Hanoi itinerary: how to spend 1, 2 or 3 days

How many days

• 1 day: Day 1

  Hoan Kiem Lake, the Temple of Literature, Hoa Lo Prison, the Old Quarter and the water puppets; it leaves out Ba Dinh, the Citadel and the museums.

• 2 days: Days 1 to 2

  Adds Ba Dinh, the Imperial Citadel and West Lake; do Day 2 on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday if you want to go inside the mausoleum.

• 3 days: Days 1 to 3

  Adds the Museum of Ethnology, the history and women's museums and Long Bien Bridge at sunset; swap Day 3 for the Ninh Binh trip if you would rather see karst than museums.

Day 1

Hoan Kiem Lake, the Temple of Literature, Hoa Lo and the Old Quarter

07:00 to about 18:30 · 8 stops · entry fees VND 240,000 a person

1. 07:001

   

   View · 45 min

   Hoan Kiem Lake and The Huc Bridge

   Cost: Free to walk round; Ngoc Son Temple, across the bridge, costs VND 50,000

   Walk the shore before the motorbikes build up, when people are still exercising under the trees. Turtle Tower sits on its islet in the south of the lake; the red The Huc Bridge leads to Ngoc Son Temple on Jade Island. The temple ticket is VND 50,000 under Hanoi's fee rules, and the relic board does not publish opening hours online, so if the gate is still shut, come back on an evening walk. Hanoi's walking street around the lake runs from 19:00 on Friday to midnight on Sunday.

   Image: Ahmet Yüksek ✪ / Unsplash

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.9 km. West along Hang Khay and Hang Trong to Phu Doan.

2. 08:002

   

   Eat · 30 min

   Chicken pho at Pho Ga Nguyet

   Cost: Pho, priced by the cut of chicken you choose

   Pho is a breakfast dish in Hanoi, and this chicken pho shop at 5B Phu Doan holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for 2026. It opens at 06:30 and serves until midnight. Pick your cuts from the display at the door; the Michelin inspectors single out the thigh, in soup or as a dry bowl. St Joseph's Cathedral is a two-minute walk away if you want a look at its front before you go on.

   Image: David McKelvey / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 1.8 km. Grab car to 58 Quoc Tu Giam, about 2 km.

3. 08:453

   

   Sight · 1 h 15 min

   Temple of Literature

   Cost: Adult ticket; free for children under 16

   Hanoi's Confucian temple and first university opens at 8:00, and the courtyards are quietest in the first hour. Walk the five zones in order from the gate at 58 Quoc Tu Giam: Khue Van Pavilion, then the stele garden, where 82 doctoral steles are listed as National Treasures, then Dai Thanh Hall and the Imperial Academy at the back. You leave by the exit at 19 to 21 Van Mieu Street, on the far side, so meet your driver there.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Temple of Literature (Van Mieu)

   Image: shankar s. / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 1.6 km. Grab car from the Van Mieu Street exit to 1 Hoa Lo, about 2 km.

4. 10:154

   

   Sight · 1 h 30 min

   Hoa Lo Prison

   Cost: Adult ticket; free under 16

   The French built this prison in 1896 to hold Vietnamese who opposed colonial rule; during the war with the United States it held captured American airmen, who called it the Hanoi Hilton. What remains is the gate marked Maison Centrale, a run of cell blocks and the displays. Rent the audio guide at the desk: the labels are brief and the guide tells the story room by room. It is open every day, holidays included, from 8:00 to 17:00.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Hoa Lo Prison

   Image: dronepicr / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

   ↓About 15 min walk, 0.9 km. North up Hai Ba Trung and Hang Bong to Hang Manh.

5. 12:055

   

   Eat · 45 min

   Bun cha at Bun Cha Dac Kim

   Cost: Meals priced per bowl

   Bun cha is the Hanoi lunch: grilled pork belly and pork patties in a sweet, sour and salty fish-sauce broth, eaten with rice noodles at room temperature and fresh herbs. This shop at 1 Hang Manh is in the Michelin Guide for 2026, which notes the pickled green mango in the broth. It opens 09:00 to 21:00. After lunch, go back to your room for a couple of hours: in the hot months the early afternoon is the hardest time to be walking.

