Hanoi

Com Chay Nang Tam Vegetarian Restaurant

This excellent restaurant is a good vegetarian option, and will please both vegetarians and non-vegetarians with its wide range of innovative dishes, which include fake meat dishes. Restaurant is comfortable with good ambience, and is good value. Well worth the short walk out of the old town.

Daily 10:00-21:00 · Vegan options

Etēsia

Excellent contemporary European wine bar and bistro, with intimate countertop seating and dedicated cocktail bar on second floor. French head chef formerly sous chef at Michelin-starred Parisian restaurant. No tables, only 18 counter seats. Reservations recommended due to limited seating, but walk-ins also welcome.

Daily: 17:00-21:00 · Mains 190K-890K dong

Ngọc Sơn Temple

玉山寺

Located on a small island in the Hoan Kiem Lake, connected with the mainland by a bridge. With small but attractive grounds, the temple displays on Vietnamese history and, more memorably, displays on the giant turtles, including a mummified specimen (who died in 1968). The two on-site gift shops vend a variety of souvenirs, many of them turtle-themed. Entry fee: 50.000 Dong

Highlands Coffee

On the 3rd floor in a ship-shaped 5-storey building (which is about to be demolished, so be quick) overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake and Vietnam's "Piccadilly Circus". Great spot to relax in scenic location where you can watch all the traffic and pedestrians go about their business below you along their outside balcony or stay inside their comfy air conditioned interior. They also serve food and beer.

Night Market

The major north-south street in the Old Quarter, from Hoàn Kiếm Lake almost to the train overpass, becomes a crowded walking street with everything from pirated DVDs to traditional ornaments. Prices are negotiable, but "foreigner pricing" is fairly common. Thankfully many shops nowadays offer fixed prices with big "no bargaining" signs.

Weekends from 19:00

Dalcheeni

Authentic Indian restaurant with classy interior and good view of West Lake, frequented by Indian expats; restaurant manager is a Goa native. All meat served is halal, with extensive vegetarian options available. Highly recommend the tandoor-grilled chicken, lamb and broccoli dishes. Reservations recommended.

Daily 10:30-14:30, 17:30-22:30 · Mains from 100K to 350K dong (Aug 2021)

JW Café

Luxury buffet restaurant. Immense triple-height dining room with panoramic views of adjacent lake and National Convention Center complex. Six live stations serve Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Mediterranean, BBQ, carved meat and fresh seafood selection; Sunday brunch has unlimited abalone, lobsters, French oysters and foie gras. Attached "Chocolate Lab" makes fresh, handmade truffles on site. Reservations essential.

Daily 06:00-22:00 · Breakfast 690K dong, lunch 590-790K dong, dinner: 1,100-1,350K dong, Sunday brunch 1,690K dong

Lamai Garden

Go here for a purely Vietnamese fine dining experience, without Gia's more Western-leaning influences. High-quality, farm-to-table ingredients obtained from across the north. Closed on weekends; reservations essential.

Lunch: Fri 11:30–15:00; dinner: Mon-Fri 18:00–23:00 · Tasting menu only: lunch from 1,400K dong, 11-course dinner from 1,800K dong

Temple of Literature

Văn Miếu / 文庙

The Temple was founded in 1070 and became the country's first university six years later. The overall design is somewhat similar to the "original" Confucian Temple in Qufu, with 5 courtyards. Most of the architecture is named with titles indicating reverence to literature and language. The showpiece of the complex is the third courtyard with eighty-odd stone tablets, each mounted on the back of a tortoise (known as bixi in Chinese), inscribed with the names of graduates. Another courtyard is full of gift shops, which also sell stamps, coins, and books. A reduced-size replica of the famous giant softshell turtle (the original being at the Ngoc Son Temple at the Lake of the Returned Sword) can be seen in one of the pavilions as well; it was made by Vietnamese artisans out of ceramic, and gold-plated. The fourth courtyard contains a temple and statues devoted to Confucius and his four disciples. Chinese history buffs should look out for the 萬世師表 plaque, which was presented to the temple by Emperor Kangxi of China in 1693. The fifth and last courtyard, which was destroyed by the French in 1946 and rebuilt in 2000, contains a mini-museum showcasing information on Emperor Lý Thánh Tông and his successors who built and renovated the temple. You may find a Vietnamese band playing local instrumental music in front of this museum. There are explanatory wall-hangings in English and French all along the way, and you don't need a guide.

Daily 08:00-18:00 · Adult 30,000 dong; student, senior or disabled person 15,000 dong; child under 15 free

dragonCELLO

Italian restaurant in grand colonial-style mansion, with commanding lakefront views of West Lake. Ground floor counter also offers extensive selection of Italian cured meats and cheese for takeaway. Risottos are especially good. Reservations recommended; home deliveries also available.

Daily 11:00-23:00 · Mains 215K-680K dong

B-52 Lake

Huu Tiep Lake

Until 19 Dec 1972, this was just a small brackish pond just off Hoàng Hoa Thám St., about 1 km west of the mausoleum. On that day, in a twisted retelling of the Hoan Kiem legend, Vietnamese anti-aircraft missiles blasted the enemy's eight-engine, 100-ton aircraft and sent it to the shallow bottom of the lake, where it remains.

