Vietnam
Hanoi
The most atmospheric capital in Southeast Asia - a living old quarter that has not been sanitised for tourists.
Vietnam's capital is a thousand-year-old city where a tangled, motorbike-swarmed old quarter sits alongside French colonial boulevards, lakes and hundreds of pagodas and temples. It is the country's political and cultural heart, and for most visitors the natural gateway into northern Vietnam and Halong Bay.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
Vietnamese
Currency
VND
Timezone
UTC+7
Why you'll love Hanoi
The Old Quarter you can wander for days without repeating a street, each one still named for the trade once sold there
Street food some of the best and cheapest in the country, eaten on tiny plastic stools at the curb
History a dense layering - imperial, colonial, wartime - visible within a few blocks of each other
Lakeside mornings tai chi and community life that feel unstaged and everyday
Best time to visit
Apr, Oct-Dec
Warming up · 21-28° days
21.028° N, 105.854° E
UTC+7 · Asia/Bangkok
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Weather & when to go to Hanoi
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Apr, Oct-Dec
Conditions Jan Cool & drizzly · Feb Damp & grey · Mar Drizzly · Apr Warming up · May Hot & humid · Jun Monsoon heat · Jul Monsoon · Aug Heavy rain · Sep Storms easing · Oct Crisp & dry · Nov Cool & clear · Dec Dry & mild
Watch for Feb-Apr haze risk · Jul-Oct typhoons risk · Jul-Sep monsoon flooding risk
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Hanoi
Peak summer brings intense heat and humidity with sudden downpours, and winter can bring weeks of grey, smog-heavy skies - shoulder-season months either side are noticeably more comfortable.
Top things to do in Hanoi
-
Hoan Kiem Lake - dawn walk and Ngoc Son Temple
culture arts scenic 👍 PopularJoin locals doing tai chi and badminton around the lake at sunrise, then cross the red wooden Huc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple on its small island (entry around 30,000 VND).
-
Old Quarter - wander the 36 guild streets
culture arts shopping 👍 PopularEach street still trades what it did centuries ago - lanterns on Hang Ma, silver on Hang Bac, silk on Hang Gai - with hidden courtyard cafes like Nola tucked behind unmarked alley entrances.
-
Train Street - coffee beside the tracks
off beaten pathSip a drink at a cafe like Cafe Pho Co right on the rails as a train squeezes past a metre away (drinks around 30,000-40,000 VND); access is periodically closed by police, so check current status before going.
-
Cafe Giang - the original egg coffee
foodTry ca phe trung, the whipped egg-yolk and condensed-milk coffee invented here in 1946, still served by the same family down a cramped alley off Hang Gai (about 25,000-35,000 VND a cup).
-
Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre - a 1,000-year-old art form
culture artsCatch a 50-minute water puppet show with live traditional musicians near Hoan Kiem Lake, a northern Vietnamese tradition dating back over a millennium (tickets roughly 100,000-200,000 VND depending on seat).
-
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology - the 54 ethnic groups
culture arts history ⭐ Highly recommendedWander indoor galleries and an outdoor park of recreated stilt houses and tombs representing Vietnam's ethnic minorities, out in Cau Giay district (entry around 40,000 VND).
-
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Complex - pay respects
history 👍 PopularView Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body in the mornings (free, strict dress code, no photos inside), then walk the grounds to his stilt house, the car garage and the One Pillar Pagoda.
-
Eat your way around Hanoi - bun cha, pho and banh mi
food ⭐ Highly recommendedTrack down bun cha at a smoky grill joint like Bun Cha Huong Lien (made famous by Obama's visit, around 60,000-90,000 VND), a bowl of pho at a street-side stall, and a banh mi from a cart such as Banh Mi 25 (25,000-30,000 VND).
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West Lake (Tay Ho) - sunset cycle and craft beer
nightlife music scenicLoop the 17km shoreline on foot or by bike past Tran Quoc Pagoda, Vietnam's oldest, then finish among the craft breweries and bars clustered in Tay Ho's expat quarter.
-
Weekend night market and Long Bien Bridge sunset
shopping scenicBrowse the Old Quarter's pedestrian-only market that takes over the streets Friday to Sunday evenings with stalls and live music, then watch the sun set over the Red River from the century-old Long Bien Bridge.
