastic chair in front of one of the bia hoi (fresh beer) establishments which are invariably on the corners of many of Hanoi's Old Quarter streets. This preservative-free light beer is the perfect drink to sip as you watch the city's frenetic bustle. The beer costs less than 5,000 dong and gives you an excuse to relax and take photos of the passing local characters: should not be missed. In the Old Quarter, you will find that almost every corner is filled with stalls selling pho (Vietnamese noodle) and cafe (the name is not limited only to coffee, but also tea, sweets and grocery items, and even to pho).

On Tô Tich, a small street connecting Hang Quat and Hang Gai, you can help yourself to a refreshing fruit milkshake (sinh tố) at one of the stalls.

Sleep

Beware if arriving at your hotel on a weekend. Some streets in the Old Quarter and lake side can get closed to cars, so your taxi or minivan might have to drop you off early, leaving you to walk a bit with all your luggage.

Stay safe

thumb|240px|Monks crossing the street

Stay healthy

Public hospitals are generally poorly equipped and overcrowded, and staff tend to speak little to no English. As such, foreigners are highly advised to rely on private hospitals instead.

Go next

If you are the adventurous type or simply bored temporarily of the city atmosphere, then consider a circuit through the northern countryside. A round trip will take you to a lot of charming villages and through hills and valleys with charming views. Main roads are generally in good condition and you can easily do a couple of hundred kilometers a day. The villages and provinces are generally safe at night, and you get to see a lot of Vietnamese culture such as various tribespeople. While bus services are available (albeit not always reliable), a recommended alternative is to rent a bike or car and make the trip on your own. Motorbikes in decent quality can be rented and many places have suggestions for routes.

Ha Long Bay's spectacular ocean karst topography is the most popular side-trip from Hanoi. The Sapa mountain region close to the Chinese border, home to ethnic minorities, gorgeous mountain scenery, and trekking paths connecting many tiny mountain villages, is the second-most popular trip. 320 km northwest from the capital, Sapa is accessible by direct private bus services from Hanoi, which now only takes 5h30 thanks to excellent new highways; or by 8-hour train journey from Hanoi Station to Lao Cai, then onward by minibus or hired motorbike.

thumb|200px|Pilgrimage boats toward the Perfume Pagoda

Bat Trang, a village famous for its pottery, 9 km southeast of Hanoi. It is accessible by taking Bus 47, which originates at Long Bien. Just hop on (the bus will be clea…