Hanoi has been the capital of Vietnam for 800 years. It lies on the banks of the Red River, and is home to the first university in Vietnam, which was built in 1076. This city is surrounded by many tiny streets that form the old quarter. In this area it is possible to buy and barter for goods. Each street specializes in a certain product. In Hang Gai Street, you go to have silk clothes made, go to Trang Tien for books, and Hang Dao near the lake for sunglasses. This old quarter shopping center is a ten minute walk away from the hotel.
 
Temple of Literature-Van Mieu: 2 Km N
Ho Chi Minh Museum-Mausoleum: 3 Km N
Opera House: 2 Km  
E Halong Bay: 160 Km NE
Perfume Pagoda: 60 Km SW
Hoa Lu: 120 Km S
Water Puppet Theatre: 1 Km N
Ethnology Museum: 9 Km NW
Tran Quoc Temple: 5 Km N
Fine Arts Museum: 2 Km N
Bat Trang - Pottery Village: 12 Km E
One Pillar Pagoda - Chua Motcot: 3 Km N
History Museum: -2 Km E
Quan Than Temple: 9 Km N
Gia Lam: 6 Km E
Circus: 3 Km W

  • Once known as the Ecole Francaise Extreme Orient, the museum has got a rich collection of archaeological findings, including some relating to the era of Hung Kings about 3,000 years ago.

  • Built by Emperor Ly Thai To, who ruled from 1028 to 1054. According to the annals, the heirless emperor dreamed that he had met the Goddess of Mercy who, while seated on a lotus flower, handed him a male child. The Emperor then married a young peasant girl he met by chance and a son was born to them. To express his gratitude for this event, he decided to build this pagoda.

  • This old Quarter consists of 36 streets of which street names reflect the business once conducted there: Silk street, Rice street, Paper street, Paper Votive Objects street and so forth. The area now houses a variety of small shops, ideal for souvenir and bargain hunting.

  • (Hồ Tây in Vietnamese) is the largest lake in the northwest center of Hanoi with a perimeter of 17 km (about 10.6 miles). It is deemed to be an oxbow lake, created from a curved part of the Red River after it had changed its course many centuries ago. It is a popular attraction in Hanoi and has been so since the Lê-Trần Dynasties in the 11th -13th century with many pagodas and beautiful landscapes.

  • (Vietnamese: Chợ Đồng Xuân) is a market in the center district Hoan Kiem of Hanoi, Vietnam. Originally built by the French administration in 1889, Dong Xuan Market has been renovated several times with the latest in 1994 after a fire which almost destroyed the market. Nowadays, Dong Xuan Market is the largest covered market of Hanoi where the wholesale traders sell everything from clothes, household goods to foodstuffs.

  • Artistic works ranging from bronze drum to sculptures, paintings, engravings, and lacquer works by contemporary artists, not to mention folk art.

  • The lake is an enchanting body of water right in the heart of Hanoi city. Legend has it that in the mid-15th Century, Heaven gave Emperor Le Thai To a magical sword which he used to drive the Chinese invaders out of Vietnam. One day after the war, whilst boating, he came upon a giant golden Tortoise swimming on the lake surface. The creature grabbed the sword and disappeared into the depths of the lake. Since then the lake has been known as Hoan Kiem (The Restored Sword) because the tortoise restored the sword to its divine owners.

  • Built in 1070, and consecrated to Confucius, the temple was also known as the first university in Vietnam to educate royal children. The temple is also famous for its 82 stelae recording the names, places of birth and achievements of men who received doctorates in each examination held between 1442 and 1772.

  • Inaugurated in 1886, the cathedral is noteworthy for its neo-Gothic style with square towers, elaborate altar and stained-glass windows.