Old Quarter & Pho: A 3-Day Hanoi Itinerary | Travileer

Q: Where should I stay in Hanoi, Vietnam?

Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa in Old Quarter. Hanoi is best done from inside the Old Quarter, and this is the hotel that is inside it without the noise.

Three days in the thirty-six streets, from a dollar bowl of pho at dawn to egg coffee by the lake after dark.

Hanoi is one of the cheapest capitals in the world to travel in and one of the best to eat in. A bowl of pho on a plastic stool is about a dollar, the city bus is twenty-eight cents, and the Temple of Literature costs a dollar twenty. The Old Quarter is a grid of thirty-six guild streets where every block sells one thing. This plan walks it, eats through it, and gets out to the lakes and the mausoleum on the edges.

Trip details

Destination: Hanoi, Vietnam
Duration: 3 days
Budget: budget ($150 - $350)
Best season: October - December or March - April
Best for: Backpackers, food-obsessed travellers, first-time Vietnam
Interests: street food, history, coffee, markets, walking, culture

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1: The Old Quarter on foot

the lake, the guild streets and the two dishes that define the city

07:00 — Pho at Pho Gia Truyen, Bat Dan street · Pho Gia Truyen, Old Quarter
The Old Quarter's most famous beef pho, served from a queue that starts before seven. Pay at the counter, carry your own bowl, sit where there is space. Around 60,000 dong, a little over two dollars, for the best breakfast in the city.
08:00 — Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple · Hoan Kiem Lake, Hoan Kiem
The lake at the heart of the city, ringed by tai chi groups in the early morning. Cross the red wooden Huc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple on its island; the temple is a small fee, the lake is free and the walk around it takes twenty minutes.
Tip: The streets around the lake close to traffic from Friday evening to Sunday, which is the best time to walk them.
09:30 — The thirty-six streets and Dong Xuan Market · Dong Xuan Market, Old Quarter
Hang Bac for silver, Hang Ma for paper offerings, Hang Gai for silk: the streets are still named for the guilds that worked them. Walk north through them to Dong Xuan, the covered market, for fabric, dried goods and the food stalls in the lane behind it.
12:00 — Bun cha at Bun Cha Huong Lien · Bun Cha Huong Lien, Old Quarter
Grilled pork patties in a bowl of fish-sauce broth with rice noodles and herbs, the Hanoi lunch. This is the branch that served a US president in 2016 and framed the table; the bun cha is still good and still a few dollars.
14:00 — St. Joseph's Cathedral and the coffee streets · St. Joseph's Cathedral, Hoan Kiem
The neo-Gothic cathedral from 1886, sooty and beautiful, and the cafe streets around it, Nha Tho and Au Trieu, where the afternoon is spent on a low stool with an iced coffee watching the scooters.
17:30 — Hanoi Train Street · Hanoi Train Street, Old Quarter
The lane where the railway runs a metre from the cafe tables. Check the day's train times with the cafe owners, sit behind the painted line, and hold your coffee when the wind hits. Access is controlled; enter with a cafe host.
Tip: Authorities open and close the street to visitors; the cafes know the current rules. Never step onto the tracks.
20:00 — Egg coffee at Cafe Giang · Cafe Giang, Ba Dinh
The family that invented egg coffee in 1946, whisking yolk and condensed milk into a custard over strong Vietnamese coffee, still serves it up a narrow staircase off Yen Phu street. Dessert and nightcap in one glass.

Dining highlight: Pho Gia Truyen — Beef pho, $2-3. A queue, a counter, a bowl carried to a stool. The version every other pho is measured against.

