A One-Day Off The Beaten Path Hanoi Itinerary

There’s a plethora of cool things to do in Hanoi, but if – like us – you’re keen to use your 24-hours to explore a slightly more quirky side to Vietnam’s vibrant capital city, get your walking shoes on with our one-day off the beaten path Hanoi itinerary. 

Buzzing, chaotic, vibrant Hanoi. From the moment you arrive, Vietnam’s capital embroils you in a whirlwind commotion of noise, smell, colour and sheer humanity.

One minute you’re in the mad fray of a heart-in-mouth street crossing. The next, you’re standing amidst the serene, slow motions of a lakeside Tai Chi session. Tantalising aromas of barbecued meats and fresh herbs tinge the muggy air.

For the first-time visitor, there’s a litany of requisite things to do in Hanoi – the Old Quarter, the Imperial Citadel, the Temple of Literature.

You could spend days wandering the frenetic streets of this ancient city, exploring the visible layers of its long history, from thousand-year-old shrines to ornate 19th-century French colonial villas.

This was our third time visiting Hanoi, and for this trip, we were keen to experience some of the capital’s more unusual sights and experiences. We also wanted to stop and taste some of the city’s celebrated eats and drinks along the way.

Here are our recommendations for a one day Hanoi itinerary with a slightly more quirky bent: a self-guided walk-and-motorbike tour of Hanoi off the beaten path.

Start The Day By Hoan Kiem Lake

By 6am, the hustle is already gathering pace on the roads around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.

Make it across the busy street to the wide lakeside promenade though, and the activity takes on a decidedly more tranquil pace.

This is where Hanoi folk start their day, with exercise and meditation by the calm waters of their legendary lake. Everywhere you turn, people are walking, jogging, stretching their limbs.

Right around the oval-shaped lagoon, large groups of (mostly) middle aged ladies slowly work hands, fans, flags and bamboo balls through the air, in the ancient practice of Tai Chi.

You can join one of these group if you feel so inclined, find your own zen by the water, or settle in and watch the morning activity unfold. Dawn by Hoan Kiem Lake is one of Hanoi’s best people watching experiences.

Indulge With Egg Coffee At Giang Café

Vietnamese Coffee – that deliciously rich opus of Vietnamese-grown beans and thick condensed milk – is available just about everywhere in Hanoi. But there’s another more unconventional, even more luscious caffeine hit awaiting the intrepid coffee drinker in Hanoi.

Egg Coffee.

Conjured back in the 50s, when milk was hard to come by, egg coffee is an inventive blend of whisked egg yolk, coffee, condensed milk and, in the case of Giang Café, butter and sometimes cheese. This is, essentially, dessert in a cup.

And it is seriously delicious.

Giang Café is open from 7am at 39 Nyugen Huu Huan, a 5-minute walk from the famous Red Bridge on Hoan Kiem Lake.

Lose Yourself In The Trompe L’oeil Murals

A 15-minute wander northwest from Giang Café is an unusual series of murals, painted into the stone archways of the train line, starting at 27 Phung Hung Street.

The 19 murals are a collaboration between Vietnamese and Korean artists, commemorating more than two decades of good relations between the two countries.

Many of the artworks, which portray Hanoi street scenes, have been painted in a three-dimensional style called trompe l’oeil.

The quirky 3D illusions created by the paintings make for some interesting photos, but we were most fascinated by the locals the murals attracted – many of them dressed in beautiful, traditional silk outfits – for interactive photo shoots with the paintings.

Pay Your Respects At The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

From the Trompe L’oeil murals, it’s a 2km walk, or a short xe om (motorbike taxi) ride to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

This is the tomb of Chairman Ho Chi Minh, the revered revolutionary leader and founding father of modern-day Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh’s imposing Soviet-style resting place is actually one of Hanoi’s most visited attractions, for Vietnamese people and tourists alike.

But the limited opening hours, popularity, security and highly structured process for viewing ‘Uncle Ho’ means if you only have one day in Hanoi, you’ll need to plan this visit in advance.

Ho Chi Minh didn’t ask for the pomp and fanfare accorded to him in death. His will stated that his body should be cremated and his ashes spread across his beloved country.

Instead, he was embalmed and entombed in a glass case within the grey granite walls of the sepulchre, to be visited by tens of thousands of people every year.

The mausoleum is only open in the mornings, roughly between 8-11am (and closed for a month or two around September each year, when Uncle Ho is sent to Russia for re-embalming).

