Explore Hanoi and northern Vietnam by area

Hanoi and the north of Vietnam break down into six areas that suit different trip lengths and interests. The city itself centres on the Old Quarter's 36 corporation streets, Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple, the Temple of Literature, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex and the One Pillar Pagoda, Train Street's narrow corridor between the tracks and the houses, and West Lake with Tran Quoc Pagoda on its shore. Long Bien Bridge, Dong Xuan Market, the water puppet theatre at Thang Long, Hoa Lo Prison and the Hanoi Opera House round out the city's landmarks, alongside street food built around bun cha, pho, banh mi, cha ca and egg coffee.

Just outside the city, the Hanoi countryside holds the ceramic village of Bat Trang, the ancient village of Duong Lam, the Perfume Pagoda pilgrimage site and the hills around Ba Vi. South of the city, Ninh Binh groups Trang An, Tam Coc, Mua Cave, the old capital of Hoa Lu, Bai Dinh Pagoda and Cuc Phuong National Park around a landscape of limestone karst that's often explored by rowing boat. East, Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island extend to Lan Ha Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay, with Hai Phong as the mainland gateway, and this area is usually visited by cruise, either for a single day or with a night aboard.

The northwest covers Sapa and Fansipan, the highest peak in Indochina reached by cable car, along with the terraced rice fields of Mu Cang Chai, the market town of Bac Ha, and the villages of Mai Chau, Pu Luong and Moc Chau. Further northeast, the highlands hold the Ha Giang loop, the karst plateau around Dong Van, Ma Pi Leng Pass, Cao Bang and Ban Gioc Falls. Deciding how many of these areas to combine, and how much time to set aside for the mountains versus the coast, is the main planning decision for a trip through the north, and it depends more on interests and the season than on any fixed route.