HANOI

Southeast Asia’s most beautiful city is ever linked with its 1000-year history: magic turtles, tin-maker lanes, B-52 ponds, a ‘Red Square’-style mausoleum & 10-cent beers

Worth It? Absolutely. Hanoi is one of Southeast Asia’s most attractive cities.
What to Do Walk around the crooked lanes of the Old Quarter, look for the ‘magic turtle’ at Hoan Kiem Lake, pay tribute to Ho himself and shop.
Best Time to Go October to December, March to April; it gets cold in January and February, and hot in May and June
How Long? Two to three days minimum
Gateway Hanoi is the main air/train/bus hub of northern Vietnam
Fact Hanoi was founded in 1010 – that’s right, math fans, it’s 1000th birthday is around the corner. Founded as Thang Long (Soaring Dragon), it only became Ha Noi (‘bend in the river’) in 1831 when the Nguyen Dynasty added insult to injury by moving the capital to Hue. Some historians don’t like the connection and are suggesting naming the city back to Thang Long – the name that refers to the city’s real ‘glorious past.’

A city of reflective poets and artists, unsmiling military officers and magic legends – Hanoi is, in so many ways, everything Saigon is not. More compact but equally bustling, it’s more beautiful by far, with many public focal points – like the legendary Hoan Kiem Lake or the shores of West Lake – and quiet, crooked lanes devoted to their namesake trade – Chicken Feet, Tin-Making, Herbs. Hanoi’s attractions – like Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and the out-of-the-way Ethnography Museum – easily rank high amongst the country’s best, as does its shopping scene along the old ‘Silk Street’ or the chic boutiques of the ‘Cathedral District.’

See Hanoi’s Top 7 & One-Day Planner. Or print out the Hanoi and walking tour maps.