Hanoi, City Guide
VNRentals's Top 15 Things To Do in Hanoi
10 April 2026
So you've moved or travelling to Hanoi - or you're at least planning to. Either way, you're in luck. Vietnam's capital is one of Southeast Asia's most rewarding cities to explore slowly, and the best part is that most of what makes it great costs almost nothing.
Here are our top 15 things to do and see, for visitors who want to go beyond the tourist checklist.
1. 🚲 Rent a Bicycle and Explore the City
Cost: ~30,000 VND for 3 hours
If you're staying in the centre, this is one of the best ways to see the city on your own terms. Dozens of small shops around the Old Quarter rent basic bicycles - look for hand-painted signs saying "Xe đạp cho thuê." A morning ride along the Red River dyke or around West Lake (Hồ Tây) before the heat sets in is genuinely magical.
Best time: October to April, when the weather is cooler. Summer mornings work too but get started before 8am. Avoid midday in June-August - it's brutal.
Tip: Don't panic at junctions. Traffic here follows a flow logic that feels chaotic but works. Keep a steady pace, make eye contact with drivers, and move predictably. Hesitation causes more problems than confidence.
2. 🏛️ Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu)
Time: 30-45 minutes | Entrance: 30,000 VND
Built in 1070, this was Vietnam's first university - a place dedicated to Confucius, scholars and sages. The complex is beautifully preserved with five courtyards, lotus ponds, ancient stone stelae and banyan trees that have been here for centuries. Turtles carved from stone sit beneath the stelae, believed to bring good luck to students.
It's not a huge site, so you won't need more than an hour. Go in the morning for good light and fewer crowds. The entrance fee is 30,000 VND.
Photo tip: The Gate of Great Success (Đại Thành) at the far end of the complex is the money shot. Go early on a weekday and you'll often have it to yourself.
3. 🏘️ The Old Quarter
Time: Half a day to all day
The beating heart of Hanoi. The Old Quarter is a square kilometre of narrow streets dating back to the 13th century, each historically dedicated to a specific trade - Hang Bac (silver), Hang Gai (silk), Hang Ma (paper offerings). The trades have evolved but the character hasn't.
Things to do here:
- Get a stamp made - there are carvers near Hang Gai who will hand-carve a custom seal with your name in Vietnamese for a few dollars. Takes about 20 minutes.
- Eat phở bò - find a plastic stool on the pavement, point at what the locals are eating and hand over 40,000-60,000 VND.
- BBQ skewers at night - the alleyways around Hang Manh and Ta Hien light up with charcoal grills after dark. Order a Bia Hà Nội (12,000 VND) and sit on a stool.
- Weekend Walking Street - on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake are closed to traffic and fill with performers, street food and families out for a walk.
4. 🚂 Train Street
Time: 30 minutes | Free
A narrow residential alley where the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City train passes within inches of homes, cafes and shop fronts. Locals have set up small coffee shops along the track where you can nurse an egg coffee and wait for the train to come through.
Trains pass a handful of times a day - check schedules in advance if you want to time it right. The street has periodically been closed by authorities, so check recent reports before heading there.
Address: Look for the alley off Đinh Lễ Street or near Phùng Hưng Street, west of Hoan Kiem.
5. ☕ Egg Coffee (Cà Phê Trứng)
Cost: 30,000-60,000 VND
This is Hanoi's signature drink - a thick, custard-like foam made from egg yolks and condensed milk, spooned on top of strong Vietnamese coffee. It was invented in the 1940s when milk was scarce and a bartender at the Metropole Hotel improvised with egg yolk. It tastes like a tiramisu you drink.
The original recipe is at Giảng Cafe on Nguyễn Hữu Huân - a tiny upstairs room that's been serving it since 1946. Expect to queue on weekends.
6. 🌅 West Lake (Hồ Tây) at Sunset
Time: 1-2 hours | Free
Hanoi's largest lake, in the Tay Ho district. Rent a paddleboat, hire a bicycle and loop the 17km shoreline, or just sit at one of the lakeside cafes and watch the light change. The Trấn Quốc Pagoda - one of Vietnam's oldest Buddhist temples - sits on a small island connected to the shore, and glows beautifully at dusk.
The area around Xuân Diệu Street has a solid selection of international restaurants, wine bars and coffee shops if you're looking for a more Western evening.
7. 🪷 Hoan Kiem Lake & Ngoc Son Temple
Time: 1 hour | Temple entrance: 30,000 VND
The symbolic centre of Hanoi. The lake is surrounded by trees and benches and is busy at all hours - locals do tai chi here at dawn, couples walk here at dusk. Cross the scarlet Thê Húc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple on the small island in the middle of the lake. The temple is dedicated to the scholar Van Xuong and the military hero Tran Hung Dao.
On weekend evenings the surrounding streets are closed to traffic for the Walking Street - the best time to visit if you want a lively atmosphere without the motorbikes.
8. 🍜 Bún Chả for Lunch
Cost: ~50,000 VND
Bún chả is Hanoi's lunch dish - grilled pork patties and sliced pork belly served in a bowl of sweet dipping broth, alongside a plate of vermicelli noodles and fresh herbs. It's the meal Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain famously shared in 2016 at Bún Chả Hương Liên on Lê Văn Hưu Street. The restaurant is now something of a pilgrimage site, and still very good.
