Hanoi
Hanoi is a thriving northern Vietnamese metropolis. Hanoi is called “Paris of the East” for its French influence. Many lakes, tree-lined alleys, and over 100 French colonial structures make Hanoi a famous tourist destination in Vietnam.
The various alternatives available for fun in Hanoi are plentiful. Modern and old-fashioned theatres, cinemas, karaoke bars, dance clubs that cater to every audience type, bowling alleys and an array of stores can be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. Notably delicious food such as savory noodle dishes that melt into your mouth upon tasting , traditional street food with an enticing aroma and satisfying coffee is found in Hanoi. A visit to Vietnam without stopping at this town will not be complete since this central offers a rare combination between ancient tradition and contemporary development.
Several landmarks from the era of French colonization are southwards off Hoàn Kiem’s “French Quarter,” including the National Museum of Vietnamese History (formerly known as École française d’Extrême-Orient), Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi (the hotel), St Joseph Cathedral (Hanoi) and then Opera House. Most French-colonial structures became embassies within Hoan Kiem.
Ba Nang which is also referred to as the political heartland of Vietnam has a variety of Vietnamese governmental institutions many of which own ardent Ministries & Embassies built on former administrative premises in French Indochina including The Presidential Palace; The National Assembly Building among others. Additionally,the One Pillar Pagoda is located in Ba Dinh district where you will also find Lycée du Protectorat and finally Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.
Hanoi is sometimes called the “city of lakes” because it has several beautiful lakes within it being a riverine city with low-lying terrain. Out of the numerous lakes in Hanoi, Hoàn Kim Lake, West Lake and Bay Mau Lake (inside Thongnhat Park) are the most famous ones. Sword Lake is also known as Hoan Kiem Lake which is related to a legend of a sacred sword. West Lake (Ha Tay) is a popular tourist spot and the largest lake in Hanoi, surrounded by many temples. It’s great for biking, exercise, seeing lotus ponds in summertime and exploring the city along the Nghi Tam – Quang Ba lakeside road.
Hanoi has been Vietnam’s capital for over a thousand years now and it remains one of the country’s most important cultural centers with virtually every Vietnamese dynasty leaving their mark here. Several cultural and historical sites still exist despite conflicts and time eroding some of the city’s assets. For instance even when Nguyn Dynasty transferred its capital to Hu in 1802, Hanoi continued to grow especially after it was occupied by French in 1888 who transformed its buildings to their liking hence enriching its cultural heritage. The city still retains more valuable cultural sites than any other place within Vietnam and this has made it possible for well over thousand years of existence to be preserved effectively throughout history that spans over millenniums.
Hanoi - Introduction
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Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam is second largest in the country. It had an estimate of 7.6 million people. Hanoi lies approximately 1,760 kilometers north of Ho Chi Minh City and 120 kilometers west of Hai Phong. In October 2010 the town celebrated its millennium birthday. The art work also known as Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Artwork was made on a 4-kilometer long ceramic mural for that day.
Hanoi combines East and West together with Chinese domination dating back centuries and a French je ne sais quoi owing to her colonial past. It remained virtually untouched by modern architecture during the seventies and eighties but it is now among Southeast Asia’s dynamo cities.
To all invading forces, Hanoi is an excellent capital city. This has been so for nearly a thousand years through invasions, occupations, re-branding, restorations,.
Among attractive colonial Indochina cities, Ha Noi is often either the starting or ending point of a trip to Vietnam and what a great start or finish it makes! Since being opened up to tourism, Ha Noi has undergone massive changes but still manages to maintain its essential nature as a great tourist spot.
Located on the banks of the Red River; Hanoi is one of world oldest capital cities. As soon as you enter Vietnamese capital’s city center you will come across well-maintained roads lined with ancient pagodas and some nice museums. It boasts delicious French cuisine, vibrant nightlife and produces beautiful silk items including other exotic crafts; this French-colonial city center area is famous for many reasons.It’s also worth exploring on foot.Its multicultural community like any other urban area today consists mostly of Chinese with some Russian influence besides France being former colonizers too.
Tourism
Hanoi is a vivacious and ancient city which gives tourists an unmatched combination of culture, fun and scenic beauty. Hanoi is a city for all, with its traditional markets, street food stalls, old temples and museums.The Old Quarter in Hanoi is one major sight seeing place that has narrow streets filled with traditional shops, art galleries and eateries. Visitors to this part of the city can explore it on foot while hearing what they see.
Another place not to miss out in Hanoi is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where the imposing edifice serves as the final resting place for Vietnam’s father of nationhood and also serves as a main pilgrimage site for visitors. The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology and the Vietnam Military History Museum present intriguing cultural insights into Vietnamese heritage for fans of historical facts.
