Three Days in Hanoi seemed enough to see the most interesting spots, but you could extend your stay and take day trips to Sapa or Ha Long. Stay in the Old Quarter, that way you can reach everything comfortably by foot or hop on a CYCLO. If you want to get around fast and cheap, download the App GRAB and let a scooter driver take you from A to B. It's a very convenient way of transportation and many locals use the service as well.
EGG COFFEE
With those two words one could probably summ up the thing, Hanoi is secretly famous for. Start your day in the OLD QUARTER and find the exquisite EGG COFFEE. Many small Cafés offer the delicac the menu, but if you want the real one, the good stuff, you should go to one of the original places, CAFÉ DINH or CAFÉ GIANG. They are both a little hidden on the first floor of tiny buildings, so look out for the sign.
CAFÉ DINH
13 Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Hàng Trống, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
07:00 - 21:30
GIANG CAFÉ
39 Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Hàng Bạc, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
07:00 - 22:00
HOAN KIEM LAKE
You'll have a great view on the lake below from the CAFÉ DINH, that tempts to take a stroll around the HOAN KIEM LAKE afterwards. Don't forget to purchase tickets for the WATER PUPPETS THEATRE, the booth is a couple of steps next to the café. At weekends locals play various board games around the lake. You'll spot the JADE MOUNTAIN TEMPLE and the TURTLE TOWER in the middle of the lake.
TRANG TIEN LANE
South of the Hoan Kiem lake is the Trang Tien Lane with the luxury shopping mall TRANG TIEN PLAZA and the FRENCH QUARTER. If you follow the lane you'll get to the OPERA HOUSE and the THANH BINH GALLERY.
In the opposite direction, on the west side of the Hoan Kiem Lake, there's the HOA LO PRISON. Countless restaurants, shops and cafés just like the ST. JOSEPH CATHEDRAL, catch a glimpse of it during the day, but return when night has fallen, because the illuminations make it look quiet spectacular. The JUMA BAKERY is also in this neighborhood, which offers a delicious western-style breakfast and also the SOCIAL CLUB for a delicious brunch shouldn't be left out.
JUMA BAKERY
22 Lý Quốc Sư, Hàng Trống, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
SOCIAL CLUB
6 Ngõ Hội Vũ, Hàng Bông, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
ARTY DAY - TRAIN STREET, MURALS AND MORE
Walk to the HANOI ANCIENT HOUSE, on the same street is a Red Bean Restaurant, just like some other Coffee Shops. I recommend you to grab a Coffee in the old quarter Cong Café, it's interior is really spectacular, since the stairs are very narrow and it's spread over a couple floors with nice balconies.
CONG CAFÉ
Số, 35A Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Lý Thái Tổ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội 100000, Vietnam
Once you have filled your tank, check out the Worlds Longest MOSAIC WALL, which was completed in 2010 to celebrate Hanois 1000th birthday. Various artists and children have worked on the 4km long master piece to give the city some color.
Follow the colorful wall until you reach the well-known LONG BIEN BRIDGE, designed by the famous architect Eiffel who also designed the Liberty Statue and the Eiffel Tower. Across the street is the SEREIN CAFÉ with a nice rooftop, offering a great view on Hanoi and the bridge.
SEREIN CAFE & LOUNGE
16 Trần Nhật Duật, Đồng Xuân, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
After taking in the view, make your way to the GA LONG BIEN, and follow the road until you get to a 5-way intersection. In this area is the AL NOOR MOSQUE , the DONG XUAN MARKET and another art hotspot; the TROMPE-L'OEIL MURALS. The massive art project fills the sealed arch walls that run parallel to the PHUNG HUNG STREET. The art project was under taken to celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and South Korea.
Follow the street until you find the entrance to the famous TRAIN STREET. Get there around before 3.30PM, that's when the train will come. There are a lot of people watching the spectacle, so if you want to catch a less crowded time get there at the Weekend in the morning at 6AM.
Visit the IMPERIAL CITADEL OF THANG LONG, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and within a 15-minute walk you can reach other attractions such as TEMPLE OF LITERATURE, QUAN TANH TEMPLE, VIETNAM MILITARY HISTORY MUSEUM and CUA BAC CHURCH. Just like the HO CHI MINH MAUSOLEUM. It is the final resting place of Ho Chi Minh, the most iconic and popular leader of Vietnam, known to his people as ‘Uncle Ho’. His body is preserved here in a glass case at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.
Imperial Citadel of Thang Long
VND 30,000
open from 08:00 to 17:00 every day except Monday
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
40.000VND
1st April - 31st October: open 7:30 AM to 10:30 AM except Monday, Friday
1st November - 31st March: open from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM except Monday, Friday
NGOC HA
NGOC HA is a nice, green and quiet neighborhood close to the Mausoleum. Stroll around and explore the different corners and find the B25 PLANE WRECK in the HUU TIEP LAKE. A monument to a brutal, ineffectual US bombing campaign and a sobering reminder of the human cost of the Vietnam War.
TRUC BACH
Truc Bach is one of the coolest and most interesting places in Hanoi with its' grand mansions, leafy streets and creative boutiques. It is located between the famous Old Quarter and the West Lake. You might have heard of the TRUCH BACH LAKE, where John McCain crash landed after being shot down over Hanoi in 1967. But it has a lot more to offer such as Hanoi’s oldest pagoda, TRAN QUOAC PAGODA, a vibrant marketplace, CHAU LONG MARKET, the beautiful PHAN DINH PHUNG STREET with huge, ancient trees.
There are various clothing boutiques and cafes. The CUA BAC CATHOLIC CHURCH and the MANZI ART SPACE. Make sure to check out the TRADE SHOP #37 restaurant.
WESTLAKE
or cycle around the WESTLAKE, find the LOTUS POND, take beautiful pictures at the WEST LAKE FLOWER VALLEY and enjoy a Westlake ICE CREAM, arrive at Sunset time at the TRAN QUOC PAGODA to have an amazing view and enjoy the disappearing sun on one of the benches.
HIDDEN GEM AT THE WESTLAKE
Along the Quang An Street right next to the Westlake are some amazing restaurants. The streets are peaceful and there are almost no people. Make sure to check out the area between the Sheraton and InterContinental Hotel. Since it's very quiet, green and just beautiful. If you crave some healthy, western-sytled food make sure to stop by the MAISON DE TET DECOR. It's a little hidden away and right across the SUNSET BAR of the INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, a spectacular place on a small Island in the lake. Don't miss out on that!
Sunset Bar InterContinental Hotel
5 Từ Hoa Công Chúa, Quảng An, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Maison de Tet Decor
Villa 18, West Lake, Ngõ 1 - Âu Cơ, Quảng An, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội, Vietnam
HANOI NIGHTLIFE
End the day with a 50 Cent Beer at the famous BIA HOI JUNCTION - A must-visit for any first-time visitor to Hanoi. The Bia Hoi Junction is widely-regarded as THE nightlife spot in Hanoi. The ever-bustling beer haven is located at the corner of Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen streets in the Hanoi Old Quarter. Other, less crowded places to visit at night are:
BINH MINH JAZZ CLUB
THE SUMMIT, PAN PACIFIC ROOFTOP
OPERA HOUSE
HERO CLUB
LEGEND BEER
DRAGON BAR LOUNGE
