Day 01
Hanoi Old Quarter, Ethnology Museum and Temple of Literature
- A beautiful morning awaits you. Get picked up and escorted by your guide as you enjoy a comfortable walk along the small, narrow streets of the French colonial quarter. See houses with French architecture and observe the daily life of local people among shops and small stalls selling all kinds of goods. Hanoi is known for its 36 streets and guilds, built between the 15th and 18th centuries under the Le Dynasty. During different historical periods, the Old Quarter had varying numbers of guilds, and your walk will introduce you to guilds divided into three kinds: agriculture, handicraft, and merchant.
- Stroll along streets such as Bong Street and Gai Street with silk and painting shops; Dao and Duong streets for clothes and watch shops; Lo Ren Street with blacksmiths; Hang Ma Street with paper offerings for the dead; Hang Thiec (Tin Street), Hang Dong (Bronze Street), and Hang Bac (Silver Street). You will see for yourself the activities and products sold directly on these streets.
- Stop at Dong Xuan and Bac Qua markets to watch local people trading and selling everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to meat, animals, clothes, fabrics, and household equipment. Then sit at a local coffee shop to observe Hanoians and Hanoi traffic in the small, narrow streets while tasting Hanoi's distinctive coffee flavour.
- The next destination not to be missed is the beautiful house at 87 Ma May Street, an exquisite Chinese merchant's home that has been restored and opened as a museum. Afterwards, enjoy lunch with Hanoi noodles at a local restaurant on Hang Be Street.
- In the afternoon, take a car to the Museum of Ethnology. The museum's extensive displays are dedicated to Vietnam's 54 ethnic minority groups. It features an astounding collection of art and everyday objects, with some 15,000 artifacts gathered from throughout Vietnam. During your visit, you can also enter a traditional Black Thai house reconstructed within the museum grounds.
- After leaving the museum, pass by the Ho Chi Minh complex and then head to the Temple of Literature, founded in 1070 by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong, who dedicated it to Confucius to honour scholars and men of literary accomplishment. This was the first university in Vietnam. Inside, you will find stone stelae mounted on the backs of turtles, inscribed with the names of the university's graduates. The complex is divided into five courtyards with different paths that would once have been reserved for the Emperor and mandarins. One courtyard contains a statue of Confucius guarded by two beautiful bronze storks standing on turtles. The temple highlights the important influence Vietnamese society has long placed on education.
- Continue to Hoan Kiem Lake (Returned Sword) to learn the legend of the lake. The tour ends with a water puppet show, one of Vietnam's traditional arts.