Best areas to stay in Hanoi
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Old Quarter
First-timers & street food $Chaotic historic core, market stalls, street food
Explore hotels in Old Quarter →
French Quarter
History buffs & couples $$$Grand colonial boulevards, calm, elegant
Explore hotels in French Quarter →
Tay Ho (West Lake)
Nomads & longer stays $$Leafy lakeside expat hub, cafes
Explore hotels in Tay Ho (West Lake) →
Ba Dinh
Families & museums $$Leafy government district, museums, residential
Explore hotels in Ba Dinh →
Hai Ba Trung
Foodies & shoppers $$Local foodie streets, less touristy, central
Explore hotels in Hai Ba Trung →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Hanoi
Getting to & around Hanoi
Getting there
Fly into Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), then 45-60 min by taxi, shuttle bus, or Grab to the Old Quarter
Flight
Noi Bai International Airport (HAN)
25 km from the centre. Airport shuttle bus 86 to the Old Quarter in 50-60 min (VND 45,000), shared van VND 40,000-50,000, Grab VND 200,000-350,000, taxi VND 300,000-400,000.
Bus
Downtown Hanoi
Public buses 07, 17 and 90 run between Noi Bai and downtown at subsidized fares (VND 7,000-9,000) but are slow and awkward with luggage
Getting around
Grab car
Easiest option for visitors - fixed upfront fares, accepts foreign Visa/Mastercard in-app
VND 40,000-120,000 for 3-8 km
Grab motorbike
Cheap and fast for short hops, no meter to dispute
VND 15,000-40,000
Metered taxi
Stick to reputable firms like Mai Linh or Taxi Group to avoid rigged meters
Similar to Grab car, metered
Public bus
Cheapest option but limited English signage - use Google Maps to find the right route
VND 7,000-9,000
Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro (Line 2A)
Air-conditioned line linking central and western districts near the Temple of Literature
VND 8,000-15,000
Xe om (motorbike taxi)
Fast for short trips - agree the price and confirm the address before setting off
Negotiate before riding, no meter
Walking
Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake are compact and best explored on foot
Free
Day trips from Hanoi
Ninh Binh (Tam Coc / Trang An)
Full dayKarst rowboat trip
Rowboat through limestone karsts and rice paddies at Tam Coc or Trang An - the scenery that earns it the nickname 'Halong Bay on land'
Getting there
car | bus
~2 hr by car or bus from Hanoi
Halong Bay
Full dayLimestone bay cruise
Cruise past thousands of limestone karsts in the emerald-green bay - a long day (12+ hours door to door), so most travelers prefer an overnight cruise instead
Getting there
bus
~2.5-3.5 hr by bus or van from Hanoi
Sapa
2 daysRice terrace trekking
Terraced rice fields, hill-tribe villages and trekking routes around Sapa town, with Fansipan cable car access - technically reachable in a long day but better as an overnight
Getting there
bus | train
~4-5 hr by bus/van or overnight train from Hanoi
Bat Trang Ceramic Village
Half dayPottery village
Centuries-old pottery village on the Red River - browse ceramics stalls and try a hands-on wheel-throwing session
Getting there
car | bus
30-45 min by taxi, bus or Grab from Hanoi
Duong Lam Ancient Village
Half dayAncient village
Laterite-walled houses, communal temples and rural laneways largely unchanged for centuries
Getting there
car | bus
~1.5 hr by car or bus from Hanoi
A little history of Hanoi
Hanoi's roots stretch back to the 3rd century BCE, when the area served as a political centre for the early Vietnamese kingdom of Au Lac, but the city's story as a capital really begins in 1010, when Emperor Ly Thai To moved the seat of the newly unified Dai Viet here and named it Thang Long, or 'Ascending Dragon', after a vision of a golden dragon rising from the Red River. For most of the next thousand years Thang Long/Hanoi was the political and cultural heart of the country, surviving Mongol invasions, Chinese occupations, and eventually French colonisation, before emerging as the capital of a reunified Vietnam.
Under French rule Hanoi was rebuilt as the administrative capital of Indochina, which is why the Old Quarter's narrow trading streets now sit beside wide boulevards, a colonial-era opera house, and villa neighbourhoods. It became the capital of North Vietnam in 1954 after the French defeat, and then capital of a unified Vietnam in 1976 after the end of the Vietnam War, a status it has held ever since.