The Temple of Literature, on the other hand, which dates back to Confucius’ 11th century reign, represents serenity as well as beauty. In addition to being central to Hanoi’s culture, food provides guests with an array of traditional dishes such as pho (beef or chicken noodle soup), banh mi (a type of sandwich) or cha ca (grilled fish with turmeric and dill).
Weather & Climate
The climate in Hanoi is subtropical, with four identifiable seasons namely; summer, autumn, winter and spring
Hot humid conditions characterize summer from May to August period.
During the months of September and October which marks the fall season there is a decline in temperatures as well as precipitation.
The dry season being November through to January where February has foggy and overcast days in most cases.
Hanoi gets about 1,680mm of rainfall annually with most of it experienced between May and September. It also has about 114 wet days each year.
The annual mean temperature for Hanoi is 23.6°C while relative humidity stands at around 79%.
It then goes on to record the following weather conditions for every month:
- January: One of coldest months with slightly low temperatures ranging from 14oC -20 degrees Celsius with rising dampness. The rain falls lightly for an average seven to fourteen days.
- Februay: Moderate mild climatic condition with graduallly changing temperature between fifteen and twenty one degree calcius. It experiences more rainfall compared to January approximately over a span of thirteen days.
- March: A transition time from cold into warmer weather during which temperature rises from eighteen to twenty three degrees Celsius. More rain than previous months, averaging around forty millimeters to fifty millimeters.
- April: Transition between spring and summer when temperatures climb up to twenty eight degrees Celsius in average. More rains occur than in March, that is approximately ninety-one millimeter over a course of thirteen –eighteen wet days.
- May: During this month the beginning of summer occurs when there is rapid increase in temperature as well as significant increase in precipitation by about one hundred ninety-one mm lasting two weeks or more.
- June: Summer commences with higher heat levels accompanied by plenty rainfalls whereby water drops reach up until two hundred twenty-nine millimeters (229mm) as temperature reaches up above thirty-eight degrees (38oc).
- July: This is the hottest month of the year with temperatures as high as thirty-three degrees Celsius, heavy humidity and violent thunderstorms.
- August: Here falls the beginning of autumn when temperature starts to decrease and there is torrential rainfall hence becoming wettest in Hanoi.
- September: These are times when temperatures remain comfortable for most people and precipitation has fallen back from previous months indicating that the rainy season is coming to an end.
- October: It turns a bit frosty signaling beginning of dry season with some rainless days.
- November: During this time it may be extremely cold yet practically less rainy and lower moistness.
- December: In December, northern Vietnam experiences its lowest temperatures; conditions are cold and while sunshine may be limited.
Demografics
In its earliest days, Hanoi was home to many French, Chinese and Vietnamese people leading to fluctuating population numbers resulting from historical factors such as wars and political changes.
The First Indochina War led to a significant exodus of French and Chinese which heightened depopulation. However, from the second half of the twentieth century, Hanoi has had rapid population growth as well as territorial expansion. Its population rose from 53,000 in 1954 to over 8 million by 2019 making it the second largest city after Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
This developmental process has thus put pressure on Hanoi’s infrastructure which is in most cases out-dated since first half of XX century. Consequently, that growth has converted Hanoi into one of the major cultural and political centers in Vietnam.
Nevertheless; long-term residents are becoming less common in Hanoi where now provincial merchants rather than traditional family businesses can be found at numerous shops at the Old Quarter area despite being rooted historically. As district-based household registration systems become more lenient this trend is accelerating.
As a result of increased number of residents, Hanoi had a telephone numbering system that was enlarged while mobile phones and SIM cards were made easily available. These changes indicate how the city has transitioned from its past times into a bustling modern metropolis grappling with quick urbanization challenges.
Economy, Internet, Comunication
Hanoi has the highest HDI among the Vietnamese cities. A PricewaterhouseCoopers report lately announced that Hanoi would have the world’s fastest growing economy from 2008 to 2025.
The city’s industrial production has increased rapidly since the nineties with 19.1% average annual growth rate in manufacturing output during 1991-1995; it also raised by 15.9% during 1996-2000 and then by 20.9% in the years between 2001 and 2003. Besides other eight existing industrial parks, Hanoi is developing five new large-scale industrial parks and sixteen small and medium-sized industrial clusters. The non-state eco sector is growing at a rapid pace with more than forty-eight thousand firms currently operating under Enterprise Law (as of March, 2007).
Tourism services, finance industry as well as banking contribute more largely now into the structure of its economy which has also changed dramatically, such as historic commercial districts like Hoàn Kim d strict Ng a District or neighborhood, Cu Giy and T Liêm in the western region.
