Shopping in Hanoi

The Old Quarter has numerous streets crammed with shops but those of particular interest are on Hang Gai and Hang Bong where there are a number of tailors and silk shops. The area close to Hoan Kiem Lake has some excellent shops including along Hai Ba Trung Street. Dong Xuan Market on Dong Xuan Street is Hanoi's largest wholesale and retail centre and anything and everything can be found there. Off-the-peg clothing is always a good buy, but even better is to have clothes made up by one of the many tailors. There is always a good range of coloured silk to choose from.

Opening times:

Shopping malls are beginning to arrive in Hanoi with the Trang Tien Plaza at 24 Hai Ba Trung and VinCom City Towers at 191 Ba Trieu. Hand-embroidered tablecloths and napkins are very popular. Items such as boxes and vases made from lacquerware are extremely good value. The hill tribes of the Central Highlands and the north of the country now sell colourful woven bags and clothing in the city. Good souvenirs are marble figurines and vases, ceramics from Bat Trang village, silk paintings and hand-painted greetings cards. Shops are generally open seven days a week from early morning until late evening. (with Hanoi Travel Guides)

Hanoi Nightlife

Hanoi isn't well known for its nightlife, as the city streets can appear pretty deserted soon after 2200. However, the situation is improving and there are a number of great places in which to pass an evening, although clubs and live music venues are still in short supply. Government restrictions mean that venues are unable to stay open very late and there are occasional police raids should a club flout the unspecified regulations. Much of the nightlife takes place around the Old Quarter and around Hoan Kiem Lake.
Most nightlife venues in Hanoi are on the small side, but the ambience is great and the crowds friendly.

The Spotted Cow, 23C Hai Ba Trung, Finnegan's Irish Pub, 16A Duong Thanh, Relax Bar, 60 Ly Thuong Kiet, Polite Pub, 5 Bao Khanh Street and Funky Monkey, 15B Hang Hanh, are all good places for a drink or two. Apocalypse Now, Star Bowl Centre, Pham Ngoc Thach, or New Century, 10 Trang Thi Street, are two of the best clubs in town if you fancy a bit of dancefloor action. Check out Minh's Jazz Club, 31 Luong Van Can (website: www.minhjazzvietnam.com), Indochine Jazz Club, 62 Nguyen Truong To, and Seventeen Saloon, 98B Tran Hung Dao, for live music acts.

Cultural entertainment is rather thin on the ground throughout the city, although improving, but there are a few outlets. You can find information on performances in the daily English-language newspaper the Vietnam News and the monthly The Guide, published by the Vietnam Economic Times. An alternative source of information is Time Out, a free supplement in the weekly Vietnam Investment Review. Tickets should be purchased in person at the venue.

You can find traditional entertainment at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, 57B Dinh Tien Hoang (tel: (04) 3824 9494; ). Hanoi's Opera House, 1 Trang Tien (tel: (04) 3933 0131), is a beautiful building showing orchestral, choral, ballet and theatrical works. Films in English or with English subtitles are shown at Megastar Cineplex, Level 6 VinCom City Towers, 191 Ba Trieu, Ha Ba Trung district (tel: (04) 3974 3333; website www.megastarmedia.net), as well as at the Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc (tel: (04) 3734 2251), and at L'Espace, 24 Trang Tien (tel: (04) 3936 2164).

Travel by rail in Hanoi

Duong Sat Vietnam trains leave from Ga Hang Co, 120 Le Duan (tel: (04) 942 3697 or 3949 for e-ticketing; website: www.vr.com.vn), in the southwest of the city, the starting point for trains north to Lao Cai, east to Haiphong and south to Ho Chi Minh City. The entrance for northern services is on Tran Quy Cap (tel: (04) 942 3433 or 747 0308). There is only one major rail route in Vietnam from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, with minor routes to northern towns from Hanoi. Internationally, there is a twice-weekly train service to Beijing.
You can buy tickets in person at the station where there is a special counter for foreigners. In addition, a very useful number is 1080 where English-speaking operators can give information on timetables. For long distances, it's best to book soft class sleepers (four people in each cabin) or soft seats for shorter distances. The alternative hard class sleepers (six people in each cabin) and hard class seats are uncomfortable and crowded. The train is a popular way to travel in Vietnam and trains are heavily booked around public holidays like Tet.

Travel by road in Hanoi

The road network throughout Vietnam is reasonable but the standard of the roads varies dramatically from good to appalling. Roads throughout Vietnam are designated by numbers and the main north to south route is Highway 1 connecting Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh City. In theory, traffic drives on the right but in practice drivers take the most direct path avoiding the many thousands of bicycles, motorbikes and animals wandering along the road. As self-driven car hire for visitors is non-existent, visitors to the country have to hire a car with a driver. Most will agree that this is the only way until the country introduces and enforces a system of road rules.
There are basic rules, such as you must stop at a red light and headlights must be used at night, but that tends to be as far as it goes. Long-term foreign residents are allowed to drive a car but few are brave enough to do so, preferring to employ a Vietnamese driver. It is safe to assume that if a foreigner is driving a car involved in an accident, he or she will automatically be at fault.

When To Go Ha Noi

There is really no bad season to visit Hanoi. The city offers countless attractions that can be seen year-round, and the climate is generally agreeable.

Tourist season runs from late June through August and October through Tet, the New Year's celebration that takes place in late January or early February. Though accommodations and transportation are bound to be booked around Tet, it's worth making the effort to see Hanoi dressed up for the festivities.

Vietnamese tend to travel in the summer and around Tet, making public transportation that much more difficult to book.

Source: Lonely Planet

Hanoi city

Hanoi, the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is an elegant city located on the banks of the Red River with tranquil Hoan Kiem Lake at its heart. North of the lake are the bustling streets of the Old Quarter, each street named after the trade that used to take place there.

Much of the city was transformed by the French when it became a French protectorate in the 1880s and there are wide boulevards and large colonial buildings which are now home to government departments and foreign embassies.

Following years of rampant inflation, poverty and repression, the government introduced economic reform or doi moi in 1986, allowing people to own their own businesses. Now Hanoi has been totally transformed and visitors are entranced by the city and its residents. Recent years have seen an enormous increase in visitors and at peak times every hotel room in Hanoi is booked up, so prices have risen accordingly.

Teeming with culture, history, great restaurants and nightlife, Hanoi offers a fantastic introduction to Vietnam.