   Image: Viethavvh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.7 km. Through the Old Quarter to 76 Hang Buom, after your break.

6. 15:006

   

   Do · 1 h 45 min

   Old Quarter walk from Bach Ma Temple

   Cost: Bach Ma Temple entry; the streets are free

   Start at Bach Ma Temple, 76 Hang Buom, one of the oldest temples in the quarter; it reopens at 13:30 after the lunch break and charges VND 20,000. Then walk without a fixed route: north to the front of Dong Xuan market, back down Hang Duong and Hang Dao, and east along Ma May and Hang Bac. Look up at the narrow tube houses, and at the street names: many begin with Hang, meaning goods, followed by the trade the street was known for.

   Image: Donald Trung / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.7 km. To 57B Dinh Tien Hoang, on the north shore of the lake.

7. 17:207

   

   Do · 50 min

   Water puppets at Thang Long theatre

   Cost: VND 100,000 back rows, 150,000 middle rows, 200,000 front rows

   Water puppetry grew up in the villages of the Red River delta: lacquered wooden puppets glide across a pool, worked on bamboo poles by puppeteers hidden behind a screen, to live music. The show runs 50 minutes and suits all ages. The theatre does not post its show times online, so buy your seat at the box office on your morning walk, or book on +84 24 3824 9494, and pick an early evening show. Seats in the front six rows cost twice the back rows.

   Image: Gryffindor / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.9 km. West along Hang Bac and Hang Bo to Duong Thanh.

8. 18:308

   

   Eat · 1 h 15 min

   Cha ca at Cha Ca Thang Long

   Cost: One set dish; price per person

   Cha ca is catfish seasoned with turmeric, grilled, then brought to your table in a hot pan and stir-fried with spring onions and herbs, to eat with rice noodles and fish sauce. The restaurant at 6B Duong Thanh, in the Michelin Guide, has served it for over 30 years in a century-old townhouse reached through a courtyard; it is open 10:00 to 22:00. On a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, walk back by the lake afterwards, when the streets around it are closed to traffic until midnight.

   Image: Phương Huy / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Day 2

Ba Dinh, the Imperial Citadel and West Lake

08:00 to about 17:50 · 8 stops · entry fees VND 150,000 a person

1. 08:001

   

   Sight · 1 h

   Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

   Cost: Free, according to Wikipedia; one travel site lists VND 25,000

   The mausoleum is closed for restoration until 2 November 2026 and reopens on 3 November. After that it opens on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings only: 8:00 to 11:00 from November to March (to 11:30 on Saturdays), and from 7:30 between April and October. Expect to queue. Cover shoulders and knees, leave the camera behind, switch your phone off and keep silent inside. On a Monday or Friday, see the square from outside and start at the stilt house.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

   Image: Dennis G. Jarvis / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

   ↓About 5 min walk, 0.3 km. Through the Presidential Palace grounds.

2. 09:102

   

   Sight · 1 h 15 min

   Ho Chi Minh's Stilt House and the Presidential Palace grounds

   Cost: The site publishes no price; check at the gate

   Ho Chi Minh lived in this two-storey wooden house on stilts from 1958 to 1969, beside a fish pond of more than 3,000 square metres. The path also passes House 54, the small electrician's house he moved into in 1954, and the yellow Presidential Palace, which you see only from outside. The site opens every day, but on Mondays only in the morning; winter hours start at 8:00, summer hours at 7:30.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Ho Chi Minh's Stilt House

   Image: Dennis G. Jarvis / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

   ↓About 5 min walk, 0.4 km. South past the pond to One Pillar Pagoda and the museum.

