Hanoi
From Friday to Sunday the Old Quarter closes to traffic and becomes one long night market flowing towards Hoan Kiem Lake — but honestly, Hanoi does this informally every evening.
- Best forFoodies · Nightlife · Culture seekers
- In May32°C · 16 rainy days
- Ideal stay3 nights
- Approx. flying time~15h 15m from Los Angeles
- CurrencyVNDVietnamese dong
- LanguageVietnamese
- Local time17:126h ahead of the UK
- PlugsType A / CBring an adapter
- Drive on theRightOpposite to the UK
- Dialling code+84
Why go
Vietnam's capital keeps its evenings outdoors. The Old Quarter's tangle of guild streets fills with plastic stools, charcoal grills and glasses of weak fresh lager poured from steel kegs, while the lake at its edge draws walkers, badminton players and couples until late. The city is older and more buttoned-up than Ho Chi Minh City, with French avenues, Communist-era monuments and a genuine café culture running alongside the noise.
Three nights covers the centre properly and leaves room for a trip out to the karst landscapes of Ninh Binh or an overnight on Halong Bay. Weekends are the loudest, when several central streets close to traffic. Winter is cool and grey, spring damp, summer hot and wet, and autumn the reliable choice. Light sleepers should avoid rooms directly above the beer corner.
- Ideal stay
- 3 nights
- The vibe
- Loud, low-slung, endlessly sociable
From our guides
The essential coordinates are Ta Hien street, where fresh bia hoi lager costs pennies and everyone sits on child-sized plastic stools, and the grilled-fish and pho stalls in the surrounding lanes. Note the official midnight-ish wind-down: Hanoi parties early and hard.
Featured in Ten cities where the night market is the main event
Things to do
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Hoan Kiem Lake
The city's social centre, with a red bridge to a small temple island and a path that fills at dawn with tai chi and at night with families.
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Ta Hien beer corner
A short crossroads in the Old Quarter where fresh draught beer is drunk on child-sized stools. It is loud, cheap and the closest thing Hanoi has to a night out.
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Temple of Literature
Vietnam's first university, founded in the eleventh century, with courtyards, stelae carried on stone tortoises and enough shade to survive an August afternoon.
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Water puppetry
A northern village tradition performed in a waist-deep pool with live musicians. Shows near the lake run several times a day and last about an hour.
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Bun cha and egg coffee
Grilled pork in a bowl of dipping broth is Hanoi's own lunch, and coffee whipped with sweetened egg yolk is its own invention. Both are everywhere.
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West Lake and Tay Ho
A far larger lake north of the centre, ringed by a road that is pleasant at sunset, with an old pagoda on a causeway and a slower, more residential mood.
Getting there
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Fly to
Hanoi (HAN)
Nearest airport to Hanoi, about 22km away as the crow flies.
-
Then
To Hanoi
About 40 minutes to an hour by taxi or ride-hailing car from Noi Bai (HAN) into the Old Quarter, longer in rush hour. Airport minibuses and public buses cover the same route more cheaply and more slowly.
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On the ground
Getting around
The Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake are best walked, and at weekends the streets around the lake close to traffic entirely. Ride-hailing cars and motorbike taxis handle anything further out.
Public transport: City buses are cheap and comprehensive but hard going for visitors, and a first metro line is running. In practice everyone uses ride-hailing apps.
Flights
Los Angeles Hanoi, Vietnam
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Roughly 15h 15m in the air from Los Angeles (LAX), estimated from the distance — check for a direct route. Pick a month to see every available flight with live prices.
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When to go
Daytime highs run from about 21°C in January to 33°C in June. Driest in December; wettest in August, with rain on about 24 days.
The year at a glance — pick a month for detail
May32° · rain 16 daysHot and often wet.
Monthly figures averaged from daily records for 2020–2024 at this location (ERA5 reanalysis). Live conditions from MET Norway, CC BY 4.0.
Where to stay
Small family-run hotels and boutique properties dominate, most of them narrow tube buildings with lifts the size of a phone box. International chains sit mainly in the newer western districts.
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Best base overall
Old Quarter
Everything worth walking to sits within the thirty-six lanes, including Ta Hien and the lake. The trade-off is constant noise, scooters from dawn and rooms that rarely see daylight.
Find stays in Old Quarter -
Best for couples
French Quarter
Wide tree-lined boulevards, the opera house and the grander old hotels, ten minutes on foot from the Old Quarter chaos. Quieter and considerably more expensive, with fewer street-food options at your door.
Find stays in French Quarter -
Best with children
Tay Ho
The West Lake district has space, lakeside walks, Western supermarkets and family apartments, which matters with small children. You will need a taxi or ride-hailing app for almost every sight.
Find stays in Tay Ho -
Best value
Truc Bach
Between the two lakes, a local neighbourhood with cheaper guesthouses and excellent bun cha, still walkable to the Old Quarter in about twenty minutes. Little English spoken.
Find stays in Truc Bach
Worth knowing before you book: Ask for a room at the back or high up. Karaoke, roadworks and early markets make street-facing rooms in the Old Quarter genuinely loud.
Search everything else in Hanoi by budget. These are indicative budget bands in GBP per night for two people, not live quotes or guarantees of hotel type. Check your dates, guests, taxes and final price on Booking.com.
Good to know
- Crossing roads
- Step out at a steady pace and do not stop or run. Scooters flow around a predictable pedestrian, which is unnerving exactly once.
- Closing time
- Bars in the centre wind down around midnight under local rules, so the evening starts and ends earlier than you might expect.
- Cash or card
- Cards work in hotels and larger restaurants, but street food, markets and stools are cash only. Keep small notes, since change for large ones is scarce.
- Train Street
- Access to the famous railway lane is restricted and periodically closed for safety, with barriers manned. Do not push past them or bribe your way in.
- Getting there
- The airport is around forty minutes north of the centre. Use the official taxi ranks or a ride-hailing app rather than accepting offers in arrivals.
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Quick answers
When is the best time to visit Hanoi?
Daytime highs run from about 21°C in January to 33°C in June. Driest in December; wettest in August, with rain on about 24 days.
How long should I spend in Hanoi?
Our suggestion: 3 nights.
How do I get to Hanoi?
About 40 minutes to an hour by taxi or ride-hailing car from Noi Bai (HAN) into the Old Quarter, longer in rush hour. Airport minibuses and public buses cover the same route more cheaply and more slowly.
Do I need a car in Hanoi?
No. City buses are cheap and comprehensive but hard going for visitors, and a first metro line is running. In practice everyone uses ride-hailing apps.
What currency and language are used in Hanoi?
Currency: Vietnamese dong (VND). Language: Vietnamese. Plugs: type A and C.
Who is Hanoi best for?
Best for foodies, nightlife and culture seekers. In a phrase: loud, low-slung, endlessly sociable.