Day 01
Hanoi Food Tour Across 8 Famous Destinations
- Meet your tour guide and begin your day tour covering 8 destinations in Hanoi.
- Visit The Temple of the West Lake (Phủ Tây Hồ). As the name suggests, it lies quietly beside West Lake. Princess Liễu Hạnh is worshipped here and, according to myth, she was the daughter of the Heaven Emperor. The gradation of emerald water, weeping willow leaves, and the touch of tranquillity bring visitors a sense of calmness and joy. Later, enjoy a food tasting made with local ingredients - rice noodles with snail and shrimp pancake.
- Get ready to leave your footprints on one of the most beautiful promenades in Hanoi. If you are lucky, you may also be photographed with fresh lotus flowers, the symbolic flower of the country.
- Head to the North Gate, the Wall-Painting Street, and Railway Street. Leaving West Lake, your tour guide will escort you along one of Hanoi's most beautiful roads - Phan Dinh Phung. Then visit the relic site of Cua Bac (the North Gate). Like a fast-forward video, the wall-painting street reveals Hanoi's long history of ups and downs, as well as its heroic spirit in the past and present. Rest with a glass of juice, tea, or coffee and fruits on one of the most special streets not only in Hanoi, but also in the world: Railway Street. (Fruits and juice are seasonal.)
- Explore Đồng Xuân Market and Thanh Hà Market. When it comes to Vietnamese cuisine, we cannot overlook how women go to the market and carefully collect ingredients for family meals. Follow this tradition by exploring Đồng Xuân Market and Thanh Hà Market. (Sweetened dried-apricot bread.)
- Learn about the 5 gateways: 'Ở đâu năm cửa ô chàng ơi Sông Nhị Hà mấy khúc nước chảy xuôi một dòng' - “Ca Dao Xưa”. This folk verse tells us about the 5 gateways of the old capital: Ô Cầu Giấy, Ô Cầu Dền, Ô Đống Mác, Ô Chợ Dừa, and Ô Quan Chưởng. Today, only Ô Quan Chưởng remains, withstanding the test of time and preserving the historic traits of the old citadel. (Seafood noodles soup, sugar/honey donuts, beer.)
- See the Opera House of Hanoi. After more than a hundred years of French colonization, the city witnessed the influence of Neo-Classical architecture, clearly demonstrated in this building in Hoan Kiem District. Even though Hanoi now wears the coat of a lively city, the old proud capital still keeps graceful and sacred marks that have endured, serving as reminders to Hanoians of a grief-filled yet courageous history. (Trang Tien ice cream.)
- Take a break and enjoy Egg Coffee. It is not a truly traditional drink, but it shows the flexibility of Vietnamese people in adapting foreign ingredients to local tastes. Tradition must start at some point, must it not? (Egg Coffee)
- End the tour.
