Hanoi Orientation

• Take a walking tour through Hanoi’s vibrant Old Quarter
• Visit the historic Temple of Literature and Ho Chi Minh complex
• Get an introduction to Vietnam’s ethnic diversity
• Enjoy a water puppetry performance

Meal: Lunch | Accommodation: not included

You’ll have the whole day to explore Vietnam’s capital city.

In the morning, you will visit the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century. You will walk through the gardens and symbolic monument to the Temples dedicated to Confucius and his scholars as well as famous Vietnamese teachers throughout the country’s history.

Later, after a short transfer, you will walk through the bustling Ngoc Ha market before visit Huu Tiep Lake, better known as ‘B-52 lake’, where US B-52 bomber wreckage can be seen. The walk from the main road through the narrow alleys of Ngoc Ha village is a great chance to see Hanoi’s life behind the scene. 

As you return to the Old Quarter, we would like to invite you to get off the tourist trail and explore Hanoi’s hidden lanes for a street food experience. Take your pick from a wide range of street food menu to taste the authenticity of Hanoi. After lunch, sit down on one of many of Hanoi’s charming cafes’; where you will be able to try some of Hanoi’s tastiest coffee: Cà phê sữa đá (Iced coffee) and if you feel more adventurous, you can also try the ‘Egg coffee’.

In the afternoon, we will visit some of the famous sites in the city center including Ba Da pagoda and St. Joseph’s Cathedral – a European neo-Gothic church. We’ll later process to Dong Xuan market, a large crowded local market but very Vietnamese, and start a walk through hidden lanes and busy streets of the old quarter. The walk ends at Hoan Kiem lake where you will enjoy a performance of traditional Water Puppetry, an art form unique to northern Vietnam (a good, light-hearted introduction to our rural culture). The service ends at around 17.00.

Alternative option:
If you would like to see Hanoi’s infamous site: Ho Chi Minh’s complex, we would be happy to alternate the tour a little bit. Instead of the behind the scene’ walk to Huu Tiep lake, you will visit Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, the Presidential Palace, and his simple stilt house where he lived and worked. After that, we will visit One Pillar pagoda, a small charming pagoda that was first built in the XI century with a lotus shape representing Buddhism.