Day 2: Temples, the mausoleum and the lakes

a thousand years of history west of the Old Quarter

08:00 — Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum · Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ba Dinh
The granite mausoleum on Ba Dinh Square where the president lies in state, guarded and silent. Free; the queue moves steadily and the whole visit is twenty minutes. Mornings only, and closed some months for maintenance.
Tip: Dress modestly, no shorts, no photos inside, phones away. Open mornings, closed Mondays and Fridays.
09:30 — One Pillar Pagoda · One Pillar Pagoda, Ba Dinh
An eleventh-century pagoda balanced on a single stone column above a lotus pond, rebuilt after 1954 and still one of the city's symbols. Five minutes from the mausoleum.
10:30 — Temple of Literature · Temple of Literature, Dong Da
Vietnam's first university, founded in 1070, with five courtyards, stone stelae carried by turtles and a hall dedicated to Confucius. The temple's own ticket page lists 30,000 dong, about a dollar twenty.
12:30 — Lunch at Quan An Ngon · Quan An Ngon, Ba Dinh
A courtyard restaurant that gathers the country's street dishes under one roof, cooked at stalls around the edge: banh xeo, bun bo Hue, nem. A safe way to try twelve things in one sitting for ten dollars.
14:30 — Tran Quoc Pagoda and West Lake · Tran Quoc Pagoda, Tay Ho
The oldest pagoda in the city, on a small island in West Lake reached by a causeway, with an eleven-storey red stupa. The lakeside road beside it is the place for a sunset walk or a rented bicycle.
18:00 — Hoa Lo Prison · Hoa Lo Prison, Hoan Kiem
The French colonial prison later known to American pilots as the Hanoi Hilton. The museum in the surviving wing is sobering and well done; the last entry is late afternoon, so it closes the day.
Tip: Check closing time on the day; it varies by season.
20:00 — Beer corner on Ta Hien street · Old Quarter Hanoi, Hoan Kiem
Bia hoi, fresh draught beer brewed daily, sold for well under a dollar a glass from kegs on the corner of Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen. The whole city sits on plastic stools here after dark.

Dining highlight: Quan An Ngon — Vietnamese street food, sit-down, $6-12. The greatest hits of every street in the country, cooked in a courtyard. Order the banh xeo.

Day 3: The French quarter and the river

colonial boulevards, a puppet show and the old bridge at sunset

09:00 — Hanoi Opera House and the French Quarter · Hanoi Opera House, Hoan Kiem
A small Paris Opera built by the French in 1911 at the head of Trang Tien street. The boulevards around it, wide and shaded, are the calm counterpart to the Old Quarter; the Metropole hotel and its bar are a block away.
11:00 — Last market run on Hang Buom and Hang Ma · Old Quarter Hanoi, Hoan Kiem
Coffee beans, lacquerware, a silk scarf, a conical hat. The Old Quarter is the souvenir shop; bargain politely and pay in dong.
13:00 — Bun cha or banh mi lunch in the lanes · Old Quarter Hanoi, Hoan Kiem
Every second doorway is a kitchen. A banh mi from a cart is about a dollar; a bowl of bun rieu (crab noodle soup) a little more. Sit where the stools are full.
15:00 — Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre · Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, Hoan Kiem
A thousand-year-old northern art form: lacquered puppets on a stage of water, worked from behind a screen, with a live folk orchestra. Shows run several times a day beside the lake and last under an hour.
Tip: Buy the ticket in the morning for an afternoon show; the good seats go first.
17:00 — Long Bien Bridge at sunset · Long Bien Bridge, Hoan Kiem
The rusting iron railway bridge across the Red River, designed in Paris in 1899 and bombed repeatedly in the war. Walk out along the pedestrian lane as the light drops over the river and the banana farms on the island below.
19:30 — Farewell dinner in the Old Quarter · Old Quarter Hanoi, Hoan Kiem
Cha ca, turmeric fish fried at the table with dill, is the Hanoi dish to save for last; the street named after it has served it for a century. Then one more egg coffee.

Dining highlight: Cha ca on Cha Ca street — Turmeric fish with dill, $8-12. A single dish so good the street was renamed for it. Fry it yourself at the table.

Where to stay

Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa — Boutique, $90-150 per night, Old Quarter.

Hanoi is best done from inside the Old Quarter, and this is the hotel that is inside it without the noise.

On Ma May street, in the middle of the thirty-six streets
Rooftop restaurant and a spa for the end of walking days
Consistently among the best-reviewed hotels in the city

Frequently asked questions

How many days do you need in Hanoi, Vietnam?

We recommend 3 days to experience the best of Hanoi, Vietnam.

When is the best time to visit Hanoi, Vietnam?

The best season to visit Hanoi, Vietnam is October - December or March - April.

What budget should I plan for Hanoi, Vietnam?

This itinerary is designed for a budget budget of approximately $150 - $350.

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