Hanoi

Welcome to Vietnam’s richest cultural capital. With over 1,000 years of history to uncover, you’ll find the highlights of Hanoi’s treasured gems on an exciting city tour around the ‘City of Lakes’, a must see during your Vietnam travel. The focal point in Hanoi is Hoan Kiem Lake, a green oasis with an island pagoda, steeped in legends. Visit the finest spiritual temples, busiest market streets and most tranquil gardens. You will discover a blend of French, Chinese and Vietnamese architecture. Hanoi is the jewel of Asia with the old quarter and its “36 streets and 36 wares” as its buzzing center. Each street was the exclusive domain of one trade (guilds) so there are whole streets of blacksmiths, silver shops, paper shops, headstone makers and more. Originally there were just 36 streets in the old quarter but today there are more than 50 streets. Although many of the streets are short, the area is rather compact.

Our Street Food Tasting Tour is great fun and the perfect way to discover some of the lesser-known dishes that the locals love to eat! We sample authentic local dishes away from the tourist trails, getting to know the local lifestyles on the street at various amazing food stalls as add up to your real city experience.

A unique way to get a real feel of local life in Hanoi and the Old Quarter is through our Hanoi City and Red River Delta Cycling Tour. Cycle through narrow alleys to discover hidden gem parts of Hanoi not known to tourists. Ride on and under the famous Long Bien Bridge and single-tracks through farms and plantations in the Red River Delta and wind through alleys and street markets, where locals shop every morning.

Hanoi’s cultural heritage comes both from Southeast Asian influences and from the French colonial area. A lot of these French styled buildings are scattered throughout the Old Quarter but unfortunately hidden behind advertising signs and billboards. Some beautiful examples can still be seen in the French Quarter. The Opera House and the Metropole are fine examples worth seeing.

Many little temples and pagodas can be found throughout the city and can easily be visited through a walking tour. Some of finest and oldest are Bach Ma temple, right in the heart of the Old Quarter, the Temple of Literature, where the first university was founded and the Tran Quoc pagoda, beautifully located at the Westlake.

Another point of interest is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex at Ba Dinh Square. It’s an impressing experience to pay your respect to Vietnam’s greatest leader. His embalmed body is visible in a glass case in the cooled central hall of the mausoleum. Make sure you’re respectfully dressed (long sleeves and long trousers).

Other points of interest are St. Joseph Cathedral, Army History and Women’s Museum, Hoa Lo Prison and the Ngoc Son Temple, reached by the Red Bridge at Hoan Kiem Lake.

Food is very important in Vietnam’s culture and a great way to share and socialize. The Old Quarter in Hanoi offers a great variety of delicious dishes, like:

• Xoi Yen (sticky rice)
• Pho Bo (beef noodle)
• Bun Cha (grilled pork noodle)
• Banh Goi (pillow cake)
• Cafe Trung (egg coffee)

For markets, Dong Xuan, built by the French, is by far the biggest and most interesting one but during the weekend, when some of the Old Quarter’s streets are closed in the evening, a busy but cozy street market arises and street food is available in abundance.

Connecting destinations:

Hanoi’s central location in the North makes it the ideal start and end point for many trips.

Perfect for day tours from Hanoi is the area around Ninh Binh, with popular destinations, like Hoa Lu, Tam Coc or Bai Dinh and Trang An for beautiful boat rides through karst mountain sceneries.

There are many more exciting and great travel destinations in the North like, Ba Be National Park, a natural beauty, Ha Giang with gorgeous and impressive landscapes, Ban Gioc Waterfall near the Chinese border, the Mai Chau valley with many Thai villages in between a patchwork of rice fields. Try our new and less touristy destinations like Pu Luong before continuing your travels towards Central Vietnam

Ofcourse a cruise through Halong Bay or less touristy Bai Tu Long Bay and Lan Ha Bay should not be missed.

For those traveling further south an overnight journey by sleeper bus or more comfortable soft sleeper train Dong Hoi, to visit Phong Nha Ke bang National Park, or Hue is easily arranged through us.