A traveler's guide to Hanoi
Eat with the city, low to the ground. Hanoi is not a museum capital. It is a breakfast capital.
Hanoi is French buildings, a central lake, and breakfasts that happen on tiny plastic stools. The old quarter is intense and worth it in the morning. Cross the train street idea off quickly. The pho and the egg coffee are the culture.
When to go
October to April is cooler and drier. Summer is very hot and wet. Winter can be gray and surprisingly chilly. Tet, the lunar new year, empties some kitchens and fills the streets with a different energy.
Neighborhoods
The old quarter for the first nights if you like being in it. The French grid west of the lake for a calmer base. Tay Ho if you want lakeside and cafes. The old citadel and the temple walks are a morning, not a whole identity.
Eating
Pho, bun cha, egg coffee, and whatever the stool place is grilling. Dinner can be several small stops. The restaurants with upstairs views of the lake are for the view. The food is often better at street level.
If you only remember this
- Agree taxi fares or use an app.
- Cross streets at a steady pace. Traffic flows around you.
- Sidewalk kitchens are the point. Sit down.
- A light jacket in winter. The damp finds you.