Hanoi
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Hanoi rewards visitors who slow down. The city rewards nobody who tries to tick it off in an afternoon. Its best hours are the ones spent walking a lane with no particular destination.
Everything on the site about the city is collected here. What follows is the orientation the rest of it assumes.
How does the Old Quarter actually work?
Thirty-six lanes north of Hoan Kiem lake, each historically named for the trade it sold. Hang Bac was silver and Hang Ma was paper goods. Many still cluster that way: a street of nothing but tin, then a street of nothing but shoes.
The layout is the thing to understand before your first walk. Hanoi's old lanes are not a grid and not a maze. They are a set of short streets that all eventually run back down to the lake, so getting lost for long is close to impossible. Wandering is the right approach here rather than a risky one. The Old Quarter guide maps which streets still sell what they are named for.
Two practical notes. Pavements are for parking and for eating, so you will walk in the road — everyone does, and traffic expects it. The second is a date: from 7pm on Friday until midnight on Sunday the streets around the lake close to vehicles. Those are the best few hours the Old Quarter offers.
Which district should you sleep in?
The Old Quarter to be in it, the blocks south of the lake to be beside it. Almost everything a first visit wants is within a thirty-minute walk of Hoan Kiem, so the choice is about noise rather than access.
The Old Quarter puts you in the middle of the thing you came for. The cost is a street that is loud until late and awake early. The blocks south of the lake, toward the French Quarter, are two minutes further from everything and considerably quieter at 1am.
West Lake is the third option and a different trip: calmer, more residential, more expensive per night, and far enough out that you commit to taxis. It suits a second visit better than a first.
How old is Hanoi, and how big?
About 1,000 years old as a capital: Ly Thai To moved the seat of government here in 1010, and the Thang Long citadel that survives from it is a UNESCO site. The modern city holds roughly 8 million people.
The Old Quarter's 36 streets are the medieval trading core, and they are still named after the trades that occupied them.
What does a day cost?
Food and transport barely register; the room is the whole decision. A bowl of pho at a neighbourhood place runs about 40,000 dong, near two US dollars. Short Grab rides across the centre cost a fraction of a European taxi.
The pattern holds across the country, which is why a daily budget copied from an article rarely matches what you spend. Our guide on what a week in Vietnam costs works through the two decisions that actually move the number.
When should you come to Hanoi?
October to April, and know that winter here is real. Unlike the south, the north has a dry half of the year and a wet one. Hanoi in January is cool rather than tropical, and visitors who packed for Southeast Asia notice.
May to October is hot, humid and takes the year's rain, usually as a heavy afternoon burst rather than a grey day. The region-by-region guide covers how the north's calendar disagrees with the rest of the country, which matters if Hanoi is one stop of several.
How long is enough?
The day-by-day version of that answer is the three days in Hanoi route.
Two days, three if the trip allows. Two covers the Old Quarter, the lake and the ceremonial quarter at Ba Dinh at a walking pace. The third is where West Lake, a museum morning, or a day trip out to Ninh Binh or Ha Long goes.
Which district those days start from matters more here than in most cities, and the where to stay page sets out the five options. If you are still choosing between the two ends of the country, the Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City comparison is the argument in full.
On a ten-day route through the country, Hanoi takes two days at the start and Ha Long takes the third. Most short trips end up making that compromise, and it is the right one. It is still a compromise: Hanoi is the city on that route most improved by an extra morning.
FAQ
Where should you stay in Hanoi?
The Old Quarter if you want to walk out into the city, and the streets just south of Hoan Kiem lake if you want the same access with quieter nights. Both put almost everything worth seeing within half an hour on foot, which matters here because short taxi rides through the lanes are slower than walking.
How long should you spend in Hanoi?
Two full days covers the Old Quarter, the lake and Ba Dinh without hurrying. A third day adds West Lake or a day trip. Most itineraries give Hanoi two days and most visitors wish they had kept the third.
What does a day in Hanoi cost?
Food and local transport are cheap enough to stop being a decision, with a bowl of pho around 40,000 dong and short Grab rides a fraction of a European taxi. Where you sleep is what actually moves the total, the same as everywhere else in Vietnam.
What is the best time to visit Hanoi?
October to April is the dry half of the northern year. December and January are genuinely cold rather than tropical, and May to October is hot, humid and wet — pleasant enough if you keep an indoor option in reserve for the afternoon downpour.
Is Hanoi walkable?
More than it looks. Almost everything a first visit wants sits within about two kilometres of Hoan Kiem lake, and West Lake is the main exception. The obstacle is not distance but pavements, which are usually occupied by parked motorbikes and stools.