3. 10:353

   

   Sight · 1 h 15 min

   One Pillar Pagoda and the Ho Chi Minh Museum

   Cost: Museum ticket for international visitors; the pagoda is free to see

   One Pillar Pagoda, a small shrine raised on a single column in a lotus pond, stands just in front of the museum. The museum tells Ho Chi Minh's life in eight exhibitions, with labels in English and French. Its ticket desks sell from 8:00 to 11:30, so arrive before 11:30; the halls close at noon and reopen from 14:00 to 16:30. Like the mausoleum, it is shut on Mondays and Fridays.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Ho Chi Minh Museum

   Image: xiquinhosilva / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 2.5 km. Grab car to 61 Cua Bac, about 1.5 km.

4. 12:104

   Eat · 1 h

   Lunch at 1946 Cua Bac

   Cost: Vietnamese dishes to share; prices per dish

   This Bib Gourmand restaurant is a yellow and green townhouse at the end of Yen Thanh alley, off 61 Cua Bac, a short ride north of the Citadel. Old wooden tables and vintage photographs set the tone; the Michelin inspectors recommend the green banana blossom salad with beef and the signature crab and rice porridge hot pot. There is an English menu, and booking ahead is recommended. It opens every day from 10:30 to 22:30, a cool place to sit out the midday heat.

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 1.5 km. Grab car to the ticket office at 19C Hoang Dieu, about 1.5 km.

5. 13:305

   

   Sight · 2 h

   Imperial Citadel of Thang Long

   Cost: Adult ticket; free under 16

   Buy tickets at 19C Hoang Dieu and walk the central axis from south to north: Doan Mon gate, the Kinh Thien Palace foundation with its 1467 stone dragons, the Politburo's 1967 meeting house D67 and its bunker, Hau Lau, then Bac Mon. The dig at 18 Hoang Dieu, across the road, shows layers from the 7th century to the Nguyen dynasty. Restoration of Kinh Thien Palace started in September 2026, so expect building work there. It closes at 17:00.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Imperial Citadel of Thang Long

   Image: Phan Minh Tuấn / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 20 min walk, 1.6 km. North along Hoang Dieu and Quan Thanh.

6. 15:456

   

   Sight · 30 min

   Quan Thanh Temple

   Cost: Entry fee set by Hanoi's sightseeing fee rules

   Quan Thanh is one of the old guardian temples of the city, on the corner of Quan Thanh street and Thanh Nien road, where Truc Bach lake meets West Lake. Inside the main hall is a large black bronze statue of Tran Vu, the Taoist guardian of the north, made by village artisans in 1677. It is a working temple, so keep voices low, cover shoulders and knees, and do not photograph people praying. The ticket is VND 10,000.

   Image: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.8 km. Up Thanh Nien road between the two lakes.

7. 16:257

   

   View · 45 min

   Tran Quoc Pagoda and Thanh Nien road at sunset

   Cost: No official price published; check at the gate

   Tran Quoc, one of the oldest pagodas in Hanoi, stands on a small island off Thanh Nien road, joined to it by a causeway. The pagoda posts no official hours and travel sites disagree, so go in first and save the sunset for after: in November the sun sets over West Lake between about 17:15 and 17:20, and the causeway and the lakeside pavement on Thanh Nien road are the places to watch it. Cover shoulders and knees inside.

   Image: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

   ↓About 10 min by taxi or Grab, 4.8 km. Grab car north along the lake to To Ngoc Van, about 4 km.

8. 17:508

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Dinner at Chao Ban on West Lake

   Cost: Prices per dish

   Chao Ban, at 98 To Ngoc Van in the Tay Ho quarter on the east shore of West Lake, holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and opens 11:30 to 22:30. The name means hello, friend, and the chef gives traditional Vietnamese recipes a new spin: try the crab spring rolls, and the specials section, with prawns in coconut cream or lacquered pork ribs. Afterwards, To Ngoc Van and Xuan Dieu streets have cafes and bars, or take a Grab car back to the Old Quarter.

