The Old Quarter is the heart of Hanoi. It makes you walk in the road because the sidewalks are full of parked scooters. You then get to negotiate with the moving ones in a very specific and learned way. Add tiny food joints, spas, shops selling everything, and roughly as many tourists as locals. Welcome to Hanoi.
To me, Hanoi is to Saigon what Beijing is to Shanghai, a bit. More formal and traditional, the center of political power and historic authority, with more of the country’s heritage on display. Saigon is more modern and cosmopolitan. Hanoi is very much the old North.
Walk beyond the Old Quarter
Stay only in the Old Quarter and you’ll form a very specific, and incorrect, idea of how the whole city works. It’s a mix of a Moroccan medina and Japanese-style ultra-claustrophobic urbanism, with tasty sit-downs on street corners for an unpretentious bowl of bún chả (one of the top local specialties, alongside pho).
Walk into the French Quarter and the picture changes completely: wide streets, fancy boutiques, smartly dressed people, the Opera House and embassies replacing the microeateries and dollar stores. See both. And give yourself a lake walk between the street explorations.
Start with a food tour
This is the first thing I’d book. They are usually led by students who are eager to speak English and share insights. Mine was led by Daniel, a young guide with excellent English and good local knowledge. We visited modest (but Michelin-recognized) places serving the sort of food you come to Hanoi for.
I wouldn’t spend a ton of time comparing food-tour descriptions. Most cover a good selection of modest, delicious places. Take one, try everything they offer, ask questions, then go back for whatever you liked.
And yes, Train Street
Café tables beside the tracks, everyone with a phone ready, then the train. Quite an effective way to interrupt a drink. Do it in the evening.
Two useful arrival tips
The left-most regular tourist immigration queue is beside the diplomatic checkpoints. When those are idle, as they usually are, they take people from that queue. It’s worth checking how the desks operate, rather than automatically joining the shortest line. It worked on my visit; it’s not a promise about yours.
If you can manage without mobile data until you reach town, I’d compare packages at an official Viettel shop rather than automatically buying the airport offer. Bring your passport as they need to register you. Download an offline map of central Hanoi before travelling so you can at least consult it without data, but note Google Maps doesn’t provide walking directions offline, you can only see your location and your goal.
Leave room for a drink
There are some great small cocktail bars here, too. You can eat at a stall and follow it with a very well-made drink. You’re likely to pay more for a cocktail than you will for your whole meal.
These photographs and tips are a small selection from my more comprehensive Hanoi guide. I’m developing guides from my visits, with fuller recommendations on where to stay, eat and drink, what’s worth your time, what to avoid, and how to put a visit together. Keep and eye out for those - I’ll let you know when they come out.
In the future weeks, I’ll share photographs and a few useful notes from another stop each Sunday morning.