9 things a local expert says you should do in Hanoi

Born in a small village near the capital, I moved to Hanoi nearly 20 years ago.

So the city is simultaneously deeply familiar and curiously foreign to me. It feels like a big village that grew into a sprawling metropolis, yet never lost its soul. 

Hanoi can be chaotic, messy and charming – and it’s never boring. Ancient pagodas and temples share space with new shiny buildings. And since urban life is lived largely on the sidewalks, visitors can get a real-time showcase of the habits and people that define the city.

These nine experiences will help you discover the Hanoi I know so well.  

1. Eat street food and drink bia hoi

If, like me, you like to get to know a new city by finding its best local food spots, you’re in for quite the adventure in Hanoi. This city lives and breathes street food, with incredible smells tempting you around every corner.

You’ve probably heard of pho, the bowl of fragrant broth and rice noodles that first put Vietnamese cuisine on the world map. And if you ask 10 locals where to find Hanoi’s best pho, you’ll surely get 10 different answers. Everyone has their favorite address, usually a tiny street-side joint where the same family has been perfecting its recipe for generations.

I recommend Pho Gia Truyen Bat Dan for standout soup and quality beef, Pho Thin Lo Duc for creative stir-fried beef and Pho Ga Nguyet for a chicken version. If you’re looking for an exciting local experience, try to get into the quirky Pho Bung Hang Trong, where you can enjoy a lovely bowl of beef pho in someone’s bedroom.

Street food in Hanoi extends well beyond pho. At Bach Phuong, the bun bo nam bo (beef noodle salad) has sweet flavor influences from the South. Banh Cuon Gia Truyen Thanh Van serves traditional steamed rice-paper rolls with different fillings. You can find bun cha, a popular dish including char-grilled sliced pork belly and meat patties served with herbs and thin rice noodles, basically everywhere in Hanoi; Bun Cha Que Tre and Bun Cha Huong Lien are two of my favorites.

Light and cheap fresh beer normally served right on streets, bia hoi is one of the best things to try in Hanoi. Hanoians drink bia hoi in the afternoon, right after a football match or in a meet-up with friends after work. P Ta Hien in Hanoi’s Old Quarter is also known as “Beer Street”; you can always find a lively place here. If you want to add snacks and other food, stop in at Nha Hang Lan Chin (3 P Hang Thung).

Local tip: Always have cash with you to pay at street-food spots. If the food somewhere catches your eye, walk right in, or grab a table on the sidewalk. You may discover an exciting new place for yourself.

2. Hop among coffee shops

Hanoi’s coffee scene is vibrant and diverse, and one of my favorite weekend hobbies is visiting different coffee shops in one morning or afternoon. While trendy cafes serving espresso-based drinks are on the rise, traditional coffee shops offering local brews like nau đa (iced coffee with condensed milk), ca phe trung (egg coffee) and ca phe cot dua (coconut coffee) still have a loyal following.

Begin your coffee-shop hop in the Old Quarter, where you can easily walk between cafes. Don’t miss Café Giang, where the eponymous Mr Giang created Hanoi’s famous egg coffee in 1946 during a milk shortage. Topped with a thick layer of golden egg foam and condensed milk, the hot robusta coffee tastes like a delightful dessert, and has a strong caffeine kick.

Cong Caphe, a communist-themed chain, serves lovely coconut coffee and iced coffee with condensed milk. Both located in charming French villas, Bancông and Loading T give you a glimpse of Hanoi’s colonial-era architecture as you enjoy a cup of coffee on their balconies. Cafe Pho Co offers decent coffee with a bird’s-eye view of Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter.

If you prefer espresso-based drinks, stop by hipster mainstays Blackbird, Gau or Habakuk.

Detour: Want to make a cup of Vietnamese coffee yourself? Join a coffee workshop at the Hanoi Cafe to learn how to brew traditional ca phe phin (filtered coffee) and that famous egg coffee.

3.  Learn about Vietnam’s diverse cultures at the Museum of Ethnology

I often suggest to friends visiting Vietnam that before heading to the mountainous regions like Sapa or Ha Giang they stop by the Museum of Ethnology for an overview of the ethnic groups and cultures they may encounter on their journey.

The museum showcases an extraordinary collection from Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups, including tribal art, artifacts and everyday objects. Spread over two floors, the exhibits are organized by geography and ethnicity, highlighting clothing, architecture and customs. The best part is the museum’s garden, where different ethnic groups have constructed traditional homes just as you’d find them in their villages. My favorite is the towering Bahnar communal house (nha rong), accessed by a log ladder. It’s next to a fascinating longhouse of the Ede people, a rare matriarchal society.

