Heading to Hanoi, Vietnam? I’ve written up all the essential things to do to fit in to a 3 day stay. 

If you’ve never been to Vietnam before – we hadn’t, and it can be a lot to take in. Hanoi is a great city for the start of your journey because whilst there is so much to do, but also you can easily just walk round the city on your own and feel like you’ve found your way. As it’s the capital there are essential things to see and do here, so lets get on with it! 

Activities & Things To See 

• Walking Tour – This is an activity that I can’t recommend enough. We saw and learnt so much. Our tour guide was so informative and helpful. It was organised through our hostel – Hanoi Buffalo Hostel and the best part, it was FREE! Tipping isn’t a large part of Vietnamese culture, but it is appreciated, so we made sure we tipped as much as we could! 
• Visit the French Quarter – Hanoi has such interesting architectural design because there was a strong french influence, aka the name French Quarter. Its absolutely worth taking a look round this area, the Opera House is a popular site to see. 
• Vietnamese Womens Museum – Such an interesting way to learn about Vietnamese women’s history from past to present, featuring wedding rituals within different ethnic groups to the fashion trends in Vietnamese culture.  
• Temples – There are SO many different temples to visit in Hanoi. A really significant one that you can’t get to but can see is the Thap Rua (Turtle Tower) in the middle of Hoan Kiem lake, which has a deep historical significance. Next to the lake is the Ngoc Son Temple is home to one of the giant turtles that lived in the nearby water for over 100 years. P.S if you are thinking of visiting some temples, make sure you have appropriate clothing on. 
• Beer Corner – Having a night out on Beer Corner is a Hanoi must. The bustling tiny street is crammed with all the bars and a great place to spend an evening (or a few)! 
• Train Street – If you’ve googled what to do in Hanoi, you’ll have seen the famous train street. Things have changed in the past few years, so now the only way to access the street is to visit a cafe on the street and have a drink. Even this can be tricky to access, the locals will do their best to find you a seat though. Don’t just wander, you will risk a hefty fine if you’re caught by the police. 
• Hoa Lo Prison Relic – The prison museum is another significant site that has to be visited. Originally a prison built by the French to hold political prisoners, it later became the prison for U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam war. With only a 30,000 VND entrance fee, this has to be on your list. Also it’s worth paying to get the audio guide for the prison as this will give you a better insight into the exhibitions as there isn’t much text to read. 
• Ho Chi Minh Museum – This museum is situated in a complex in the Old Quarter dedicated to Vietnamese leader, Ho Chi Minh. The museum is open every day but the opening times vary, as well as varied opening times for the Mausoleum too. Keep this in mind before heading there and remember to dress modestly if you wish to enter the Mausoleum. 
• Vietnam Military History Museum – Another museum to consider. It gave a brief insight into the Vietnamese Military and featured some of the planes & other vehicles used throughout the wars in Vietnam. It displays propaganda, war photos and other artefacts. We didn’t find it to be the most descriptive, but it was interesting nonetheless. 
• Shopping – Known for it’s many shops selling some fairly good, some good and some not so good replicas of designer & labelled clothing, Hanoi can be a great place to pick up some cheap clothes…and shoes..and a bag. Just remember to *politely* bargain over the price and see if you can bag yourself a steal. 
• Coffee Shops – This is a great way to relax in Hanoi as you can stop and just watch the city go by for a bit, cooling off in the shade. My fave shop was Vie Coffee which you can find in a few different locations. The cafe is quite distinctive because it has so many different varieties of coffee beans on offer to try. The reason why I liked it so much though was because of its amazing coconut iced coffee. It’s a must try!  

Ok, so that’s a list of things to do & see in Hanoi, but now for the next bit, FOOD!

• Banh Mi 25 – The place we knew we’d be heading before we’d even landed in Hanoi. It came highly praised and I am going to continue the praise and say it was SO good. A genuinely tasty Banh Mi and is worth the queue. 
• Timeline Coffee – a great spot we discovered on our first night which has an upper level that over looks a busy square in the Hanoi Old Quarter.
• The Note Coffee – A bit of an insta-famous spot but a good place to go as it has some of the best egg coffee which is a must try, whilst also writing a post-it note to leave on the heavily covered walls.
• Bun Bo Nam Bo – A restaurant but also a deeeeelicious noodles and salad dish. 
• Bun Cha – A Hanoi speciality of meatballs and noodles. 
• Xoi Yen (Sticky Rice) – This is the restaurant name, and they specialised in sticky rice with a selection of different toppings. We ate & ate here. It was my fave, I genuinely think about how good this meal was regularly. 
• Pho – A classic Vietnamese dish that has to be tried. It is typically more of a morning or lunchtime dish, so aim to have this for one of those meals as you’re unlikely to find it in the small local spots past lunchtime. Every pho we had was so good, the best being in a tiny little restaurant which we had previously seen full of locals. I couldn’t even begin to tell you where it was, so I’d recommend just heading out keeping an eye on where is busy. 

P.S. dinner seems to be a pretty late night thing here, so keep that in mind when planning your days. We tended to head back for a couple of hours before heading out for our dinner. 

So now you’ve got a list of things to do, see and eat, but if you’re still not sure on what to do, check the three days itinerary below. Just to say – if you’ve only got the three days, you’ll probably best to choose only 1 or 2 museums to visit only, so you can take your time. 

That rounds us up for the 3 Days in Hanoi blog! I hope it’s been useful. If you’re staying for longer, there’s plenty more to do but I’d definitely recommend not trying to cram it all in! Its a city where you want to pause and soak it all up, so make sure you do that now and then.