Overview

For culture seekers, Hanoi is a dream destination, offering a rich selection of museums, buildings of religious and historical significance and venues offering cultural entertainment. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museum are possibly the highlights of the list or certainly the venues that the locals would tell you are of most significance and most representative of Vietnam's national identity.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

The earthly remains of the country's most famous and most revered leader are laid to rest in this suitably grand and stately building located a short distance from the centre of the city. Under tight security, visitors are permitted entry to the room in which ‘Uncle Ho's' embalmed body is on display inside an ornate glass sarcophagus. Cameras, bags etc. are not allowed inside and must be left at a checkpoint close to the entrance.

Ho Chi Minh Museum

The Vietnamese cherish all visual reminders of their country's most loved political figure and hence the Ho Chi Minh museum is for them, and foreign visitors also, a fitting tribute to his life. Photographs as well as manifestos, poems and diary entries written by great man are on display in this fascinating state-owned facility.

One Pillar Pagoda

A major landmark of Hanoi plus a historically significant structure, the One Pillar Pagoda was erected in memory of Emperor Ly Thai Tong and his then pregnant wife and is visited by locals hoping to conceive children. For foreigners it's also interesting from an architectural perspective.

Ngoc Son Temple

The focal point of Hoan Kiem Lake is one of the city's best-known landmarks and certainly one of its most photographed. The structure was erected in the 18th century and dedicated chiefly to the hero Tran Hung Dao but also to the scholars Van Xuong and La To. The temple can be reached from a causeway that connects it with the lakeside. Along the causeway are numerous traditional Vietnamese Buddhist writings known as cau doi.

Quan Thanh Temple

Dating back to the 11th century to the time of King Ly Thai To's reign, the Quan Thanh Temple was erected in tribute to Tran Vu Quan, a sacred figure from the country's ancient history. Renovations in more recent times are responsible for the temple's current appearance but the large black-bronze statue of Tran Vu Quan is one of its oldest elements. A giant bronze bell standing an impressive 1.5 metres high is among the temple's most notable features.

Temple of Literature

Dating back to the 11th century when it was a part of a city founded by Emperor Ly Thai To, the Temple of Literature is best known for having once served as a residence to the revered Chinese scholar and philosopher Confucius. The temple is actually a complex comprised of a number of small buildings located within several walled courtyards. Public access is permitted to most of the complex.

Overview

Anyone who likes to keep on top of their exercise regime or engage in sporting or leisure activities during their holiday will find Hanoi has plenty of facilities to assist. A pleasant ride around the city on a rental bicycle is one way to see the sights, while a round of golf at the local course gives opportunities to appreciate some of northern Vietnam's fine scenery along the way. If you prefer indoor activities then perhaps a hotel cooking course is more suited to your interests.

Golf

There's only one golf course in the whole of northern Vietnam and it's located just outside of Hanoi close to the Dong Mo Reservoir. The King's Island Golf Resort and Country Club is open to non-members and has clubs for hire as well as a clubhouse with a great restaurant. With Ba Vi Mountain providing a backdrop for the course, players can be sure of some great scenery throughout their game.

Cycling

Basic bicycles can be rented from a number of businesses in the city centre and though the roads are pretty crazy, you can escape the madness and find some quieter spots with less traffic where a more leisurely pace can be appreciated. For visitors preferring something a touch more energetic, there are travel agents offering long distance cycle tours from Hanoi.

Swimming

The Thang Loi hotel, the Hanoi Sofitel and several other major hotels in the city have their own pools at which hotel guests can swim for free and, depending on the establishment, members of the public may swim on a fee-paying basis. Municipal swimming facilities include the Hanoi Water Park and the Oriental Park Swimming Pool in the Tay Ho district.

Daytrips

There are a number of destinations that can be reached with relative ease from Hanoi that make for good options for days out. Just over an hour away is the beautiful Ba Vi National Park, while an hour and a half away is Hoa Binh, a small town from which boat cruises along the Da River can be taken. Somewhat further away though worth the 3.5-hour drive is the stunningly beautiful Halong Bay with its numerous islets and karst rock formations.

Tours of the city

The Sinhcafe Travel Company is the most established tour agency in the country and visitors wanting to see all of the city's most famous sights with minimum effort on their own part can take one of the agency's popular city tours. Typically these tours make stops at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museum, the Old Citadel, the Quan Thanh Temple, the Temple of Literature and Tran Quoc Pagoda plus a selection of other well-known locations.

Cooking courses

Several of the city's reputable hotels offer cooking courses which present visitors with the opportunity to visit a local market, learn something about the ingredients used in Vietnamese cooking and prepare a selection of popular northern Vietnamese dishes.

