Well Hanoi There! Top Tips For Vietnams Incredible Northern Metropolis

Hanoi is Vietnam’s second biggest city and doesn’t get as much attention as the capital Ho Chi Minh - However it has it’s own unique charm and is well worth a visit! Having visited both I found Hanoi a little bit cheaper and it had a more romantic charm, feeling more historical and has avoided the rapid urban development that it’s southern sister has experienced.

Hanoi is a lot more walk able and features more concentrated areas of sights, especially around the central lake area - it is definitely a city you could cover in a weekend. Hanoi has many amazing examples of their french colonial heritage which is an amazing contrast to the many brutalist buildings surviving from their early communist days. The public transport isn’t the best and they have only just opened their first metro line, however grab is very easy and affordable and I had some very helpful and informative drivers too!

The two main areas to visit are the French Quarter and the Old Quarter, I stayed in the Old Quarter as I found the boutique hotels here a lot more appealing and also closer to the food streets. The old quarter also has the best shopping and you can still get some beautiful hand crafts and hand made clothes for reasonable prices.

The St Joseph’s Cathedral is a mini notre damn surrounded by little cafes and pho restaurants, which is symbolic of the east meets west experience of hanoi.

My favourite thing was walking around the central lake in Hanoi (Hoan Kiem Lake) and taking in the different architectural and historical styles, some of them have been beautifully restored into cafes and restaurants.

The main political buildings are located in the Ba Dinh district and offer the best contrast between building styles, and also helps you understand how many transitions Vietnam has experienced in it’s history.

I was really impressed by the museums in Hanoi too, they covered many different areas and were also very cheap! And if you go in rainy season they are a good place to head to in a taxi to wait out the rain, as it often rains on and off in hour long bursts.

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Post by Jamie Daniel Ali | Jul 20, 2025