First-Time Guide to Hanoi

Hanoi can feel like a lot on the first afternoon. Motorbikes pour through narrow streets, pavements are taken over by cooks and parked scooters, and every corner seems to be selling something. Give it a day. The city has a clear shape once you know it, and some of the best food in the country.

Two to three full days is a good first visit, with Ninh Binh or Ha Long Bay as the natural next stop.

Where to stay

Most first-time visitors are happiest near Hoan Kiem Lake, where the main sights are within walking distance.

• Old Quarter: the busiest and most atmospheric area, full of street food and small hotels. Can be noisy late at night.
• French Quarter: just south of the lake, with wide boulevards, colonial buildings, the Opera House and larger hotels. Quieter and more polished.
• Tay Ho (West Lake): residential and relaxed, with cafes and lake views. A short taxi ride from the centre.

What to see first

Hanoi rewards wandering, but a few places give you the context for everything else.

• Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple, reached by the red Huc Bridge. Best early morning, when locals are out exercising.
• The Temple of Literature, founded in 1070 and later home to the country's first national university.
• The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the One Pillar Pagoda. Opening hours are limited and the mausoleum closes for maintenance periods, so check before you go.
• Hoa Lo Prison, for the city's colonial and wartime history.
• The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, one of the best introductions to the country's many ethnic groups.
• Long Bien Bridge at sunset, walking alongside the trains and motorbikes.
• A water puppet show, a northern folk art that began in the flooded rice fields of the Red River Delta.

Getting around

The centre is walkable, and ride-hailing apps such as Grab make longer trips cheap and simple. Crossing the road is the skill that matters most. Walk at a slow, steady pace and don't stop suddenly or run: riders judge your speed and flow around you.

From Friday to Sunday evening the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake close to traffic, which makes it the easiest time to explore on foot. Street musicians, families and children's games fill the space, and it is one of the nicest times to see the city at leisure.

What to eat

Start with pho for breakfast, bun cha for lunch and egg coffee in the afternoon. In the evening, try bia hoi, the light draught beer poured fresh each day and drunk on low plastic stools at the corner of the street. Cha ca, turmeric-marinated fish fried at the table with dill and spring onions, is another Hanoi original.

Many of the best places are named after their street or their one dish, and they keep their own hours. A stall that is packed at 7am may be gone by 10.

Easy trips out of the city

If you have an extra day, Hanoi makes a good base. Bat Trang, a ceramics village on the far bank of the Red River, is under an hour away. Duong Lam, an old village of laterite houses, is around an hour and a half west. Ninh Binh can be done as a long day, although a night there is far more relaxed. Ha Long Bay really needs an overnight cruise to be worth the drive.

Practical tips

• Carry cash in small notes for street food, taxis and markets
• Cover shoulders and knees at temples, pagodas and the mausoleum
• Bring a warm layer from December to February, when Hanoi can be cold and damp
• Expect heat, humidity and sudden heavy rain from May to September
• Many small restaurants close early; eat dinner by 8pm for the widest choice