Hanoi, Vietnam: a thousand-year capital of lakes, temples and a low-rise Old Quarter

Hanoi has been a capital for more than a thousand years, through several invasions, occupations, restorations and name changes. This Wikivoyage guide says invading forces from every direction agree it makes a fine capital.

Hanoi Opera House (photo: xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0).

A short history

The Chinese conquered the imperial city of Đại La in 1408 and renamed it Tống Bình. Le Loi drove the invaders out in 1428 and took the name Lê Thái Tổ; he received the crown and a slew of legends about his exploits, many centered on Hoan Kiem Lake. The Nguyen Dynasty gave the city its modern name, Ha Noi, in 1831, though power had by then moved to Hue. Hue remained the capital until 1887, when the French made Hanoi the capital of all Indochina. In 1954 it was ceded to Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh after almost a decade of fighting and became the capital of North Vietnam, and on reunification in 1975 it became the capital of the whole country.

Why it feels the way it does

The guide credits conflict with leaving Hanoi largely untouched by modern architecture: few buildings in the city center are higher than five stories. The Old Quarter, around and north of Hoan Kiem Lake, is second only to Hoi An for uninterrupted stretches of colonial and pre-colonial architecture, in dense warrens of narrow streets. Vietnam's first Western-style universities were founded here, and the city is the country's leading center of scientific study and research. The guide sets its understated charm against the commercial boom and sprawl of Ho Chi Minh City. People may start conversation with strangers in the street, which it calls a cultural norm.

Seasons

• Spring: flowers at their best and a warming climate with occasional light rain, which locals believe brings prosperity and luck in the new year.
• Summer: borders on intolerable, with oppressive humidity, frequent rainstorms and abundant mosquitoes.
• Autumn: the best weather, less humid and cooler. Milkwood trees, which flower only in autumn, line many streets and have a distinct scent.
• Winter: uncomfortable, cold and often humid, and it feels colder because most houses have no heating. December and January are the driest months. Pollution is worst in winter, and the guide says Hanoi has frequently ranked among the five most polluted cities in the world.

Getting there and around

International flights come from all major Southeast Asian capitals and many cities in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, the Gulf, Europe and Australia, but none direct from North America. The Reunification Express runs south to Ho Chi Minh City, and trains go northwest toward Lao Cai, the stop for Sapa.

Getting around is a challenge: traffic slows to a crawl for most of the day, and public transport has not kept pace with the city's growth. The guide recommends the Grab app, which has fixed fares, and warns of scams: crooked taxi meters, roundabout routes, and motorbike or cyclo drivers who demand far more than the agreed fare. Fix the price in advance and keep small bills. Hanoi's traffic is described as extremely chaotic, and the guide advises against driving yourself.

What to see

Hoan Kiem lake in the city center (photo: Cyril Doussin from London, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0).

• Hoan Kiem Lake, the locals' favorite leisure spot, where lakeside streets close to traffic at weekends, and people practice tai chi in the morning.
• Temple of Literature, founded in 1070 and, six years later, the country's first university, laid out in five courtyards.
• Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and museum, with the Presidential Palace, completed in 1906 as the residence of the French Governor-General of Indochina, nearby. Ho Chi Minh lived and worked in the grounds from 1954 until his death in 1969.
• One-Pillar Pagoda, an iconic temple built by Emperor Lý Thái Tông, and Trấn Quốc Pagoda, the oldest Buddhist temple in Hanoi.
• The Four Sacred Temples, built at the cardinal points of the Imperial City of Thăng Long to guard it against evil spirits: Bạch Mã (east), Quán Thánh (north), Voi Phục (west) and Kim Liên (south).
• Hanoi Citadel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, mostly destroyed by the French and used as a military headquarters in the Vietnam War, and St. Joseph's Cathedral, a Gothic Revival church built by the French in 1886.
• Train Street, where cafe seating sits a few feet from passing trains; because tourists posed for selfies in front of oncoming trains, police were posted at the entrance to the north stretch.
• Museums, from the National Museum of Vietnamese History to the Vietnamese Women's Museum and the Museum of Ethnology.

Wartime sites

Huu Tiep (B-52) Lake was a small pond until December 19, 1972, when Vietnamese anti-aircraft missiles brought down an eight-engine, 100-ton B-52 that still lies at the bottom. A plaque on Truc Bach Lake commemorates the shooting down of a U.S. Navy aircraft in 1967, with the name of John McCain, later a U.S. senator, among the airmen. Hỏa Lò Prison, called the Hanoi Hilton, was built by the French around the turn of the 20th century, where they imprisoned and executed Vietnamese freedom fighters; two thirds of it was torn down for the Hanoi Towers, and the rest is a museum.

Money and prices

Many shops quote higher prices to tourists, including Vietnamese people from other regions, and refuse to bargain down to the local price. Change money at jewellery shops rather than from people in the street, who risk passing counterfeit notes. The most famous dishes are phở and bún chả.

Sources

• Wikivoyage, "Hanoi", by its contributors (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Hanoi), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Photos credited in their captions under their own licences (xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0; Cyril Doussin, CC BY-SA 2.0). Changed here: rewritten as an overview, with the directory listings, prices, hours, phone numbers, links and maps left out; rewritten in hubnx's own words.