The face of Hanoi has been altered significantly in recent years corresponding to economic development of this city. Infrastructures are constantly being built on undergoing improvement works such as new motorways and improved public transport systems.
There are many Internet cafes all over the town. Most of them are occupied by Vietnamese teenagers who are into activities like online dancing or fighting games. Hourly charges can be as low as 3000 VND. Certain upscale ones, particularly in the Old Quarter, have computers with Skype for international calls. The commonest types of Internet café are those offering paid-for-Internet access and desktop PCs on rent. There are a lot of no-cost Wi-Fi cafes though. Here, you just pay for anything on their menu, so long as you would want to enjoy their Wi-Fi connections endlessly. Hoan Kiem Lake is surrounded by Wi-Fi cafés.
Hanoi Travel Guide
Best Time To Visit
In Vietnam, only in Hanoi, we observe the four seasons including spring, summer, autumn and winter. Typically, the mercury ranges from about 12 to 36 degrees Celsius during winters and hottest summer days respectively.
Perhaps the best time to visit Hanoi is in its spring (February-April) or autumn (September-November) when it is neither too hot nor too cold. In Hanoi, fine weather and clear skies usually coincide with springtime. Besides at Tet holiday period, visitors can take part in various special traditional activities.
In September, after a long dry season there are heavy rains that put an end to the heat of summer, providing excellent conditions for walking along central streets of the city…
How To Get In
The place where most travelers arrive is at the Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), which is 35km (45-60 minutes) northwards from the city. The international terminal of this airport was opened in 2015 and has really expanded it to a large extent, though the Vietnam Airlines side of the domestic terminal is still choked. Preparing for your flight here doesn’t require one to come hours before time because both terminals are straightforward.
If you are departing Noi Bai airport on Vietnam Airlines without checked-in luggage, go down to the last check-in counter of the airline; its end will be on your left side and there will be a board with “check-in for passengers without bags” written on it. In case you are using this counter for your travel, it will enable you save much time.
The international departure tax is included in the ticket price; hence no payments should be made at the airport.
How To Travel Around
Hanoi has 1,370 streets and roads with a total length of more than 2,300 kilometers (1,429 miles); 573 bridges, including 483 small to middle bridges, 13 light overpasses for vehicles, 70 pedestrian overpasses, and 7 main bridges (Chng Dng, Vnh Tu, Thanh Tr, Nht Tan, ông Trù, Thăng Long, and Phùng); 115 tunnels, including 9 main tunnels.
The total percentage of land used for traffic in the city of 2021 is 10.3%. Additionally, the city contains 63 kilometers (39 miles) of interior waterways, including the Yn stream, Hai stream, Cà L, and áy river.
Noi Bai International Airport is located in Soc Son District, roughly 15 kilometers (9 miles) north of Hanoi. The new international terminal (T2), which was developed and constructed by Japanese contractors and inaugurated in January 2015, is a significant upgrade for the airport.
Prices
Tourist (Backpacker) – 28 $ per day. Estimated cost per 1 day including:
- meals in cheap restaurant
- public transport
- cheap hotel
Tourist (business/regular) – 77 $ per day. Estimated cost per 1 day including:
- mid-range meals and drinks
- transportation
- hotel
Districts & Neighborhoods
In Hà Nội, there are twelve urban districts, one district-level town and seventeen rural districts. In 2008, Ha Tay was incorporated into Hanoi as a result of which Hà Đông became an urban district while Sơn Tây was downgraded to a district level town. There are 22 commune-level towns (or townlets), 399 communes and 145 wards.
Ba Đình is one of four original urban districts (qun) of the capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi. It has now fourteen wards with total area of approximately square kilometers. As at 2019, the district had a population of two hundred twenty-one thousand eight hundred ninety three and population density of twenty four thousand persons per square kilometer.
Đống Đa is among the original four urban districts (qun) making up the Vietnamese capital city, Hanoi that contains twenty one wards covers 9,5 sq.km area in total. This is the most populous ward in Hanoi.
Attractions & Things To See
Hanoi has held the title of “capital” for over a thousand years. This is the most important city in terms culture and education in Vietnam. The level of population and industrial development falls short of that of Hochiminh. Where tourists are concerned, Hanoi is the most attractive city at once. In 1010, it was first mentioned as capital which belonged to Daicoviet state. It got its name ThangLong back then, as well as “The flying dragon,” when translated into English from Vietnamese.
The town got its present name Hanoi at 1831, under Emperor Minh Mang’s rule. In the first half of twentieth century it acted as the capital for French Indochina nationality. A fantastic mix of East and West cultures is among things that make mega polis instantly recognizable today. Life style can be easily identified through architecture or cultural traditions characteristic to a given society. Their ancestors’ customs are honored by citizens themselves even though many lead sort of European traditional lifestyle.
