Three days in the city, two out of it, and the same hotel every night. Start on a Saturday: the walking street runs on your first night, and the Mausoleum (closed Mondays and Fridays) and the ethnology museum (closed Mondays) both fall on open days.
Day 1 · a Saturday
The lake and the Old Quarter
- Sunrise: Hoan Kiem Lake
- Ngoc Son Temple and the Huc Bridge
- Breakfast: phở
- The Old Quarter
- Dong Xuan Market
- Egg coffee at Cafe Giang
- St Joseph's Cathedral
- Lunch: bún chả
- Hoa Lo Prison
- The walking street
Be at Hoan Kiem Lake by half past six, as the sun comes up over the Lake of the Returned Sword, then cross the red Huc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple when the gate opens at eight. Breakfast is phở at 49 Bat Dan: queue, pay and carry your own bowl. Walk the Old Quarter with no plan, through Dong Xuan Market, built by the French in 1889, to Cafe Giang, called the birthplace of egg coffee. See St Joseph's Cathedral from the square, have bún chả at 24 Le Van Huu before half past eleven, and spend the afternoon at Hoa Lo Prison. On weekend evenings the streets around the lake close to traffic.
Why this order: the lake is at its best at sunrise, and the famous lunch places fill up with tour groups after half past eleven.
Tip: on a weeknight, see the water puppets at the Thang Long theatre instead. From November to March the evening shows often sell out, so book ahead. Carry cash for the street food.
The free planner has this day's times, the walk and the map →
Day 2 · not a Monday or a Friday
The capital
- The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
- The Presidential Palace and the stilt house
- One Pillar Pagoda
- The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long
- Lunch: chả cá
- The Temple of Literature
Take a Grab to Ba Dinh Square and be in the Mausoleum queue by a quarter to eight. Entry is free, and there are no photos inside. Follow the set path through the Presidential Palace grounds to the carp pond and the wooden stilt house, give the tiny One Pillar Pagoda five minutes, then walk to the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, founded in 1010. Take a Grab back to the Old Quarter for chả cá, turmeric fish fried at your table with dill. End at the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university: five courtyards, and the names of the old scholars carved on stone turtles.
Our verdict: the Temple of Literature is the best single sight in Hanoi. Skip Train Street: business there is banned.
Tip: dress modestly for the Mausoleum, with shoulders and knees covered. The Temple of Literature is VND 70,000, cash only, and the last entry is at half past four.
The free planner has this day's times, the rides and the map →
Day 3
Out to Ninh Binh
- The early train south
- Trang An by rowing boat
- Lunch: goat and crispy rice
- Hoa Lu
- Hang Mua
- Back to Hanoi
Take the early train from Hanoi Railway Station, about two hours to Ninh Binh, and be on the water at Trang An by half past eight, before the tour buses arrive at about ten. A woman rows you between sheer limestone towers and through caves so low that you duck flat in the boat. Take Route 1, the longest in the caves. Lunch is mountain goat and crispy rice, then Hoa Lu, Vietnam's capital before Hanoi, and the climb up Hang Mua to the stone dragon on the ridge.
Our verdict: Trang An is the best thing in northern Vietnam outside Hanoi. If you only have one day out in winter, make it this one.
Tip: book the way back before you go, by limousine van or private car. There's no shade on the boat, and it's cool on the water, so bring a layer.
Rather have it arranged? Book a Ninh Binh day trip →
The free planner has this day's times, the train and the map →
Day 4
Ha Long Bay
- Old Quarter pick-up
- Sung Sot Cave
- Lunch on board
- Ti Top Island
- Luon Cave by small boat
- Back to Hanoi
Book a group day cruise with an Old Quarter pick-up at about half past seven to half past eight. It's two and a half to three hours each way by road, for about four hours on the water. Walk through Sung Sot, Surprise Cave, climb Ti Top Island's lookout after lunch on board, then take a kayak or a rowed bamboo boat through the low arch of Luon Cave into a lagoon walled by cliffs. You're back in Hanoi at about half past seven at night.
Our verdict: if the bay is why you came to Vietnam, go. Luon Cave is the only part of the day at water level, away from the big boats: do it, even in the cold.
Tip: check that the bay's entry fee and Luon Cave are included. Drinks, some cave fees and tips can add VND 200,000 to 400,000.
Book a Ha Long Bay day cruise →
The free planner has this day's times and the map →
Day 5 · not a Monday
The local side
- Sunrise: Long Bien Bridge
- Quan Thanh Temple
- Tran Quoc Pagoda
- The West Lake causeway
- The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
- Sunset: West Lake
- The last bowl of phở
At first light, walk out on the side path of Long Bien Bridge, opened in 1903, as motorbikes rattle past over the banana plantations on the river's islands. Take a Grab towards West Lake, stopping at Quan Thanh Temple for its large bronze figure, then walk out to Tran Quoc Pagoda, the oldest Buddhist temple in the city. Walk the causeway between West Lake and Truc Bach, then spend the afternoon at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, mostly in its garden of full-size houses. Be back on the causeway for sunset, and end where you started, with a last bowl of phở at Phở 10 Ly Quoc Su.
Why this order: the pagoda is best in the morning, when the lake is still, and the sun sets over West Lake at about twenty past five to six.
Tip: flying out today? Drop the museum, and keep the bridge and the lake for the morning.
The free planner has this day's times, the rides and the map →