Dining & Shopping

Hanoi’s local cuisine includes all of the culinary creations that are typical of the northern region of the country, with noodle dishes being especially prevalent across the city. Noodle soup with beef is known locally as pho and is perhaps what constitutes the city’s signature dish. Noodle stands can be found in every district and this tasty delicacy can be enjoyed at any time of the day.

With the city having previously been colonised by the French, elements of French cuisine can still be seen in restaurants and at street markets and food vendors. Baguettes can be found everywhere and are delicious when sampled with a pâté and vegetable filling in a sandwich known as banh mi thit.

Visitors are never stuck for a dining venue in Hanoi, with the city offering a huge selection of eateries covering everything from roadside food carts and food markets to backpacker joints and up-market restaurants. If you want to dine on traditional fare in a traditional environment at prices so cheap you won’t believe, then head to the Old Quarter where a wealth of food stalls and venues where the locals are busy tucking in to popular dishes can be found.

For international and up-market fare, head to the city’s classier hotels such the Sofitel, the Daewoo and the Sheraton, where you’ll find décor, service and cuisine of a high standard and correspondingly high prices.

The city’s Old Quarter is not only good for its dining establishments but also for the vast selection of shopping outlets that can be found in its maze of winding streets. Somewhat bizarrely, a large number of the streets in this area are filled with shops all selling the exact same category of products. It’s fascinating for visitors to walk down streets where every shop is bursting with brightly coloured toys or with hardware and DIY products. Choosing one shop over all the others at which to make a purchase can be something of a challenge!

Also in this area, visitors will find an abundance of retailers selling music CDs and movies in both VCD and DVD format. Discs are unbelievably cheap and the selection is large but as the vast majority of audio and visual media here is pirated, the quality may not always be perfect.

Other shopping areas worth checking out include the Dong Xuan Market with its vast range of different goods, the area around St Joseph's Cathedral with its up-market boutiques and the Mai Trang Tien Shopping Centre situated on Hang Bai Street.

Where dining is concerned in Hanoi, the best food is not necessarily the most expensive, and indeed, some of the city's finest eateries are those long-established venues that offer plastic chairs, fold-up tables and great traditional cuisine for astonishingly cheap prices. There are up-market restaurants of course, at which prices are higher, the items on the menu a touch more refined and the atmosphere more conducive to relaxed dining.

Overview

Hanoi's own busy airport provides the principal gateway to the city and the means by which most international visitors arrive. With connections from many major cities in this region of the continent it's possible to reach the city easily even if indirect routes are necessary. Buses and trains offer transportation to the city but are not known for being comfortable, speedy or efficient; exceptions to the rule exist of course.

Airports

Hanoi Noi Bai Airport is situated 45kms from the centre of the city and is the largest airport in northern Vietnam as well as being one of the most modern in the country. The airport is a busy facility with a single terminal that connects travellers with destinations across East and Southest Asia with regular flights to and from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport and cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Vientiane and Siem Reap. Vietnam Airlines is the national carrier and provides flights to a variety of destinations, including Ho Chi Minh City.

The airport offers most essential facilities but is still fairly basic compared to the airports of most of the world's capital cities. There are ATMs and currency exchange facilities available plus a small selection of places at which to find food and refreshments. Beyond passport control, passengers will find duty-free shops selling alcoholic drink and over-priced souvenirs.

There are no public bus services to or from the airport and the majority of passengers will need to take taxis in order to reach the city. Those travellers arriving on flights with Vietnam Airlines can take the free minibus service that operates a schedule to coincide with major flight arrivals.

Public transportation

Visitors coming from the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia can take tourist bus services to Hanoi; however, the journeys are known for being especially long and arduous and the vehicles making them, for being uncomfortable. Arrival by air in Hanoi is preferable if your budget permits. From Ho Chi Minh City it's possible to reach Hanoi by bus also, with journeys operating overnight and taking a total of 30 hours from door to door.

Getting around Hanoi can be something of a challenge for independent travellers (i.e. those not on group tours) with the city lacking a well-developed public transportation infrastructure. Public buses operate but are by no means easy to negotiate since there are no signs or bus stops in English or English-speaking drivers available.

Motorbike taxis are a reasonable option for those with strong hearts and an absence of trepidation. They are easy to find, largely on account of the fact that almost anyone with a motorbike and a sense of enterprise will offer to take you somewhere if its appears that you require transportation. As such, few motorbike taxis are licensed but the lack of regulation is not indicative of quality of service so taking a risk on this cheap and speedy form of transport is invariably worthwhile.

Regular taxis also operate and provide metered service; however, drivers have something of a reputation for dishonesty so visitors need to keep their wits about them and decline rides from any cabs in which the meter is allegedly out of order. Cycle taxis bearing some resemblance to the traditional rickshaws of China are common in the city also and are reasonably priced though not renowned for being particularly fast.