Queues can be spectacularly long, especially on holidays or special dates, so be prepared. Our line did keep moving though, and we were through relatively quickly. You’ll also need to check in large bags at the entrance, and hand over cameras and lenses, which are bagged, tagged and stored separately.

Starched and decorated soldiers in white line the long queue to the tomb. Within the low-lit interior, more soldiers surround the glass case, while others keep visitors moving.

Dress appropriately: shoulders should be covered and short shorts/short skirts are a no-no. Respectful behaviour is paramount. I was called out by a guard for inadvertently crossing my arms as I shuffled past Ho Chi Minh within the chilly mausoleum. The entire viewing lasts maybe a minute.

Enbalmed and preserved, Uncle Ho looks as though he closed his eyes for a rest just yesterday. He actually passed away some 50 years ago.

It’s a strangely surreal experience; one we were left with mixed feelings about. As offbeat goes though, this takes the cake.

Stop By An Ancient Shrine At One Pillar Pagoda

As you leave Ho Chi Minh’s memorial and wander the grounds of the Presidential Palace and Uncle Ho’s stilt house by the carp pond, you’ll eventually pass One Pillar Pagoda, a tiny temple famous for perching atop – you guessed it – a single stone pillar.

One Pillar Pagoda was originally built nearly a thousand years ago at the behest of an emperor who had a dream involving a monk and a lotus flower; he believed the dream foretold the subsequent birth of a son.

The small temple he built in appreciation was designed to look like a blooming lotus flower rising from the centre of a pond.

What we see today is actually a rebuild of the original, which was destroyed by the French in the 50s. It still has an ancient charm about it though.

As with the mausoleum, make sure you’re dressed appropriately if you want to climb the stairs to the temple: no shorts allowed. We watched as one embarrassed couple wearing shorts were loudly chewed out and chased away by the bolshy stall owner/temple guardian next door.

Ponder The Impact Of War At The B52 Bomber Monument In Suburban Hanoi

If you’re up for a further 15-minute stroll, head back out of the Ho Chi Minh complex and walk west to Huu Tiep Lake.

While you can certainly gain a sense of Vietnam’s long and fraught military past at the Vietnam Military History Museum in Hanoi, this placid little lagoon in the residential neighbourhood of Ngoc Ha conveys something altogether more profound about the terrible reality of the Vietnam War.

Here in the lake’s water, overlooked by narrow neighbourhood homes, you’ll find the wreckage of an American B-52 bomber shot down during a US offensive in December 1972 called the ‘Christmas Bombings’.

The bombings may have targeted military installations, but more than 1,300 civilians were killed during the raids. This plane is one of fifteen that were brought down in the ensuing Vietnamese defence.

Refuel With Bun Cha For Lunch

A packed morning like this calls for a serious lunch and to find that, you need look no further than Bun Cha, a Hanoi speciality.

One of the things we love about Vietnam is that you’ll often find restaurants, or even streets, dedicated to one type of food. We figure if all your effort goes into one dish, chances are you’ll do it well.

You’ll find dedicated Bun Cha restaurants all over the city, and everyone you meet – local or tourist – will have their own recommendation.

You can also eat Bun Cha at any time of day, but we were told that it’s considered more of a lunchtime meal. Our own experience, at a small restaurant back in the Old Quarter called Bun Cha Ta, completely refueled us – we didn’t need to eat again until late that night.

So what is Bun Cha? Basically, it’s a bowl of delicious broth with divinely barbecued pork patties and pork slices. It comes with a pile of vermicelli rice noodles, garlic and chilli, a heaped plate of greens like lettuce and Vietnamese mint and, if you like, a batch of crispy fried spring rolls. It’s an epic feast and it tastes sensational.

Bun Cha is our new favourite dish in Vietnam. It should be on every itinerary for Hanoi. We guarantee you’ll want to eat it more than once.

Feel The Rush On ‘Train Street’

Our next destination is around 3km southwest of our lunch stop in the Old Quarter. So if you’re keen to walk off your Bun Cha, start making your way around 2.15pm to ‘Train Street‘, which you’ll find just off Kham Thien Street, a block back from Le Duan Street.

‘Train street’ is a very narrow rail corridor through which the train from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi trundles twice a day. The train passes within mere feet of the Hanoi homes lining the track, making for a suck-your-breath-in rush as the carriages fly past within touching distance.

