Hanoi Opera House

Actually two museums: one covers Vietnam from prehistoric times to 1945 and the other covers 1945 to present. This museum gives a very informed and detailed account of the Vietnamese struggle against first the French (starting in 1858—on the first floor), then against the US, ending on 30 Apr 1975 (on the ground floor). It is housed in a colonial French building which was completed in 1932. The building, designed by the architect Ernest Hébrard is considered as a successful blend between the colonial French architecture and traditional Vietnamese architecture, called Indochina architecture. He created double-walls and balconies for a natural ventilation system and protection from sunshine.

The park faces Hoàn Kiếm lake, with a beautiful view of the busy Hang Bai St. and the serenity of the willows on the bank of the lake. Many locals view this mini-park as their favourite place because it is a symbol of the integration of modernity and tradition. One might encounter a group of youths practising hip-hop, breakdancing, or playing foot-badminton, while at the same time seeing a three-generation family enjoying a walk in the park.

This often overlooked museum has benefited from an extensive renovation of its permanent exhibitions. The modernised interior is well laid out with information in Vietnamese, English and French, and contains a huge amount of information on the fearsome female heroines of Vietnamese history. There are also exhibitions on the rituals and traditions surrounding women in family, as well as a beautifully presented collection of intricate hand-made ethnic costumes. A highlight is the regularly updated special exhibitions on a diverse range of subjects, from contemporary issues such as single mothers and street vendors to traditional medicine and Mother Goddess worship. English language tours are available on request.

A pleasant park in the centre of town, an easy walk from anywhere in the Old Quarter. This is the locals' favorite leisure spot; especially during weekends, when the lakeside streets are closed to traffic and becomes a pedestrian-only area. A great place to watch people practising tai chi in the morning or to sit and read in the afternoon. At weekends the park becomes even more popular as the normally busy road around it is pedestrianised, and instead filled with children driving electric cars or riding hoverboards. Hoàn Kiếm means "returned sword", and the name comes from a legend in which King Lê Lợi was given a magical sword by the gods, which he used to drive out the invading Chinese. Later, while boating on the lake, he encountered a giant turtle, which grabbed the sword and carried it down to its depths, returning it to the gods from whom it had come. (You can see a version of the legend at the Water Puppet Theatre.) The giant soft-shell turtles, whom Vietnamese biologists assigned to a separate species, Rafetus leloii, resided in the lake until the early 21st century. One of them, who died in 1968, has been preserved by the wonders of taxidermy, and can be viewed in a glass box (sarcophagus?) in a pavilion adjacent to Ngọc Sơn Temple on the island in the lake.

Located on a small island in the Hoan Kiem Lake, connected with the mainland by a bridge. With small but attractive grounds, the temple displays on Vietnamese history and, more memorably, displays on the giant turtles, including a mummified specimen (who died in 1968). The two on-site gift shops vend a variety of souvenirs, many of them turtle-themed. Entry fee: 50.000 Dong

A late 19th-century Gothic Revival church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi. Built by the French in 1886, the exterior is gaunt and grey, but the interior is light and peaceful. Mass is held several times a day, and for Sunday evening mass at 18:00 the crowds are huge: the service is broadcast to those outside who can't get in. Major renovation works to maintain the cathedral's structural integrity and restore its exterior paintwork were completed in 2022.