Hanoi Old Quarter

Historic Centre Of The Capital Founded In 1010, A Dense Grid Of Guild Streets Each Named For A Trade, With Colonial French Villas, The Hoan Kiem Lake And Ngoc Son Temple, Street Food, Motorbikes And The Dong Xuan Market. Hanoi'S Tourism And Food Core. · Hanoi, Hanoi

The Old Quarter is the merchant heart of Hanoi, a dense web of about 36 streets north of Hoan Kiem Lake, each once named for a trade: Hang Bac for silver, Hang Gai for silk, Hang Ma for paper. Shops now sell everything, but the names persist, and tube houses, temples and old wooden doors hide behind the stalls. It is loud, crowded and fast, with motorbikes on every lane and pavements used as shops, kitchens and parking. That chaos is the point: you eat pho, bun cha and egg coffee on tiny plastic stools, then walk to Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple on its red bridge. Expect noise, heat, air pollution, a few scams, and a city that gives back more the slower you walk. The streets run all day, and the evening is livelier. Cross roads steadily, keep your phone in a front pocket, and agree prices before any ride. Summers are humid, winters can be cold and drizzly, and the best months are October, November, March and April. Nothing here is quiet, but it is generous, cheap and unforgettable for most visitors.

Merchant quarter of the capital around Hoan Kiem Lake, a tangle of about 36 trade streets, with the Dong Xuan Market at its north end, Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam

The streets are open at all hours and entering is free. Shops open from morning and close in the evening, with many food stalls active early and late. Dong Xuan Market runs by day; the night market and pedestrian streets around the lake usually run on weekend evenings (verify). Temples keep short hours.

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