An Insider’s Guide to… Hanoi

Hanoi is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most vibrant cities in the world. The city is the ideal choice for an exotic adventure abroad with arts, culture and delicious street food to keep you entertained throughout your stay. Many people know of Vietnam through movies and books where the war is often highlighted but what people don’t know is that Hanoi is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Asia. Hanoi has two dozen lakes and thousands of winding streets to explore – you may get lost, but you also might discover something wonderful. One of the nicest ways to make your way around Hanoi is by bike or by motorbike (if you’re feeling adventurous) and your hotel usually offers rental or will be able to point you in the right direction. A word of warning though – while this is the handiest way to get around the traffic in Hanoi can be very intimidating towards the busiest hubs of the city. You can always vouch to grab a taxi or a cyclo (see below). Within the north end of Hanoi’s main lake Hoan Kiem, lies most of the tourist shops and cafés including the Fanny’s famous ice cream parlour. It’s the oldest and probably the busiest part of the city. Also known as the “36 streets”, each street is named after the commodity and produce that it once sold by each business, for example there’s a Chicken Street dedicated to poultry! The Old Quarter is also a decent place to buy local souvenirs. However you want to get away from the real touristy parts of the city, locals tend to head to the boutiques in places like Vincom and Doi Can instead. If you’re a fan of food, then you must check out Hanoi Street Food Tours, run by Mark Lowerson, of Sticky Rice fame, and Van Cong Tu aka the Vietnamese God. With them you're brought on three hour tour of food heaven. It costs about US$75 per person and as it is a private tour, it’s up to you how many people you go along with, though four is the recommended maximum. Tours not your thing? You can explore on your own and head to what's known as one of the best outdoor markets in Hanoi: Hang Be Market. There you'll find the most delicious, fresh and unbelievably colourful food. While in Hanoi, one of the most common places to visit is the Van Mieu also known as the Temple of Literature and depicts one of the city’s most peaceful spots and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. To find out what’s going on at night and on the weekends, you can read Vietnam News. Unfortunately flights to Vietnam are not cheap, with the chances are that you’ll have at least one or two stopovers along the way. The average flight time from Dublin to Hanoi is about 15 hours with the most popular airline for this lengthy flight being Air France. There are some great deals available from HerHotels.ie on accommodation in Hanoi and our picks include Dong Thanh Hotel (€66) which is walking distance from the Vietnamese National Tuong Theatre and Hang Gai Street, and the Hanoi Eclipse Hotel in Hanoi (€45) which is located in the Old Quarter near Hoan Kiem Lake, minutes from the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. Or if you fancy to splash out, the 4-star Tirant Hotel (€139) is centrally located near Bach Ma Temple and Hoan Kiem Lake.