Hanoi Holiday Weather today

Date/time of update: April 18, 2024, 12:53 am, Timezone: GMT+7
Thunderstorm With Rain

Temperature: 24.03°C
Temperature feels like: 24.94°C
Minimum Temperature: 24.03°C
Maximum Temperature: 24.03°C
Atmospheric pressure: 1010hPa
Humidity:94%
Visibility: 4400m
Wind speed: 5.14m/sec
Wind Direction: 310 degrees
Cloudiness: 75%
Sunrise: 2024-04-17 10:34:55
Sunset: 2024-04-18 11:16:15

Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam with history of over 1,000 years old. With the vicissitude of Vietnam, Hanoi has taken into itself huge cultural influences from the East and the West. The blend of culture is the special draw card that attracts a large number of foreign visitors to travel to Hanoi every year.

Hanoi Travel Guide, and Tourist Attractions in Hanoi

1/ Hanoi Citadel, Thang Long Citadel

Let us start our tour of Hanoi with a visit to the site of the ancient Thang Long Citadel which was first built by King Ly Thai To (Ly Cong Uan) in 1010 A.D. The citadel faces south and the Flag Tower was at the front of the complex.

2/ The Flag Tower of Hanoi, Army Museum

Nowadays, the Flag Tower is in the yard of the Army Museum of Vietnam. Visiting the Flag Tower, you'll also have a good look into the Vietnamese Army history and the wars that ravaged the country for thousands of years. We’ll climb the flag tower and have good views of the remains of the citadel and the surrounding. The Flag Tower and the Military History Museum should take 1-2 hours.

The Flag Tower of Hanoi Citadel

3/ Doan Mon, Hanoi Citadel (a reduced version of Thang Long Citadel)

 Leaving the Flag Tower, we'll head north along Hoang Dieu Street for visiting the citadel. After the entrance for visitors, you'll see a huge yard in front of the South Gate of the Citadel (Doan Mon). Passing through Doan Mon, you'll be in the Purple Forbidden City of the Royal Citadel earlier. A visit to the Thang Long Hanoi Citadel should take from 1 to 2 hours.

Doan Mon, Hanoi Citadel

It is necessary to know that in the 19th century, the capital city of Vietnam was moved to Hue and the citadel in Hanoi was rebuilt and reduced in scale to make it smaller than the Imperial Citadel in Hue. And Hanoi Citadel nowadays is only a small version of the once splendid Thang Long Citadel earlier. These two citadels were on the same site and of different scales and functions.

4/ One Pillar Pagoda

Leaving Hanoi Citadel, we’ll proceed to the One Pillar Pagoda which was a part of the Royal Garden of the Thang Long Citadel back in time. The pagoda was built according to the King’s dream that he saw the Goddess of Mercy who took his hand and led him to a lotus flower pond. According to a trusted Buddhist monk that got certain omen and hence the construction of the pagoda. The old pagoda had been reconstructed several times. In 1954, the French destroyed the old pagoda when they withdrew from Hanoi. The current pagoda was built in 1955.

5/ Ho Chi Minh Complex

Then we’ll proceed to visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Presidential Complex and learn a bit of the most revered man of Vietnam and a bit of the Vietnamese modern history. Next to Ho Chi Minh Museum is the Presidential Palace where the President of Vietnam works nowadays. The building was of the French General Governor of Indochina back in the colonial time. It was here that the French delegation was contained by the Japanese Army when they came back to Hanoi in 1945 seeking ways to re-establish their power in Indochina. The Ho Chi Minh Complex should take 1-2 hours and more time is needed if you plan to visit Ho Chi Minh Museum in the same compound.

Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum in Hanoi

6/ Temple of Literature

The Temple of Literature is only less than 10 minutes walk from Ho Chi Minh’s complex. Originally it had been a Confucius Temple for praising education in Vietnam. In 1076 the First National University was added to the site. To get admission to this school lots of efforts and talents were required. Back then the King of Vietnam recruited mandarins through exams and knowledge was much appreciated in the whole Kingdom. The traditions lives on nowadays. There are still stone steles in the temple which records the Royal Exams back in the early days of the country. Visiting the temple, you’ll find students who come here and pray hoping that they’ll get some good luck and good study results.

Once you have completed a tour of Hanoi with the above sites and if you have paid enough attention, you should get quite a lot of the Vietnamese history and traditions. If you love learning more, then there are several other sites for different topics which get you further in-depth knowledge.

