Hanoi Travel Guide

Xin Chao, and welcome to Hanoi, a charming city located in the north of Vietnam, serving as the capital city. As a vibrant, fascinating city steeped in history and culture, Hanoi is a must-visit on any Vietnam tour and never fails to offer memorable experiences to visitors of various interests and tastes.

For a taste of the rich history of Vietnam, it's worth a trip to Tran Quoc Pagoda, a 6th-century Buddhist temple built with orange bricks, or the Temple of Literature, which is dedicated to Vietnam's most outstanding scholars. To learn about the country's ethnic groups, don't miss the Museum of Ethnology, which houses an amazing collection of tribal art, artifacts, and everyday objects. Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Ho Chi Minh's Stilt House are must-visits if you are really into the life and stories of Vietnam's great leader who led the nation to independence. To get a bite of Vietnamese sense of humor, don't forget to enjoy a water puppet show near Hoan Kiem Lake as an evening treat.

Foodies won't disappoint either, as the city boasts some of the most mouthwatering Vietnamese food in the country, if not Southeast Asia. And the Old Quarter is an ideal place to start your culinary odyssey, as you can sample egg coffee, bun cha (grilled pork and noodles), bun-mien ngan (rice noodles with Muscovy duck), bia (Hanoi's local beer), etc.

Top Attractions in Hanoi

OLD QUARTER

Outside of the city center and near the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, is the lively Old Quarter, with 36 streets, each of which is used for a different kind of business, always crowded and busy. From the first chirping of birds as the sun rises over Quan Chng Gate to the moon hanging on the roof of the cafe, you can ride a bike with the warm locals to see the temples and pagodas hidden between the buildings, or just walk down this old street, stopping at a florist to pick a fresh flower or running into a small shop selling delicate handicrafts.

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TEMPLE OF LITERATURE

If you exchange Vietnamese banknotes during your visit, you will find this temple on the back of the 100,000 notes. It is a tree-lined university with typical Chinese architecture. The two-story main gate was built with white bricks, black tiles and bright red doors with fine patterns that are still visible.
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ONE PILLAR PAGODA

It is a wooden tower with a peculiar structure, as the name suggests, supported only by a single stone pillar. According to legend, the childless king finally had a child after dreaming of the god who always sat on a lotus. To show his gratitude, he built this pagoda with a single pillar in the shape of a lotus.
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HO CHI MINH MAUSOLEUM

Although it is the final resting place of Ho Chi Minh, the revolutionary leader and president of Vietnam, it is a building that is open to the general public. Situated in Ba Dinh Square, it is a square granite architecture in grey but surrounded by all kinds of flowers from every corner of Vietnam, which shows the tribute to his memory. Inside is the central glass display case lying a sleeping giant with his sweet dream.
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HO CHI MINH HOUSE ON STILT

It is a building that stands out from the many other presidential residences of various shapes and sizes. It is a very simple wooden house with a suspended living area on the upper floor and a lively garden with flowers and fruit trees on the lower floor. In front of the house is a large pond where the president used to feed the carp by opening the window.
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NGOC SON TEMPLE

A fine temple on the northern island of Lake Huan Jian. You can get there through the red bridge, which connects the temple to the mainland. The cream-colored main gate is decorated with beautiful wave-like patterns and elaborate designs of turtles and unicorns. Inside the temple, there is a 250kg specimen of a huge turtle, which is well worth seeing.
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FINE ARTS MUSEUM

A French-style building located behind the Temple of Literature, it is also one of the best places for your next cultural destination. As the main museum of Vietnam, which houses thousands of magnificent art pieces from ancient to modern, it could be the best choice to learn about the history and culture of this vibrant country.
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QUAN THANH TEMPLE

Nearby the beautiful tranquil Ho Tay Lake is the sacred white temple of Quan Thanh, one of the most ancient temples in Vietnam. Built-in the 11th century, the temple was dedicated to Xuan Wu, the God of the North, with the power to protect the land from evil. Today, you can still see the giant bronze statue of this sacred creature inside the temple.
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TRAN QUOC PAGODA

Another tower located on the island of Ho Tay Lake, is an ancient Buddhist tower with a long history of about 1500 years. It is a delicate tower with many details of the Buddhist culture, such as the statues and carvings of lotus flowers and inscriptions. Surrounded by green trees and a lake, this water tower will give you an unexpected feeling of harmony.
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