Local tip: Displays across the museum are well labeled in Vietnamese, French and English, so a guide isn’t essential. As soon as you arrive at the museum, check the times for the water puppet shows.

4. Get good and lost in the Old Quarter

Forget about your maps or any walking routes: in Hanoi’s Old Quarter – a maze-like district with hundreds of interconnected alleys and lanes – you can create your own adventure. I love getting lost in its tiny streets, capturing moments of people’s daily life playing out on every corner. 

Even after countless walks through these same alleys, I still discover hidden temples I’ve never noticed, or catch the lovely smell of a street-food stall that makes me stop. There’s something about these centuries-old lanes that keeps enchanting anyone who walks them – whether you’re a wide-eyed visitor or, like me, someone who’s called Hanoi home for years.

Local tip: Don’t be afraid to enter even the tiniest, most shadowy alley. Hanoi is a safe place and local people will tell you if they feel bothered. Take a rest at temples or pagodas and have some drinks at a local cafe.

5. Join locals in Hoan Kiem for “laughing yoga” and other morning exercise

Fancy a chuckle at dawn? Around 6am in front of King Le Thai To Temple or the People’s Committee Building, you can join in “laughing yoga” sessions, which are open to all. If you don’t want to join the group, feel free to just watch the giggling grannies and grandads.

You may catch a group of women in colorful dresses dancing with hand fans, or sweaty people doing aerobics and Latin dance on the northwest and southeast corner of Hoan Kiem Lake. Feel free to ask to join in. (Spoiler: you’ll always get a yes.)

There’s also a small outdoor gym on the northeast side of the lake on P Le Thai To. You may be asked to make a small donation for the equipment’s upkeep if you want to use it.

Local tip: Hoan Kiem Lake is beautiful at dawn. It’s worth getting up early to set out on a walk to see what Hanoians do at the start of their day. If you smile and say “xin chao!,” you may enjoy a memorable experience by joining in on a morning workout with locals. 

6. Take in a water puppet show

The traditional art of water puppetry – featuring such folk-music styles as cheo, quan ho and chau van, with performances taking place in a waist-deep pool – feature familiar folk stories that always entertain me and make me giggle. The cute and funny puppets themselves, the dialogue and the music bring a lot of joy to the audience. And while it’s hard to fully appreciate the show without understanding the Vietnamese language, visitors can get the gist just by watching the puppets move around the water stage.

Popular presenters in Hanoi are Thang Long Water Puppet Theater and Lotus Water Puppet Theater. Both troupes present similar stories; Lotus includes human actors in its performances.

7. Wander around Banana Island

I sometimes go for a run on Banana Island, a vast green area by the Red River where local farmers have cultivated a banana plantation for decades. Since Hanoi’s urban development has by and large neglected green spaces and public parks, this riverbank area has become a vital green space for the city. The island is home to a community of migrants from neighboring provinces, who live on floating houses and have until recently lived apart from other Hanoians.  

Local people come here more often now to breathe the fresh air, to walk, swim and camp. In the afternoon, you may come across the nude beach where mostly men hang around and swim.

Local tip: Walk on Long Bien Bridge and look for a staircase on the left-hand side that leads down to the area with the large banana plantation. Be prepared to get lost; have your phone with data to find your way out. Just watch out for barking dogs.

8. Visit Thang Long Imperial Citadel

To truly understand Hanoi’s founding and development across various periods, visit the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long. With a UNESCO World Heritage designation, this extraordinary site with its ancient buildings, statues, and impressive collection of artifacts dates to the Dinh and Early Le dynasties – some 1200 years ago. In the centuries since, it’s been a center of power, and today is a key repository of Vietnamese history.

Local tip: At the archaeological site at 18 P Hoang Dieu, you can see relics covering some 1300 years of royal dynasties. Many tourists miss this site, as it’s located across the road from the citadel.

9. Scoot around like a local on a Vespa or Minsk

Hanoi is a city dominated by scooters. To take in the city as locals do, don’t be afraid to hop on a Vespa or Minsk (of course with a tour guide – aka your driver) and navigate the narrow alleys of the Old Quarter or explore rural roads just beyond the city limits. Motorcycle tours offer a unique way to visit both popular landmarks and lesser-known spots, while also enjoying (of course) delicious local food.

Local tip: Several companies offer motorcycle tours, with Hanoi Backstreet Tours a popular choice. Prices range from US$35 to $50.