Activities & Things to do
Hanoi is well-suited for active, enjoyable vacations. There are pretty parks that are great for walking and sports.
In addition to that, there are vibrant bazaars, luxurious malls, first-class entertainment centers and night clubs.
For you who like water activities, Ho Tay Lake Water Park is the right place to be. It has a variety of attractions. Enormous pools with transparent blue water, numerous bright slides and cozy relaxing spots, good equipped kids’ playgrounds and a sweet café – everything that will make your day perfect can be found here.
The water park is located near the lake Ho Tay; therefore after several days of being active the tourists may just go through a beautiful park and enjoy the natural beauty of these places.
Beaches
Located in the urban area of Thinh Long city, Hai Hau District, Thinh Long Beach is also located in an urban area. It is positioned around 80 km from Hanoi. There is the presence of lush tropical trees. Specifically, it stretches for a distance of 3km. The water is very clear. Generally speaking, one finds this beach quiet and peaceful. It is ideal for couples or friends.Sports related to water are well represented. The service team is on duty during the season of rescuing people from water bodies like sea, rivers and lakes.
The French founded Sam Son Beach which has grown into a lively coastal town since then in 1907. This beach lies about 16 km from Thanh Hoa City and approximately 150 kilometers southwards from Hanoi.Its length reaches up to approximately ten kilometers and it is sandy.The length of this beach extends up to around six kilometers.The water here looks clean with a blue color similar to that of turquoise. The bottom part where you step into the sea or river is smooth.
Food & Restaurants
The Vietnamese food has been getting better in terms of quality and variety ever since the mid-1990s. Pho is a very popular soup with different types such as “Pho bo” which is beef noodle soup and “pho ga” which is chicken noodle soup. There are many restaurants in today’s Hanoi, which number up to thousands that offer all kinds of foods including chicken, beef, fish or any seafood type. These eateries are spread across the whole city.
Hanoi streets are filled with small street cafes. These kiosks have plastic chairs and tables inside them. It is highly recommended you visit these restaurants to get a taste of regional cuisine and culture. Furthermore, it should be noted that quality, freshness and cleanliness can vary greatly between individual places. A bowl of noodle soup could cost 30-40,000 dong, while market food shops sell portions of fruit for between 10-20,000 dong per item sausage or doughnut depending on the product advertised therein among other items.
Shopping
US dollars are widely accepted, and cash is preferred. The idea that foreigners are wealthy and should therefore pay more than locals is well ingrained in local society, and most shops quote pricing for tourists (even Vietnamese people from other provinces) that are significantly higher than those for locals. As a result, even if you know what it is, most sellers will insist that you pay the tourist price as they know you are a tourist and won’t allow you negotiate the price down to the local price.
Hanoi is a shopper’s paradise, and the streets are the finest places to window shop. There are many foreign brand-selling Western-style malls that also serve as air-conditioned entertainment hubs with theaters, cafes, and restaurants. However, every wise shopper is aware that the markets are where to find the finest deals and hippest products, whether they be silk, street food, or souvenirs.
Nightlife
After nightfall, virtually any activity can occupy your time. If you enjoy cultural performances, Water Puppet Theatre is an excellent place to begin (read more about Water Puppet Theatre). The nightly performances of folk tales and traditional music are especially appealing to children.
Tuong Opera House and Ca Tru Opera House stand out as the ideal option for those seeking a less crowded destination. Even the locals gather here to reminisce about how they used to mingle prior to the advent of iPods and Facebook.
The Old Quarter is still your best bet for partying, although Tay Ho is becoming an increasingly popular destination for foreigners.
There is something for every budget in Hanoi, from the VND 3,000 draught beer to the euro-count French brews.
Stay Safe & Healthy
Walking through Hanoi’s streets is difficult for the faint of heart. In Vietnam, Hanoi traffic and all over is largely dominated by an incredible number of motorbikes that always seem like they are involved in some crazy race running towards something just out of reach. This might be scary for tourists who just want to stroll around, especially in the narrow passages of Old Quarter.
There don’t exist any one-way streets in Vietnam. You must also look ahead and behind as well as left and right when you pull out from the sidewalk. Upwards and downwards would do, too. Go slowly but with determination at every step. Kindly wait until motorcycles pass. Take your time; avoid acting erratically so that motorists know you’re there and may anticipate your vector, or any other direction that might be taken by another bike. Although it may appear chaotic, if you approach any street – big or small- cautiously and carefully crossing it would be easy.
