Hà Nội in two days: the Old Quarter, temples, lakes and street food

Hà Nội has a thousand years of history, lakes in the middle of town and some of the best street food in the country. Two days is enough to see the big sights, eat very well and still sit on a stool and watch the city go by.

Day 1, dawn: the lake and a bowl of phở

At first light Hoàn Kiếm Lake fills with walkers, tai chi and groups dancing to a speaker. Walk a lap, then sit down to phở before the good stalls sell out. Our Old Quarter guide follows the lake and the streets around it hour by hour.

Day 1, morning: the Old Quarter and Long Biên bridge

Wander north into the streets named after what they once sold: Hàng Bạc for silver, Hàng Mã for paper offerings. Stop for a coffee on a low stool, or climb to a café on an upper floor for an egg coffee over the rooftops.

Keep going past Đồng Xuân market to Long Biên bridge, the long steel bridge over the Red River (sông Hồng) that the French finished in 1902. It was bombed many times during the war, and trains and motorbikes still rattle across it.

Day 1, lunch: follow the smoke

Late in the morning, charcoal grills appear on the pavements. That is bún chả, grilled pork in a warm dipping sauce with cold noodles and herbs: the lunch Hà Nội queues for.

Day 1, afternoon: the Temple of Literature

Văn Miếu, the Temple of Literature, was built in 1070 to honour Confucius. In 1076 the Imperial Academy (Quốc Tử Giám) opened beside it, and it is often called Việt Nam’s first university.

• The courtyards: five of them, one behind the other, with gates, ponds and old trees.
• The stone tablets: steles on the backs of stone turtles, carved with the names of scholars who passed the royal exams.
• The students: they still come to pray for luck before exams, and for photos in their gowns after graduation.

Day 1, evening: puppets, then beer

Back near the lake, catch a water puppet show, an art born in the rice paddies of the Red River delta. Our water puppet guide tells you what you are watching. Then find a corner of plastic stools and a glass of bia hơi. At weekends the streets around the lake close to traffic in the evening, and half the city comes out to stroll.

Day 2, morning: Ba Đình

West of the Old Quarter, the wide boulevards of Ba Đình feel like another city. On its great square stands the Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum. Visitors file past in silence: cover your shoulders and knees, take off your hat and put your camera away. It keeps short hours and closes from time to time for maintenance, so check before you go.

Nearby, the One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột) is a small shrine on a single pillar in a lotus pond. The story goes that an emperor dreamed of the goddess of mercy seated on a lotus, and built the pagoda in its shape.

Day 2, afternoon: West Lake

West Lake (Hồ Tây), the biggest lake in Hà Nội, is where the city goes to breathe. Beside the road between West Lake and little Trúc Bạch lake stands Trấn Quốc pagoda, often called the oldest in the city. Walk along the shore, try bánh tôm, crisp sweet potato fritters topped with whole shrimp, and stay for the sunset.

Day 2, evening: one last feast

Eat something new: chả cá, turmeric fish fried at the table with dill, or a slow night of small dishes. Our Hà Nội street food guide has thirteen to choose from.

Good to know

• Seasons. From around December to February Hà Nội can be cool, grey and drizzly, so pack a jacket. Summer is hot and humid. Autumn is many people’s favourite.
• Getting around. Walk the Old Quarter. For Ba Đình and West Lake, take a taxi or a ride from a ride-hailing app.

Spend the two days with us

Four of our experiences fit into these two days. Start with the Dawn Phở Run: a 6 a.m. phở kitchen in the Old Quarter and two bowls from two rival stalls to vote on. Whisk your own cà phê trứng at the Egg Coffee & Phin Workshop, in a tube house café above the street. Swap the evening show for Water Puppets, Backstage: wade behind the bamboo screen with a troupe, try the rods yourself, then watch from the front row. And spend a night at a Bia Hơi Corner Night, with fresh draught beer brewed that morning and a lesson in toasting like a local.