Day 3

Museum of Ethnology, the French Quarter museums and Long Bien Bridge

08:30 to about 18:15 · 6 stops · entry fees VND 80,000 a person

1. 08:301

   

   Sight · 2 h 30 min

   Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

   Cost: Adult ticket; camera VND 50,000 extra

   Take a Grab car to Nguyen Van Huyen Street, about 7 km west of the Old Quarter, for the 8:30 opening. The main building covers Vietnam's 54 officially recognised ethnic groups; give the garden behind it at least an hour, for the full-size village houses, among them a long Ede house from the Central Highlands. It is closed on Mondays and over the Tet holidays. An English or French guide for the indoor halls costs VND 100,000, and a camera ticket VND 50,000.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

   Image: Richard Mortel / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

   ↓About 10 min by taxi or Grab, 7.6 km. Grab car back to 4A Le Thanh Tong, about 8 km.

2. 11:402

   

   Eat · 1 h

   Lunch at Luk Lak

   Cost: Prices per dish

   Luk Lak, at 4A Le Thanh Tong behind the Opera House, holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for 2026. Its signature is bun rieu, a tangy tomato and freshwater crab soup with rice vermicelli, fried tofu and pork crackling, and the menu across its three floors runs well beyond it. It opens 07:30 to 22:00 every day, so there is no rush to arrive before noon. The history museum is a three-minute walk away.

   Image: Enoki Mushroom / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 5 min walk, 0.5 km. Round the corner to 1 Trang Tien.

3. 13:303

   

   Sight · 1 h 30 min

   National Museum of Vietnamese History

   Cost: Adult ticket for both buildings; camera VND 15,000

   The museum reopens at 13:30 after its lunch break. The ochre building at 1 Trang Tien opened in 1910 as the museum of the French School of the Far East and was redesigned by 1932 in the Indochinese style; inside, the story runs from prehistory to 1945. The same ticket covers the second building at 216 Tran Quang Khai, from the mid 19th century on, if you have time. It is closed on Mondays unless a public holiday falls on one, and closes at 17:00.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: National Museum of Vietnamese History

   Image: Gary Todd / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

   ↓About 15 min walk, 1.1 km. West along Trang Tien and Ly Thuong Kiet.

4. 15:204

   

   Sight · 1 h 15 min

   Vietnamese Women's Museum

   Cost: The museum publishes no price; check at the desk

   Four floors at 36 Ly Thuong Kiet cover three themes: women in the family, women in history and women's fashion. Take the audio guide, with close to 60 stories in six languages, including English, French, Japanese, Korean and Spanish, because the wall labels alone tell you much less. The museum is open every day from 8:00 to 17:00 with no lunch break, which makes it the easy one to move if the day runs late, and it has an outdoor cafe.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Vietnamese Women's Museum

   Image: Bao Tang Phu Nu Viet Nam 36 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 2.5 km. Grab car to Long Bien station on Gam Cau street, about 2.5 km.

5. 16:505

   

   View · 1 h

   Long Bien Bridge at sunset

   Cost: Free

   The steel bridge over the Red River was built by the French between 1899 and 1902 and was bombed several times during the war with the United States; it now carries trains, motorbikes and bicycles, with a narrow walkway on each side. Climb the steps by Long Bien station and walk out towards the middle to watch the sun go down over the river. Keep to the walkway and watch your footing on the uneven concrete slabs.

   Image: Hạnh Kiều / Unsplash

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.7 km. Back past the station and along Hang Ga.

6. 18:156

   

   Eat · 45 min

   Banh cuon at Thanh Van, Hang Ga

   Cost: Prices per plate

   Banh cuon are thin steamed rice sheets rolled round a filling of pork, shrimp or chicken, eaten with a dipping sauce. Banh Cuon Gia Truyen Thanh Van, a family-run Bib Gourmand shop at 14 Hang Ga, makes them from scratch in the traditional way, and the Michelin inspectors also recommend its bun thang, a Hanoi noodle soup. It opens 07:00 to 13:30 and again 17:00 to 21:00, every day. You are a 10-minute walk from Hoan Kiem Lake for a last evening loop.

   Image: Ni.Nguyen.VCLCA / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tips for Hanoi

Getting there, where to stay and the weather by month are on the Hanoi page. Plan checked 24 October 2026.