Vietnam
Hanoi travel guide
Hanoi is a city in Vietnam, home to about 8,718,000 people.
- Best months
- November to April
- Nearest airport
- HAN22 km · Noi Bai International Airport
- Currency
- VNDVietnamese đồng
- Time zone
- Asia/Ho Chi Minh
- Language
- Vietnamese
About
About Hanoi
Hanoi is the capital and second-most populous centrally-governed city of Vietnam. It covers an area of 3,358.6 km2 (1,296.8 mi2), and as of 2025 has a population of 8,807,523.
Invading forces from every direction agree: Hanoi makes a fine capital. It has held that title for more than a thousand years, through several invasions, occupations, restorations, and name changes. The Chinese conquered the imperial city of Đại La in 1408 and renamed it Tống Bình. Le Loi repelled the invaders in 1428 and applied the name of Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖). For his efforts, he received the crown and a slew of legends about his heroic exploits, many centred around Hoan Kiem Lake. The Nguyen Dynasty gave the city its modern name of Ha Noi in 1831, but they had transferred power to Hue by then.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Hanoi
See
- Fine Arts Museum
- Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum
- Hồ Chí Minh Museum
- Hồ Chí Minh's Vestige in the Presidential Palace Area
- National Museum of Vietnamese History
- Vietnamese Women's Museum
- Vietnam Military History Museum
- Museum of Ethnology
- Hanoi Museum
- Air Force Museum
- Hoàn Kiếm Lake
- Lý Thái Tổ Statue & Park
Do
- August Movie Theater
- CGV Cinemas (formerly Megastar)
- EZ Cooking Class
- EDUMA
- Hanoi Cooking Centre
- Hidden Hanoi
- Vietnam Culinary School
- Học Viện Ẩm Thực
- SF Salon and Spa
- VietClimb
- Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
- Hồng Hà Theater
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Hanoi to stay in
Beware if arriving at your hotel on a weekend. Some streets in the Old Quarter and lake side can get closed to cars, so your taxi or minivan might have to drop you off early, leaving you to walk a bit with all your luggage. See common scams; they're more prevalent at the budget end of the market, but no more in Hanoi than in other cities. The heart of the Old Quarter - potentially noisy and busy - but closest to the bars on Ma May and Ta Hien. Ta Hien is Hanoi's unofficial backpacker street, and there are numerous backpackers' hostels nearby to cater to that market.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Hanoi
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Hanoi are November to April. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 34 °C; July is the wettest, with about 282 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Hanoi: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), about 22 km from the city centre in a straight line; Cat Bi International Airport (HPH, 95 km) is also within reach.
Getting around
Getting around Hanoi can be a challenge: traffic slows to a crawl for most of the day, and the public transport system has not kept up with the city's explosive growth. Metro Line 2A connects Cát Linh (west of the Old Quarter) to Yên Nghĩa in the southwestern suburbs. Metro Line 3 connects Cầu Giấy to Nhổn in the northwestern suburbs. The lines are not connected but this will change when the underground stretch between Cầu Giấy and Hanoi Station opens around 2027.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
HAN · Noi Bai International Airport
HPH · Cat Bi International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Hanoi
Eat
Hanoi's most famous (and prevalent) dish is phở soup: "phở gà" (chicken noodle soup), "phở bò" (beef noodle soup), or "phở chay" (tofu noodle soup). Another local specialty is bún chả, grilled fatty pork over a plate of white rice noodles and herbs with dipping sauce. There are hundreds of street restaurants in small kiosks on the sidewalk, with plastic tables and chairs on the pavement. Eating at these restaurants is a great way to experience the local food and culture. It is worth mentioning that food quality, freshness, and hygiene can vary greatly.
Drink
Bia hơi is abundant in the streets of the Old Quarter. At the crossing of Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen, commonly known as Beer Street, five separate venues fill up with travellers in the evenings. You can get more local atmosphere on some of the side streets. Hanoi is a lively city on the weekends, but the Old Quarter closes relatively early (at midnight) on weekdays, so you might want to start your night early. Other places outside the Old Quarter stay open later and vary in closing times. Local young people gather around the cathedral located in Ly Quoc Su to have lemon ice tea (tra chanh) and sunflower seeds in street bars. After dark it gets quite crowded.
Stay safe
The simple act of walking can be intimidating, especially in the narrow streets around the Old Quarter. As is the case everywhere in Vietnam, traffic in Hanoi is dominated by an incredible number of motorbikes, all of which seem to be making a mad, desperate dash for something just out of reach, all of the time. There is no such thing as one-directional traffic in Vietnam. When you leave the curb, look not only left and right, but to the front and back. Even up and down would not be amiss. Take each step deliberately but resolutely. Patiently allow the motorbikes to pass. Don't rush and don't make any erratic movements. Stop in place if necessary but never walk backwards.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Hanoi: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Hanoi?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Hanoi are November to April. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 34 °C; July is the wettest, with about 282 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Hanoi?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), about 22 km from the city centre in a straight line; Cat Bi International Airport (HPH, 95 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Hanoi?
Vietnamese đồng (VND).
Nearby
Destinations near Hanoi
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.