Things to do in Hanoi

Hanoi dates its founding to 1010, when the Ly dynasty moved its capital here and named it Thang Long. Most pick-ups happen at Old Quarter hotels. There are two kinds of day: one stays in the city, the other spends hours on a road or a boat.

In the city

• The lake and the Old Quarter. Hoan Kiem Lake sits at the edge of the Old Quarter, with Ngoc Son Temple on a small island reached by a red bridge. From Friday night to Sunday, traffic around the lake is closed off.
• West of the lake. The Temple of Literature was founded in 1070, and the national university opened inside it in 1076. The One Pillar Pagoda, founded in 1049, stands beside the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which closes on some weekdays and for annual maintenance.
• Hoa Lo. The French-built prison, later used to hold American pilots, is now a museum.
• Long Bien. Before dawn the wholesale market under the old railway bridge fills with produce.

Tours in the city mostly last three to four hours, and many are about food. A street walk spends three hours on bun cha and egg coffee, and a cooking class starts at a market. A cyclo ride takes two and a half hours.

Where the day trips go

Distance decides the format. Ha Long, Ninh Binh and Mai Chau fit into one long day; Sapa and Pu Luong need a night.

• Ha Long Bay. About three hours each way by road, so a day cruise is close to twelve hours door to door.
• Ninh Binh. Two hours south. Hoa Lu was the capital in the tenth century, and Tam Coc is a rowed boat through karst caves.
• Sapa. The overnight train takes seven and a half to eight and a half hours to Lao Cai, then over an hour by road. Fansipan, at 3,143 metres, is the highest peak in Indochina.
• Closer in. Bat Trang is a ceramics village on the edge of the city. The Perfume Pagoda is a full day: two hours by road to Ben Duc, a rowed boat up the Yen stream, then a hike or a cable car to the temple.

Practical

• Weather. December to February is grey and cool, 10 to 20C with drizzle. May to September reaches 33 to 35C with heavy rain, well over 200 mm a month in July and August. October and November are the mildest, driest stretch.
• Typhoons. Ha Long cruises are cancelled when a typhoon approaches, which can happen in any month from June to November.
• Airport. Noi Bai is about 45 minutes from the Old Quarter by car.
• Traffic. Cross at a steady walking pace and never stop halfway. The motorbikes steer around you.
• Museums. Some close on Mondays, so check first.