Hoan Kiem lake, and the weekend it closes to traffic
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Hanoi is built around a lake, and the lake is where the city goes at half past five in the morning. Hoan Kiem is a twenty-minute walk around, and the interesting part is who else is walking it.
What is around the lake?
Hoan Kiem lake sits between the old quarter and the French quarter, with a paved path of about 1.7 km running right around it. Ngoc Son temple stands on an island at the northern end, reached by the red The Huc bridge that everybody photographs.
The Turtle Tower stands on its own islet in the middle, ruined, floodlit at night and unreachable. It carries the legend that names the lake: a sword returned to a giant turtle by the emperor who used it to drive out the Ming.
Everything else is benches, trees and the city. That is the point of it.
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Path around | About 1.7 km, flat and paved |
| Ngoc Son temple | Around 50,000 dong, over the red bridge |
| Turtle Tower | On an islet, seen rather than visited |
| Walking street | Friday evening to late Sunday |
| Best hours | 05:00–07:00 and after dark |
What is worth paying for?
Ngoc Son temple is the only ticket, at around 50,000 dong, and it is worth half an hour. Inside are the shrines, the bridge itself, and the preserved body of one of the lake's giant softshell turtles, which died in 2016.
The lake and the path cost nothing. So does the view of the Turtle Tower, which is the photograph most people came for.
At about 26,000 dong to the US dollar the temple is two dollars, which the trip cost guide puts in the same bracket as a coffee and a banh mi.
When does the walking street run?
The roads around the lake close to traffic from Friday evening until late on Sunday, and the whole area turns into a pedestrian zone. Families bring children, students bring speakers, groups play shuttlecock, and food carts fill the side streets.
The walking street is the best evening in Hanoi for seeing the city off duty. It is also the loudest, which matters if your hotel faces the lake — the where to stay page covers which streets to avoid at weekends.
Outside those hours the same roads carry traffic, and crossing them is the ordinary Hanoi exercise the safety guide describes.
What happens at five in the morning?
The lake fills with people exercising: tai chi groups, badminton without a net, joggers, dancers with speakers, and older residents walking laps. It starts before sunrise and thins out by seven.
Nothing about it is staged for visitors, and it is the reason to set an alarm on the first morning when jet lag is helping anyway. The mornings guide covers the same hour across the country.
Cafes around the lake open at the same time. A coffee at an upstairs window over the water is the standard way to watch it.
How does it fit into a day?
The lake works as a hinge rather than a destination: twenty minutes on the way to the old quarter, an hour with the temple, an evening at the weekend. Most people cross it several times without planning to.
The Hanoi things to do page builds the old quarter walk from here, and the three days in Hanoi route puts the first evening at the lake for the sake of the time difference.
Nothing here needs booking. That is unusual enough in a capital city to be worth saying.
What else is on the shore?
The old quarter starts at the north-west corner, thirty-six streets of shophouses that still group by trade. The water puppet theatre sits on the eastern side, and the water puppets guide explains whether the show is for you.
South of the lake is the French quarter: the opera house, the wide boulevards and the colonial facades that the architecture guide covers.
North of it, ten minutes on foot, is train street. Between the three you have most of a first day in Hanoi without a taxi.
Is the lake actually worth the time?
For twenty minutes, always. For an evening, only at the weekend or in the hour after sunrise, which are the two times it stops being a traffic island with a view.
Anybody expecting a sight will find a pond with a ruined tower. Anybody watching the city use it will find the most Hanoi thing in Hanoi.
The difference is the hour, which is true of most of what the Hanoi page recommends.
FAQ
What is Hoan Kiem lake?
The lake at the centre of Hanoi, between the old quarter and the French quarter, with the Ngoc Son temple on an island at its northern end and the ruined Turtle Tower on an islet in the middle. It is the city's meeting place rather than a sight to tick off.
How much does Ngoc Son temple cost?
Around 50,000 dong for the temple on the island, reached over the red The Huc bridge. The lake itself and the path around it are free, and most of what makes the lake worth the time happens on that path rather than inside the temple.
When does the walking street around Hoan Kiem happen?
From Friday evening until late on Sunday, when the roads around the lake close to traffic and fill with families, games, buskers and food stalls. It is the single best evening in Hanoi for anybody who wants to see the city enjoy itself rather than work.
What is the Turtle Tower?
A small ruined tower on an islet in the lake, built in the 19th century and tied to the legend that gives the lake its name — a returned sword and a giant turtle. The last of the lake's giant softshell turtles died in 2016, and its preserved body is displayed at Ngoc Son temple.
What time should you visit Hoan Kiem lake?
Between five and seven in the morning, when Hanoi exercises around it, or after dark when it is lit. The middle of the day is hot and the path is crowded with tour groups. The weekend evenings are a different experience entirely, because the traffic is gone.
How long do you need at Hoan Kiem lake?
Twenty minutes to walk around it, an hour with the temple, and an evening if the walking street is on. The circuit is about 1.7 km on a flat paved path, so it works as a break between other things rather than as a destination.