Hanoi, Vietnam

I almost skipped the city to focus time on Vietnam's gorgeous countryside. I am really glad my friend convinced me to spend a few days here. The city is incredibly interesting and fun. It is thriving economically, has delicious street food and restaurants, fun shopping, and amazing people watching. Scooters piled with people maneuver through narrow streets lined with tiny shops. Vendors zip around with deliveries of the most bizarre kind (a live pig on a scooter, ice blocks, towers of sticks). Electrical wires, flags, lights and lanterns are in a tangle above you as you wander. Street vendors don "real fake" Gucci track suits and Dior bucket hats. There is so much to absorb and take in. It is fun to find a bar and just watch.

Length of time: 4 days

Dates: April, 2025

Book Recommendation: The Mountains Sing (Historical fiction about Northern Vietnam)

Photo: Train Street, Hanoi

Our Itinerary

Hotel

Sofitel Legend Metropole.Stay here, it's awesome. It's historic (journalists stayed here during the American bombings, Joan Baez stayed here during her protests and has art in the lobby. Trump and Kim Jong-un met here in for their 2019 summit. There is a bomb shelter in the basement, beautiful garden and luxury shops nearby. It is close to Old Town but not so close that you hear noise. The breakfast is fantastic.

Sites (in order of interest)

Old Town, Hoàn Kiếm Lake and surrounding area. If you walk in the early morning or early evening, you will see locals taking public exercise classes. Legend of the Returned Sword.
Food Tour with food blogger (Australian who has lived in Hanoi for 25 years) - https://stickyrice.typepad.com
Train Street. This was closed recently because it is dangerous. BUT, it is now open. When we went it was only open at night, when you can buy beer instead of coffee (I don't understand the rationale, maybe the night hours deters the cruise ship people ). Check before you go. It is so weird, it is worth the trip.
Thang Long Citadel. There aren't many old historic buildings in Hanoi (or at least we didn't explore them). This was the one our tour guide recommended. It was built in the 11th century to mark the independence of the Dai Viet. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. The temple is an example of well-preserved traditional Vietnamese architecture and is featured on the back of the 100,000 Vietnamese dong banknote.
Water Puppets (get tickets ahead of time). We booked a week in advance.
Beer Street at night. It is incredibly crowded, touristy, and crazy. This isn't for everyone. We just laughed and walked the street. It was insane.
Regrets: It would have been fun to do a scooter tour. We were a bit skeptical, but it would have been fun to explore farther afield.

Must Try

Egg Coffee (it is a Northern Vietnam specialty. We went thought the best one we had was at Cafe Dinh. But anywhere locals are hanging out, has great coffee.
Street Food. We went on a Food Tour with blogger Mark Lowerson. He removed the fear and mystery of street food. After that tour we ate street food and it was incredible.
Local dishes: pho (pronounced fu), Bánh mì, Bún thang