What’s that, you’re not a trainspotter? Sure, sure, neither are we. But ‘train street’ is a great photo opp and, as off the beaten path Hanoi goes, it’s a bit of quirky fun.

The train is due along this stretch around 7am and 3pm daily. Take this with a grain of salt. We were in position at 3pm, only to learn from a local that the train was more likely to pass around 3.30pm.

To while away the time, we gathered for beers at a tiny, entrepreneurial, track-side hole-in-the-wall called, you guessed it, the Hanoi Train Track Café.

At half-past-three, we were back in place, cameras at the ready, with a surprisingly large group of fellow, ahem, not-trainspotters. And there we waited. And waited. Our train finally rattled past a little after 4pm.

Take A Moment In Hoa Lo Prison Museum – The ‘Hanoi Hilton’

Our delayed train encounter means we’re a little tight on time for our next stop, which closes at 5pm. We’re headed to the notorious Hoa Lo Prison, a 15-minute walk from train street, or a couple of minutes by motorbike.

Nicknamed the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ by the US prisoners held captive here during the Vietnam War, this small compound is all that remains of a once much larger prison complex built by the French in the late 19th-century.

The displays in the museum largely deal with the prison’s use during the French occupation and the Vietnamese wars for independence.

The tiny, airless cells and grim shackle racks hint at the terrible conditions endured by prisoners throughout the jail’s history, which at one stage housed more than four times as many inmates as it was built for.

There are also remnants of the sewer tunnels and grates through which a number of prisoners escaped over the years.

Look out for the small rooms towards the end of the complex that describe the experience of the American POWs held at the prison. This is one entry on our Hanoi trip itinerary that will give you plenty to contemplate.

Chill With Gin & Views Of Hanoi Cathedral

All this exploring is thirsty work so we’re winding up our Hanoi itinerary with a drink and a view.

Just 650-metres north of Hoa Lo Prison Museum is St Joseph’s Cathedral, the religious centrepoint for Vietnam’s four million Catholics.

Built in 1886 in the style of Notre Dame, this vast neo-gothic church wouldn’t look out of place in Europe, but it’s an unexpected sight in the middle of steamy Hanoi.

Pop inside for a peek, then head across the road to the Mad Botanist Gin Bar; it’s up several flights of stairs at 45 Ly Quoc Su.

The rooftop bar offers a huge selection of gins and delicious gin cocktails, as well as fantastic views over the cathedral, which lights up at night.

Stop For A Bowl Of Phenomenal Pho

Unless you’re visiting other parts of Vietnam and have the opportunity to start your day with a steaming bowl of Pho, then don’t leave Hanoi without eating it at least once.

Pho is Vietnam’s legendary noodle soup, and pho stalls are everywhere in Hanoi. Some specialise in beef pho (Pho Bo), some in chicken pho (Pho Ga), and some do both. Find a place packed with locals, pull up a tiny plastic stool and slurp away gleefully.

If you’re after somewhere you can find on a map though, then just 2 minutes’ walk north of the cathedral on Ly Quoc Su Street, you’ll find restaurant Pho 10. These guys only do pho and they do it damned well.

While this busy joint is popular with tourists, it also draws plenty of locals. Service is fast, furious and no frills. Don’t expect friendly service or chit chat, this place is about eating, full stop. They’ll seat you at one of the group tables, take your order, and bring it within minutes.

On the table you’ll find small bowls of minced garlic and slices of super hot red chillis. The pho arrives with sides of herbs, bean sprouts and lime. It’s packed with flavour and super filling.

Pho 10 is even better first thing in the morning and sets you up for a busy day, so if you have time, hit it up for breakfast (too).

Finish Your Day Back By Hoan Kiem Lake

After dinner, we wander 5 minutes’ west, to finish up our Hanoi itinerary back where we started, by Hoan Kiem Lake.

As the social heartland of Hanoi’s Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem isn’t strictly Hanoi off the beaten track, but with the temps marginally cooler than during the day, the lakeside fires up with with a lively, almost carnival-like atmosphere in the evenings.

Families, friends and visitors gather en masse to drink tea at pop up stalls, dance hip hop, play games, enjoy group exercise; there’s even a public ballroom dancing session in full swing when we pass.

With the city lights twinkling on the water, and the turtle temple and red bridge lit up on the lake, Hoan Kiem is the perfect spot to finish up a busy day exploring some of the quirkier highlights of Hanoi.

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