7/ Old Quarter of Hanoi, commercial quarter of the capital city back in time

But trying to learn to much is no good and you should get some entertaining time wandering or taking a rickshaw trip weaving the amazing traffic in the Old Quarter of Hanoi which dates back from the 11th century also. This was the business area of the capital city, and it was where businessmen and craftsmen from the whole kingdom came and did business. It is chaotic nowadays but no doubt you’ll have great moments getting lost in it!

The Old Quarter of Hanoi Vietnam

8/ Hoan Kiem Lake 

The Hoan Kiem Lake is located in the centre of Hanoi between the Old Quarter to the north and the French Quarter to the south. The lake was part of the Red River which originally stretched further northward and southward.

The Turtle Tower, Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi

The former Red River stretch to the north of the Hoan Kiem Lake covered the Hang Dao Street now. And there was a wooden bridge across the river which is the Cau Go Street (Wooden Bridge) now.

The former stretch of the Red River to the south of the Hoan Kiem Lake covered a huge area from the Trang Thi Street to the Lo Duc Street now. This part was a lake for training the Royal Navy, hence the name Ho Thuy Quan (The Navy’s Lake).

In 1883, the French completed invading all of Vietnam and from 1884 the Navy’s Lake (south of the Hoan Kiem Lake now) was filled up to reclaim land for the French Quarter.

The The Huc Bridge, Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi

The name Hoan Kiem Lake in Vietnamese literally means Lake of the restored Sword. This relates to a 15th century legend related to the process King Le Loi by chance picking up pieces of metals to make up a complete sword which he rallied forces for a successful revolt against the Chinese Ming. 

Once the country was at piece and the king had a cruise on the Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of Emerald Green Water then), a turtle emerged from under water to claim the sword back to the owner – the King of Water. 

Metaphorically, the legend expresses the Vietnamese wish for peace after thousands of years constantly struggling for the country’s independence. This wish is also expressed in sites around the lake, in the heart of the capital city of the country.

Adventure Travel, Things To Do in Hanoi

There are several tours you can do on your holiday in Hanoi Vietnam. Visiting the city on different cultural tours bring you understanding of the history, the local culture as well as the Vietnamese way of life. You can also take part in specialist tours or trips focusing more on a specific theme such as cooking tour, street gastronomic tours, historical tours,... For adventure travel activities, we would recommend some as the below list.

1/ Bike Tours

Bike your way in the chaotic traffic of Hanoi is a fun and adventure experience. It is also the good way to engage into the local way of life: learning to read people mind in the traffic! Most tourist spots in town are to be reached on a one-day city tour.

2/ Motorbike Tours

Riding a motorbike yourself or ride pillion amid the weaving traffic of Hanoi to visit different attractions in the capital city is fun and convenient. Riding makes you feel more confident on your adventure trip to Vietnam.

3/ Street Food Tours

Tasting street food in Vietnam is certainly not for everyone from the West! It is a great experience that you approach the country from the daily life and the daily cuisine that the locals consume. On our street food tours, AdventureGreen get you to understand the foodstuff, different ways of preparing the cuisine,... Street foods are recommended only in the non-summer time, else it is too hot and we are not sure if the hygiene conditions are good enough in the hot weather.

4/ Street photo tours

Quite a lot about the Vietnamese way of life is found in the streets. It is where people go to work, merchants trade, farmers carry their farm products for sales in the cities, families in cities live their daily life in front of a house given the tiny space their home has, workers perform their daily jobs.... There are so many activities that if you are an observant photographer, you will get the full and complete collection of Vietnam.

5/ Walking Tours

Walking Tours in Hanoi engage you slowly into the local traffic and local way of life! It is a good place you read local people's mind. There are several tourist spots in the center of Hanoi that you can visit on a walking tour. But if it is too hot the weather, then you may like to consider some other alternatives way of visiting the city.

6/ Base for Adventure Tours to Far Northern Mountains of Vietnam

Hanoi is a good base to take adventure tours to other places in northern Vietnam such as Halong Bay, Ninh Binh, Sapa, Ha Giang as well as the northern mountains... The adventure trips can range from hiking, trekking, mountain climbing, mountain bike tours... AdventureGreen offers a complete collection of adventure tours in Northern Vietnam which start from and conclude at Hanoi.

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