Emperor Ly Thai To founds Thang Long ('Ascending Dragon') as the capital of Dai Viet, the origin of modern Hanoi
The Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) is founded, becoming Vietnam's first national university
Thang Long survives three separate Mongol invasions, cementing its status as the seat of Dai Viet power
The Nguyen dynasty shifts the capital south to Hue; the city is later renamed Hanoi ('between the rivers') in 1831
Hanoi is made the capital of French Indochina and rebuilt with colonial-era boulevards, villas, and civic buildings
Following the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, Hanoi becomes the capital of North Vietnam
Hanoi becomes the capital of a reunified Vietnam after the end of the Vietnam War
The city marks 1,000 years since its founding, and the Thang Long Imperial Citadel is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
What Hanoi costs
Per person, per day · converted from VND
Shoestring
$13–21 USD /day
≈$350,000–550,000 VND
Dorm bed in the Old Quarter, street food (pho 35,000-50,000 VND, banh mi 20,000-35,000 VND), bia hoi, and walking or public bus over Grab.
Midrange
$34–61 USD /day
≈$900,000–1,600,000 VND
Private budget or boutique hotel room, a mix of street food and sit-down restaurants, occasional Grab rides, and paid sights like museums or the water puppet show.
Comfort
$95–171 USD /day
≈$2,500,000–4,500,000 VND
4-star or boutique colonial-style hotel, restaurant dining, taxis or private drivers, and guided day tours such as Ha Long Bay add-ons.
Prices are planning estimates.
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Limited
Wifi
Reliable
~70 Mbps
Power
Type A / B / C
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+84
Haze risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
Typhoons risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
Monsoon flooding risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
Mobile network & SIM card
Get an eSIM before you fly
A Vietnam eSIM installs in minutes and works the moment you switch off flight mode. No SIM swap, no roaming bill.
FAQs about Hanoi
▸ When is the best time to visit Hanoi?
The cooler, drier stretch from September through May is the best window, with the sweet spots being Mar-Apr (mild, blossoms out) and Oct-Dec (crisp, low humidity, clear skies). Jan-Feb can be grey and drizzly but stays comfortable. Jun-Aug is the low point of the year - hot, muggy, and prone to heavy downpours - and is best avoided if you have a choice.
▸ How many days do I need in Hanoi?
2-3 days covers the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake, and the main temples and museums. 4 days is the comfortable option, adding time for food tours, coffee culture, and a slower neighbourhood day. If you want to add a day trip to Ha Long Bay or Ninh Binh, budget 5-7 days total.
▸ Is Hanoi safe for tourists?
Yes - violent crime against tourists is rare and central areas have a strong police presence. The real risks are petty ones: pickpocketing and bag-snatching from passing motorbikes in the Old Quarter and night markets, taxi and tour overcharging, and heavy, chaotic traffic that takes some getting used to when crossing streets. Use metered or app-based taxis (Grab), keep bags zipped and worn cross-body, and don't drink the tap water.
▸ Do I need a visa to visit Hanoi?
It depends on your passport. A number of countries get 30- or 45-day visa-free entry to Vietnam, but most other nationalities need an e-visa, applied for online in advance through the official portal (evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn), which allows stays of up to 90 days. Check Vietnam's current entry rules for your specific passport before booking flights.
▸ Is it easy to get around Hanoi as a first-time visitor?
The Old Quarter and central lake area are very walkable, though pavements are often taken over by parked motorbikes and stalls, so a lot of walking happens on the road edge. For longer hops, ride-hailing apps (Grab, including motorbike-taxi options) are cheap and simple, and the city's growing metro line now connects some central and western districts.
More in Vietnam
Da Nang
Thirty kilometres of city beach, a river full of lit bridges, and central Vietnam's best days out all inside an hour's drive.
✓ best Jan-MayDalat
Vietnam in a jumper: pine ridges, waterfalls and French villas on a plateau that never gets hot.
✓ best Jan-AprHa Giang
Southeast Asia's most challenging motorbike loop through limestone peaks and isolated ethnic mountain villages
✓ best Oct-Apr