Bún chả is a lunchtime dish - most places stop serving by 2pm, so don't leave it too late.
9. 🛕 One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột)
Time: 20 minutes | Free
One of Vietnam's most iconic structures - a small wooden Buddhist temple built on a single stone pillar rising from a lotus pond, designed to resemble a lotus flower emerging from the water. Emperor Lý Thái Tổ had it built in 1049 after dreaming that the Goddess of Mercy handed him a baby son while seated on a lotus throne. The dream came true, and the pagoda followed.
The current structure is a 1955 reconstruction - the French destroyed the original before retreating from Hanoi - but it remains one of the most photographed spots in the city and a genuinely peaceful place to visit. It sits within the Ho Chi Minh complex in Ba Dinh, so pair it with a walk through the surrounding gardens rather than making a separate trip.
Tip: Go early in the morning when local worshippers visit and the light hits the water at a low angle. The lotus pond reflects the pagoda beautifully on still days.
10. 🏯 Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long
Time: 1.5-2 hours | Entrance: 30,000 VND
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the political heart of Vietnam for over 1,000 years. The complex contains ancient gates, royal architecture and fascinating archaeological excavations that revealed layer upon layer of civilisation beneath the city. Less visited than the Temple of Literature, which means you'll often have wide paths to yourself.
11. 🌉 Long Bien Bridge at Dusk
Time: 45 minutes | Free
Built by the French between 1899 and 1902 and designed by the same firm responsible for the Eiffel Tower, Long Bien Bridge is one of Hanoi's most atmospheric spots and almost completely off the tourist trail. The 1.6km cantilever bridge still carries trains, motorbikes and pedestrians across the Red River - you can walk or cycle across it.
The views from the middle of the bridge at dusk are extraordinary - the river wide and slow, the old city behind you, vegetable gardens growing on the riverbanks below. Trains still cross several times a day and you'll feel them before you see them. The bridge was heavily bombed during the American War and the repairs are still visible - mismatched sections of steel that have never quite been restored to match.
How to get there: Head north from the Old Quarter along Trần Nhật Duật and cross at the pedestrian access point near the market. Best on a bicycle.
12. 🍺 Bia Hơi Junction (Ta Hien Corner)
Cost: 10,000-15,000 VND per glass
Bia hơi is Hanoi's draft beer - light, fizzy, brewed fresh daily with no preservatives. The junction of Tạ Hiện and Lương Ngọc Quyến in the Old Quarter is the epicentre, with dozens of tiny plastic stool bars spilling onto the pavement. It comes alive after dark and the atmosphere is hard to beat. A glass costs less than a dollar.
It's a great first-night spot - cheap, busy and very Hanoi.
13. 🌸 Quang Ba Flower Market
Time: 30-60 minutes | Best: midnight to 4am | Free
The largest wholesale flower market in Hanoi, on the shores of West Lake. Trucks arrive from the countryside throughout the night loaded with roses, lilies, chrysanthemums and lotus. Traders buy in bulk and the market is at its most spectacular between midnight and 4am. Highly photogenic.
Not for everyone at that hour, but if you're a night owl or an early riser, it's genuinely unlike anything else in the city.
14. 🏛️ Hỏa Lò Prison (Hanoi Hilton)
Time: 45-60 minutes | Entrance: 35,000 VND
Built by the French in 1896 to hold Vietnamese political prisoners, later used to hold American POWs during the Vietnam War - the prisoners called it the "Hanoi Hilton." The museum gives a fascinating vietnamese perspective from both eras. The French colonial cells are genuinely sobering.
A thought-provoking counterpoint to the temples and street food - worth half a morning if you're interested in Vietnam's modern history.
15. 🌿 Day Trip: Ninh Bình
Time: Full day | ~2 hours from Hanoi by bus or train
If you're in Hanoi for more than a week, get out to Ninh Bình. Often called "Ha Long Bay on land," the landscape is dramatic limestone karst rising above rice paddies and river valleys. Hire a rowboat through Tam Coc or Tràng An, rent a bicycle to reach Bich Dong Pagoda, and climb to Mua Cave for panoramic views across the valley.
Buses run regularly from Giap Bat bus station (around 100,000 VND). Day trips from Hanoi can also be arranged through any hotel or travel agency for around 350,000-500,000 VND including transport and boat.
New to Hanoi?
We've put together a separate guide covering practical tips for getting settled - transport, SIM cards, currency, air quality and what to expect in your first week.
Read the Hanoi practical guide 📚🏠 Where to Stay in Hanoi: Expat Neighbourhoods
If you're considering staying longer term, here's where most expats and digital nomads actually choose to live.
- Tay Ho (West Lake): The most popular expat area. Quieter than the centre, with villa houses, international schools, lakeside cafes, and a strong expat community. Expect ₫10–20M/month for a 2-bedroom.
- Hoan Kiem: Central Old Quarter location — great for short stays but noisier and pricier. Better suited to those who want everything walkable. Around ₫12–18M for a 1-bedroom.
- Ba Dinh: Quieter government district, well-connected by road. Popular with professional expats and Vietnamese families. ₫8–14M for a 2-bedroom.
- Cau Giay / My Dinh: Newer developments further from the centre. More affordable and better value for longer stays. ₫7–12M depending on size.