DISCOVER THE ANCIENT CAPITAL
When it comes to Vietnam tourism, Hanoi is one of the must-see destinations that you shouldn’t miss. This is one of the best cities in Vietnam. Hanoi city tour is one of the popular Vietnam tours which can give you a good chance to enjoy an adorable and beautiful Hanoi.
Small streets with old houses, friendly people, and amazing landscapes can make your time in the country more memorable.
Located on the bank of the Red River, Hanoi – the charming capital of Vietnam – has a fascinating blend of new and old. The capital has always been a symbol of culture and a source of pride throughout the history. The French-colonial era has left a legacy of beautiful buildings and a lot of ancient architectures that are quite well preserved throughout the years. This city is where you can easily find thousand-year-old pagodas, colonial French-style buildings, and modern skyscrapers all located on the same street. Along with these things, tourists coming to Hanoi can also experience the modern life and unique sidewalk culture of this place.
Things to do in Hanoi
Coming to Hanoi, travelers will have a chance to sightsee many places which describe clearly the culture and tradition of this destination. hanoireviews think that three mentioned places below are the highlight ones included in most of the tour in the capital of Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (Source: Internet)
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is a large building in the center of Ba Dinh Square. Obviously, it is one of Vietnam’s most revered places – the final resting place of Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh. The building was gotten ideas from Lenin’s Mausoleum in Moscow with the combination of Vietnamese architectural elements. The exterior of the Mausoleum is made of grey granite, whereas the interior is grey, black and red polished stone. The gardens surrounding the mausoleum have approximately 250 types of plant and flower from different regions of Vietnam.
The body of Ho Chi Minh is preserved by a special mummification method. It lies in a glass case with dim lights and is placed at central hall of the mausoleum, which is protected by a military honor guard.
More and more travelers visit this place every year. Rules for visitors regarding dress and behavior are quite strict. You are suggested wearing formal clothes and must silently walk in two lines. In addition, neither hands in pockets or arms crossed are allowed. Also, people who visit here are forbidden to smoke, drink, eat, take photos or videotaping anywhere inside the Mausoleum.
The Mausoleum is open only in the mornings, from 7:30 to 10:30 in the Summer and from 8:00 to 11:00 in the Winter.
Hanoi’s Old Quarter
Can be called 36 Streets, the Old Quarter is situated in the heart of Hanoi. It is probably considered as an open-air museum of historic Asian and French colonial architecture that has quite well remained intact in spite of the bombings of the Vietnam War. This place is also the center of many interesting attractions from temples to the water puppet show to its street market. Since the Quarter was designed around the market, all the streets here are named for the kind of goods once sold along with its sidewalks.
A corner of Hang Gai Street (Source: Internet)
One of the best streets of the Old Quarter is Hang Quat, where shops sell an amazing array of lacquered wood candlesticks, bowls, picture frames, religious shrines, and decorative pieces. Every single item is painted in the combination of red, white and gold. For centuries, Hang Gai Street has been home to some of Hanoi’s best silk shops.
The Temple of Literature
The Second Courtyard and Khue Van pavilion (Source: Internet)
This is one of the temples of Confucius and also the nation’s first university. It was built in 1070 with five courtyards, various temples, and other buildings throughout the expansive grounds. Throughout almost two centuries, in spite of wars and disasters, the Temple has always been preserved the ancient architectural styles of many dynasties as well as precious relics. One of the things that make this place special and attractive is the Stelae of Doctors, a series of 116 carved blue stone turtles with elaborate motifs, which honor the names of all who pass the royal exams and encourage study.
Hanoi is not only a destination for famous landscapes in Vietnam, but it is also the center of culture, economy, education, and politics of this country. Hanoi city tour will definitely give you a wonderful moment in Vietnam.
WALKING STREETS
Hanoi is one of the biggest cities in Vietnam with the modern life style and high population density. It’s really hard to find a place to walk around and relax here. There is traffic everywhere, leading to the pollution issue. An open natural space is something to be expected.
The walking streets are born and they are becoming hotspots for leisure and entertainment. Read this articles from hanoireviews to find out those streets!
In Hanoi, there are 3 spaces available for walking lovers: a part of Ta Hien Street, the Book Street 19-12, and the Walking Street at Hoan Kiem Lake.
The walking street in Ta Hien is a part of Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen Street, is also known as the Western street. It’s famous for the draught beer. People often come here at night, gather around for a glass of beer, especially in the hot summer. The night life here is totally lively with a lot of youngsters sitting around on the street, drinking beer or iced tea, eating junk food and listening to live performances. This might be one of the most favorite spots for foreigners in Hanoi.