Hoàn Kiếm Lake

A pleasant park in the centre of town, an easy walk from anywhere in the Old Quarter. This is the locals' favorite leisure spot; especially during weekends, when the lakeside streets are closed to traffic and becomes a pedestrian-only area. A great place to watch people practising tai chi in the morning or to sit and read in the afternoon. At weekends the park becomes even more popular as the normally busy road around it is pedestrianised, and instead filled with children driving electric cars or riding hoverboards. Hoàn Kiếm means "returned sword", and the name comes from a legend in which King Lê Lợi was given a magical sword by the gods, which he used to drive out the invading Chinese. Later, while boating on the lake, he encountered a giant turtle, which grabbed the sword and carried it down to its depths, returning it to the gods from whom it had come. (You can see a version of the legend at the Water Puppet Theatre.) The giant soft-shell turtles, whom Vietnamese biologists assigned to a separate species, Rafetus leloii, resided in the lake until the early 21st century. One of them, who died in 1968, has been preserved by the wonders of taxidermy, and can be viewed in a glass box (sarcophagus?) in a pavilion adjacent to Ngọc Sơn Temple on the island in the lake.

Park is free; 30,000 dong admission to the island temple (玉山祠).

Hồ Tây

West Lake

Mostly a residential hub of the well-to-do. The InterContinental West Lake, Sheraton Hanoi and Pan Pacific Hanoi are on this lake front.

Lenin Statue & Park

You can always feel the diversity and liveliness of Hanoi here. In the morning, there are low-energy aerobics class for elders and aerobics class for the young. During the day, one can enjoy the tranquility in the park since everybody is either at work or in school. In the afternoon, it becomes a playground for children, students, soccer teams, and badminton players.

Lý Thái Tổ Statue & Park

The park faces Hoàn Kiếm lake, with a beautiful view of the busy Hang Bai St. and the serenity of the willows on the bank of the lake. Many locals view this mini-park as their favourite place because it is a symbol of the integration of modernity and tradition. One might encounter a group of youths practising hip-hop, breakdancing, or playing foot-badminton, while at the same time seeing a three-generation family enjoying a walk in the park.

Voi Phục Temple

Đền Voi Phục

The western temple, dedicated to Prince Linh Lang, a son of King Lý Thái Tông and his 9th concubine Dương Thị Quang, who was killed in action at the Battle of Như Nguyệt River in a war with China's Song Dynasty. The name Voi Phục means "kneeling elephant", and you can see two statues of elephants in a kneeling position at the front of the temple, hence its name.

Công Nhân Theater

Tu Phu (Four Palaces Show)

"Four Palaces” refers to the belief in the worship of Four Mother Goddesses, including Mother Goddess of Heaven, Mother Goddess of Forest, Mother Goddess of Water and Mother Goddess of Earth.The late 19th and early 20th centuries were the most flourishing periods of Mother Goddess religion in Viet folklore. There are times when Mother Goddess religion is considered as a manifestation of superstition and thus prohibited. However, the rituals of “Tứ Phủ” (Four Palaces), known by several other names, for instance, Tứ Phủ Công Đồng or Four Palaces Council, hát văn, chầu thánh, etc., still have a remarkable presence and strong reflection in Viet folk arts for several reasons: 1. Four Palaces is considered as a medium of lively communication of humans with Gods or Saints, divine beings who are familiar to Vietnamese both spiritually and in real life. The communications are organized as rituals by psychics or mediums who play roles of middlemen connecting people to divines. As such, it connected with Vietnamese in general. 2. Four Palaces is a lively form of art which collected many materials of folk arts, for example, hát chầu văn or chầu thánh (a traditional folk art which combines trance singing and dancing) and rites (ceremonies) as well as music with drum, flute and folk instruments; ritual dancing, rites of hầu đồng (hiển thánh) or ritual dress of sorceresses, etc. You can buy ticket online via website.

Thu Sat 18:00-18:45, 19:30-20:15 · USD5.49-12.95

Green Lake (Ho Guom Xanh)

A crowded bar with weekly performances by popular local singers. A place for the definitive Vietnamese entertainment scene. Has a cover charge on the weekends. Seems to combine part live singing with drag performances and a host club.

Trấn Quốc Pagoda

Chùa Trấn Quốc

The oldest Buddhist temple in Hanoi, on an island near the southeastern shore of West Lake.

Presidential Palace Historical Site

The Presidential Palace Historical Site (Vietnamese: Khu di tích Phủ Chủ tịch), which is located in Hanoi, Vietnam, is the place where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked during most of his time as leader of North Vietnam, from December 19, 1954 until his death on September 2, 1969.

Heritage listed

Lenin Park

Lenin Park (Vietnamese: Công viên Lê-nin), formerly known as Chi Lăng Flower Garden, is a park in Hanoi, Vietnam, named after Vladimir Lenin. It lies across from the Vietnam Military History Museum and is surrounded by the streets of Điện Biên Phủ, Trần Phú, and Hoàng Diệu. The park's shape is triangular and has a total area of 17,183 m², including the Lenin monumental complex.

Gò Đống Đa

Phù hợp với tập thể dục, hội nhóm dã ngoại, gia đình hoạt động ngoài trời.

Heritage listed · Wheelchair accessible

Thong Nhat Park

Mo-Su 06:00-22:00

Ly Thai To Park

Đinh Tiên Hoàng - Hoàn Kiếm - Hà Nội

Hanoi Botanical Gardens

Vườn hoa Lý Tự Trọng

2 Đường Thụy Khuê

24/7 · Dog friendly

Dien Hong Park

24/7 · Built 1901

19C Ngọc Hà

19C Phố Ngọc Hà

Vườn hoa Bắc Long Biên

Ngọc Thụy, Long Biên

Công viên Ba Mẫu

54 Hẻm 77 Ven Hồ Ba Mẫu