Travel Guide: Hanoi

Our first stop in Vietnam was Hanoi. We couldn’t decide if we wanted to go to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, because we only had time for one. Ultimately, we chose Hanoi because it wouldn’t be quite so hot and we were told Hanoi was a prettier city. Not sure those are good reasons… but it was a great city to visit nonetheless.

Activities:

• Water puppet show: This was definitely really touristy but also a really fun way to spend an hour.
• Ho Chi Minh Home/Mausoleum/Museum: We only went to the home and the mausoleum. An incredible look into Vietnamese history. I strongly suggest visiting this site with a guide, or else we never would have known the meaning behind anything we saw.
• Temple of Literature: Again, worth visiting with a guide to understand the history. Although, if you aren’t with a guide, you would still enjoy the beautiful grounds.
• Walk around Hoan Kiem Lake. This is the smaller of the lakes in Hanoi but it was right by our hotel and had a beautiful little temple you could visit, with a little pagoda in the middle of the lake (shown above).

Restaurants:

• City View Cafe: Located at the far tip of the lake, by the temple, this 5th floor (walk up) bar and restaurant has a beautiful view of the city and is the perfect spot to stop for a drink after a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake.
• Pho24: I am sure this place is like Vietnamese McDonalds, but our guide recommended it for lunch and the Pho was delicious. We went back twice.
• Spice Market: Located in the famous Metropole Hotel, traditional Vietnamese food with the friendliest staff, and beautiful atmosphere
• Opera Club: A couple doors down from the historic opera house. Traditional Vietnamese food. Good, but not great.

From Hanoi, we flew to DaNang which was our favorite portion of the vacation. More on that. If you have any other questions about Hanoi let me know!