Hanoi

Set on a bend of the Red River in northern Vietnam, Hanoi has served as a capital for more than a thousand years since Emperor Ly Thai To named it Thang Long (Rising Dragon) in 1010. Rather than centring on high-rise towers, the city revolves around Hoan Kiem Lake and the labyrinth of the Old Quarter, where narrow tube houses still bear the names of the artisan guilds that traded silk, silver, bamboo and herbal medicine along each street.

Compared with fast-paced Ho Chi Minh City in the south, Hanoi feels distinctly northern, seasonal and rooted in ritual: elders practise dawn tai chi beside crimson wooden bridges, scholarly stelae stand inside the Temple of Literature, and tiny plastic stools spill across every pavement for charcoal-grilled bun cha and egg coffee. Start with what to know before you go and top experiences.

Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) lies roughly 28 kilometres north of Hoan Kiem across the cable-stayed Nhat Tan Bridge. Orange Express Bus 86 connects both terminals directly to Long Bien, Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi Railway Station, while metered taxis and Grab cars run door-to-door. North-south Reunification Express trains arrive right in the centre on Le Duan Street. See how to get to Hanoi.

Most first-time visitors sleep within ten minutes' walk of Hoan Kiem Lake: the Old Quarter north of the water puts street food and night markets at your doorstep, the St Joseph's Cathedral enclave balances boutique hotels with leafy lanes, and the French Quarter offers grander colonial-style blocks near the Opera House. Compare every district in where to stay in Hanoi.

Cross the red Huc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple on Hoan Kiem Lake, wander the historic shophouse lanes of Hang Bac and Ma May, explore the courtyards of the Temple of Literature, Imperial Citadel of Thang Long and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex, and watch a traditional water puppet performance. Browse the full list in things to do in Hanoi.

Hanoian cooking prizes clear, fragrant broths, fresh northern herbs and gentle balance over fiery spice: slurp simmered beef pho at daybreak, dip smoky pork patties and rice vermicelli into tangy broth for lunchtime bun cha, share sizzling turmeric-and-dill fish (cha ca) at the table, and finish with a warm cup of whipped ca phe trung (egg coffee). Read where and what to eat in Hanoi.

Centuries of Confucian scholarship, Mahayana Buddhist pagodas, ancestral craft guilds and eighty years of French colonial urban planning overlap across Hanoi's streets. From Friday evening to Sunday night, the roads ringing Hoan Kiem Lake close to traffic and transform into a lively pedestrian promenade where families play shuttlecock (da cau), traditional musicians perform and neighbours gather after dusk.