Hanoi
A thousand-year citadel, the Old Quarter crowded around Hoan Kiem Lake, an opera house with two great hotels near it, and Noi Bai about fifty minutes away by road.
- Arrival
- Noi Bai International · HAN
- To the city
- About 50 minutes to Hoan Kiem by car
- Private jets
- Handling at HAN, around the clock
- Best time
- November to March
The city
Capital of a thousand years.
The Ly kings raised their citadel here in the 11th century, on the ruins of an older Chinese fort, and Hanoi has been a seat of power almost ever since. The French period left an opera house and the Metropole with its façade of 1901; the Old Quarter beside Hoan Kiem Lake kept its crowded streets. Four restaurants hold a MICHELIN star, from a tea house serving northern classics to a teppanyaki counter beneath the Capella.
Come between November and March. Afternoons reach 20 to 25 °C and the air is dry, good weather for walking the city. From May the heat climbs past 32 °C and the summer rains set in.
Arriving
Noi Bai, north of the river.
Noi Bai International is about fifty minutes by car from Hoan Kiem Lake. International flights use Terminal 2.
- Hong Kong 1 h 25
- Bangkok 1 h 35
- Delhi 4 h 15
- Tokyo 5 h 05
- Johannesburg 13 h 00 long-range jet
When to go
November to March.
Hanoi has a real winter: from December to February afternoons stay near 20 °C, with little rain. Summer is hot and wet, over 30 °C from May to September with up to 300 mm a month. November and March, at either end of the dry season, are the most comfortable.
- 20° J 22
- 20° F 28
- 23° M 42
- 27° A 97
- 32° M 181
- 33° J 242
- 33° J 258
- 32° A 297
- 31° S 225
- 29° O 125
- 25° N 57
- 22° D 19
What to see and do
Days in and around Hanoi.
-
Landmark
Imperial Citadel of Thang Long
Built in the 11th century over a 7th-century Chinese fort, and a centre of power for almost thirteen centuries; listed by UNESCO in 2010.
-
Landmark
Hoan Kiem Lake
The lake at the edge of the Old Quarter, with the Metropole a few streets away.
-
Landmark
Ha Long Bay
More than eleven hundred limestone islands and islets to the east of the city, drowned karst listed by UNESCO.
-
Culture
Temple of Literature
Founded in 1070 to honour Confucius, its five courtyards hold 82 stone stelae naming the doctors of the royal examinations, listed by UNESCO in 2011.
-
Culture
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
Opened in 1997 in Cau Giay, a drum shaped building and a 20,000 square metre open air section present the country's ethnic peoples.
Official site -
Culture
Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts
Across from the Temple of Literature, galleries hold Cham sculpture, a thousand armed Guanyin of 1647 and twentieth century lacquer painting.
Official site -
Culture
Hoa Lo Prison Relic
Built by the French in 1896 as the Maison Centrale, what remains of the jail shows its cells, a guillotine and the sewer used in escapes.
Official site -
Opera & music
Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
Since 1969 this theatre beside Hoan Kiem Lake has staged 50 minute water puppet shows, accompanied by a live traditional orchestra, several times a day.
-
Golf
BRG Kings Island Golf Resort
Three 18 hole courses ring the Dong Mo reservoir, among them a Kings Course by Nicklaus Design opened in 2018.
-
Nature
Ba Vi National Park
Forest trails and waterfalls climb toward King peak at 1,296 metres, with the Upper Temple on Tan Vien peak and a French fort of 1951.
Where to stay
Two houses by the Opera.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Capella Hanoi Forty-seven rooms imagined by Bill Bensley as a tribute to the opera house nearby, and the only hotel in Vietnam's capital with three MICHELIN Keys.
- Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi The colonial façade of 1901 on Ngo Quyen Street, a restored Heritage wing, the newer Opera wing and a pool in the courtyard.
Where to dine
The tables the guide rates.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Gia One Michelin star Vietnamese contemporary ₫₫₫₫ Van Mieu Street
- Hibana by Koki One Michelin star Teppanyaki ₫₫₫₫ Capella Hanoi
- ONVIT One Michelin star Korean contemporary ₫₫₫ Grand Plaza Hotel, Tran Duy Hung
- Tầm Vị One Michelin star Vietnamese ₫₫ Yen The Street, Ba Dinh
Elsewhere in Vietnam
More reasons to come.
- Ha Long Bay Thousands of karst islets in the bay, seen from a junk.
- Hoi An An old trading port of lanterns and tailors.
- Da Nang The airport for the central coast, and the beaches of its bay.
- Ho Chi Minh City The former Saigon, with its old post office and crowded streets.
- Phu Quoc Pepper farms, fish-sauce houses and long west-facing beaches.
Flying to Hanoi?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.