Ta Hien Street (Source: Internet)
The Book Street 19-12 used to be a market. The street consists of many stalls and there is also a book café. Space is not really big but the view is charming. Every stall is designed beautifully like small temples, separated from the outside world. Opposed to the energetic and busy nightlife in Ta Hien, the ambiance here is quite calm and elegant, suitable for book lovers.
Book Street 19-12 (Source: Internet)
The most famous and the largest one is probably the walking street around Hoan Kiem Lake. It opens recently and immediately attracts people’s attention. Vehicles are not allowed from 7 pm all the way until Sunday midnight. It’s a colorful space of art with traditional and contemporary style at the same time. There are performances in traditional folk music, classical music, and hip-hop, etc. If you’re lucky, you can even catch some special traditional activities that you don’t usually see like people playing Vietnamese conventional instruments, lion dancers putting on a show or Vietnamese traditional folk games, such as tug of war, Mandarin Square capturing, stilt walking and rope skipping.
Hoan Kiem Lake (Source: Internet)
After 8 PM, the place is usually crowded. This time of night there are a lot of people around but this adds to the atmosphere.
Free public wifi is also available. By logging in “Freewifi_UBNDHANOI” through smartphones or portable devices and entering your mobile phone numbers, you will have 30 minutes before the system automatically logs out. You can repeat the same process to continue using the service.
Walking street is a wonderful place for both locals and foreigners to explore and enjoy Vietnamese culture. In the city of modern life, this really brings a new face to Hanoi. However some walking streets are still a pilot project and it will only last until next year, so hurry up and enjoy your time here.
CYCLING TOUR
Hanoi is one of the ideal places to have a day tour. There are a lot of things you can do and see in your Hanoi day tour. And having a Hanoi cycling tour is a good choice because you can slowly enjoy the beauty of Hanoi and improve your physical health.
However, with the huge and crowded traffic on the street, you can find hard to ride your bike through the zigzag small roads with full of vehicles in Hanoi. Here are some of the top places that you can enjoy your Hanoi cycling tour.
Bat Trang Pottery Village
Bat Trang Village
Located in the outskirt area of Hanoi, about 15 km from the Old Quarter, Bat Trang is an ideal place for a Hanoi cycling day tour. Bat Trang is one of the oldest handicraft villages in Northern Vietnam. Bat Trang has existed for 500 years and the local people has made pottery for hundreds of years. The village is very peaceful and tranquil. You can admire the picture of Vietnamese countryside with the paddy fields, buffaloes, small roads and red roof small houses.
There are various kinds of pottery in different styles, for example: jade enamel (under the Ly-Tran Dynasties), brown flower or brown enamel (under the late Tran to early Le Dynasties), cracked enamel (under the late Le Dynasty) and royal blue enameled items (under the late Le to Nguyen Dynasties).
Riding your bike to Bat Trang, you can have the chance to see the rustic and idyllic scenery of the countryside in Northern Vietnam with immense paddy fields, green trees on the street sides, red-roofed houses and flocks of buffalo. The tranquil and fresh environment of the village can impress you and make you feel released.
Long Bien Bridge
Long Bien Bridge at sunset
Long Bien Bridge is the oldest bridge in Hanoi which was built in 1899 by French in the war. This is not just a normal bridge but a historical relic. The bridge is now only for bikes and motorbike, therefore, it is quite safe for your Hanoi cycling tour.
Riding your bike on the bridge, you can have the chance to listen to tour guide talking about the construction and the special history of Long Bien Bridge. Moreover, because the bridge crosses Red River, you can explore the local life on the bank of Red River and enjoy the very beautiful sceneries of fruit gardens, corn fields, and even paddy fields. You will have a very different view of Hanoi which is more natural and idyllic.
Long Bien Bridge is one of the best places to view sunset and sunrise in Hanoi. You can stop here for a while and enjoy great moments of the day.
Co Loa Citadel
Co Loa Citadel is an important historical site located in Dong Anh district, about 15km from Hanoi Center. On the way to Co Loa, you can have a trip to the countryside area along Red River. Your Hanoi cycling tour will be full of interesting experiences. You will see a lot of typical countryside houses in Northern Vietnam, many traditional pagodas, temples, local markets and villages along the way. Cycling through beautiful paddy fields, vegetable fields, and corn fields will make you feel more refreshing. In your cycling tour to Co Loa, you can visit King An Duong Vuong’s temple, Trong Thuy Well and Community House and listen to the stories about An Duong Vuong dynasty and Co Loa Ancient Capital over 2000 years ago.
Source: http://tourism.hanoi.gov.vn