We were fortunate enough to have a full week-and-a-half in Hanoi. It was our favorite place in Vietnam, so it was lucky that we had planned on the most time there to explore a little slower.
The city is filled with history and we only scratched the surface of the neighborhoods and areas in town. Everything listed below is near the main tourist areas so if you are traveling here, it will be easy for you to get to any of these places to explore for a while.
Six Things Everyone Should Do in Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museum
A great way to spend a hot afternoon is exploring an air conditioned museum. The Ho Chi Minh Museum covers more than just his life. It is an excellent way to explore much of the history of Vietnam. Right when you walk inside, turn to the left and you will see an information desk. Here is where you’ll get matched up with an English speaking tour guide for free. This is very important to get the full impact of the museum. We spent two hours asking questions and having a very helpful conversation with our student guide.
Once you are done inside the museum, you can walk through the park and see the Mausoleum. Make sure you do not stand on any of the sidewalks. If you hear a whistle, make sure the guards are not looking at you because it means you are standing somewhere you shouldn’t be.
You can also visit the house that Ho Chi Minh lived in. It’s an additional admission fee, but it was very cool to see how simple the set up was. We learned so much about Ho Chi Minh himself and after learning more about the history of the country and its struggle for freedom, it was great context.
Vietnamese Women’s Museum
Another great (AC included) museum to check out is the Women’s Museum. I wish this would have been another 12 floors to explore. I would recommend the audio tour to bring more context here as well, but there are English signs everywhere. The museum houses exhibits on marriage, motherhood and cultural norms in the different ethnic groups of Vietnam. You learn more about farming, cooking and the clothing worn. It is a quick glimpse into daily life.
There is an entire floor dedicated to the women that were part of the revolution. Learning about the contributions made by women was fascinating. For example, there was a young girl named Ha Tinhorns that was in charge of locating bombs. In the 200 days that she worked in the area, she identified 1,205 unexploded bombs. They do an amazing job sharing stories like these.
Street Art
Aside from the world’s largest mosaic celebrating Hanoi’s history, you can also find some amazing street art projects. Our favorite was painted on the railroad arches along Phung Hung Street. Each archway is different and has a plaque explaining the story behind the art. It was a wonderful slow stroll for us after our coffee date.
Old Quarter
This is the most popular neighborhood for tourists to stay and it’s easy to see why. There is a huge night market on the weekends that is fun to experience. You will find a ton of cafes, shops and cool architecture to look at while strolling around.
Our friends did this walking food tour on AirBnB and loved it. If you want to try a little bit of everything, definitely check it out. Another great option in the Old Quarter is a rooftop view. I would recommend a happy hour drink with a view of the entire area.
Truc Bach Lake
When you want a little more peace & quiet, head towards Truc Bach Lake. Standing Bar is a great place to watch the sunset over the lake. The small island it’s located on has a ton of great options and would be my location of choice if I was going to live there for a while. There are some amazing coffee places along the south side of lake as well. We enjoyed a place called Cafe 70 (not on google, but the address is 70) quite a few mornings.
Train Street
Obviously, I couldn’t have this list without including Train Street, but we already wrote an entire post on that.
Other Important Information
We used Airbnb for the majority of our time there. We also had a last-minute change of plans when our Ha Long Bay cruise got cancelled so we booked this hotel and it was awesome. They had a rooftop bar, free breakfast, and very comfortable rooms. Plus, it was right in the middle of everything in the Old Quarter.
Book your stay at the Silk Collection in Hanoi by clicking here.
The airport in Hanoi is about a 30 minute drive without traffic from the Old Quarter. There are tons of taxis at the airport, so it’s easy to get yourself to town.
Hanoi was a wonderful place for us to spend some time. I would love to go back when the temps aren’t in the triple digits, but even with that, we had an amazing time. Comment below if you have any questions or places that you loved in Hanoi that we didn’t include.
