Hà Nội Old Quarter by time of day: what to eat, see and do

The Old Quarter is a tangle of narrow streets just north of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, where Hà Nội has bought and sold for centuries. It changes completely from hour to hour. Here is how to follow it through a day, and where to sit down.

Dawn: the lake and a bowl of phở

Get up early. At first light Hoàn Kiếm Lake fills with people exercising: walkers, joggers, tai chi, badminton, and groups dancing to a speaker. Walk a lap. Look for the red Thê Húc bridge leading to Ngọc Sơn Temple, and Turtle Tower on its little island in the lake.

Then eat what Hà Nội eats for breakfast: phở. The broth has simmered all night, and the best stalls sell out by mid-morning. Our guide to ordering phở has the words you need. Bánh cuốn, steamed rice rolls, is the other classic breakfast.

Morning: coffee on a stool

Once the breakfast rush is over, the quarter moves on to coffee. Find a row of stools facing the street and order a nâu đá, iced coffee with condensed milk, or climb the stairs of a narrow café for an egg coffee with a view of the rooftops.

The streets of goods

This is the time to wander. Many Old Quarter streets begin with Hàng, which means goods, and the name tells you what was once made or sold there:

• Hàng Bạc: silver.
• Hàng Mã: paper goods, especially the paper offerings burned for the ancestors. Before the Mid-Autumn Festival it fills with lanterns and toys, and before Tết with red and gold decorations.
• Hàng Đường: sugar.
• Hàng Gai: hemp.

Some streets still sell what their names say; many have moved on. People call the area the 36 streets, 36 phố phường, though there are more than that now. Look up as you walk: the tall tube houses (nhà ống) are narrow at the front and run deep behind, and families live above their shops.

Lunch: follow the smoke

Late in the morning, charcoal grills appear on the pavement and the smell of grilled pork fills the street. That is bún chả, Hà Nội’s favourite lunch. Sit wherever the office workers are sitting.

Afternoon: slow down

Early afternoon in summer is hot and sleepy, and plenty of Hà Nội naps. Do the same, or sit out the heat with an iced coffee, a bowl of chè or a water puppet show. In winter the afternoons are cool and grey, perfect for walking.

Dusk: bia hơi

As the light goes, stools come out on the corners and the fresh beer starts to flow. Bia hơi is light, cold and best early in the evening, before the keg runs low. Tạ Hiện, the street everyone calls beer street, is loud and full of visitors; a corner a few streets away is quieter and more local.

Evening: the walking streets and the night market

At weekends, from Friday evening, the streets around Hoàn Kiếm Lake close to traffic and become walking streets. Families stroll, children run about, and street performers draw little crowds. It is the most relaxed the quarter ever gets.

On the same evenings a night market sets up from Hàng Đào towards Đồng Xuân market, with clothes, souvenirs and snacks. It is crowded and cheerful; keep your bag in front of you.

Walking the quarter

• Pavements are for parking motorbikes and for eating, so you will often walk in the road. Stay close to the edge and keep a steady pace; traffic flows around you.
• Motorbikes come from every direction, sometimes along the pavement. Look both ways, every time. Here is how to cross the street.
• If you step onto a stall’s patch of pavement, you are in someone’s dining room. Squeeze past with a smile.

Spend the day with us

Start where Hà Nội starts with the Dawn Phở Run: a 6 a.m. phở kitchen in the Old Quarter, two bowls from two rival stalls, and a vote. Whisk your own cà phê trứng and learn to brew with a phin at our Egg Coffee & Phin Workshop, in a tube house café above the street. And end the day at a Bia Hơi Corner Night: fresh draught beer brewed that morning, snacks that come out of nowhere, and a corner full of stools.