Hanoi Traditional City Tour

Full day with lunch

Hanoi's essential landmarks in one day: Tran Quoc Pagoda, the Ho Chi Minh complex, the Museum of Ethnology, the Temple of Literature and Hoa Lo Prison.

Itinerary

1. 08:00 – 08:30

   Meet your guide at your hotel and set off to explore Hanoi.

2. 08:45

   Tran Quoc Pagoda, built in the 6th century on a small island in West Lake.

3. 09:30

   The Ho Chi Minh complex: the mausoleum, the garden and the two houses where he lived and worked from 1954 to 1969, followed by the One Pillar Pagoda, dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy.

4. 11:15

   The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, which tells the story of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups. (On Mondays, we visit the Vietnamese Women's Museum instead.)

5. 12:45

   Lunch: eight Vietnamese dishes at a local restaurant.

6. 14:00 – 14:15

   The Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university, founded in the 11th century.

7. 15:15

   Hoa Lo Prison, used by the French for political prisoners and later known to American POWs as the “Hanoi Hilton”.

8. 16:15 – 16:30

   Tour ends. Drop-off at your hotel or at Train Street.

Good to know

• Optional add-on: a cyclo ride and water puppet show at the end of the day.
• Please dress modestly (shoulders to knees covered) for the mausoleum, temples and pagodas.
• The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is closed on Mondays and Fridays, and for annual maintenance for about two months (around 15 June – 15 August); you can still see it from outside.
• Bring cash, a phone or camera, sunscreen and a raincoat or umbrella.
• The order of the itinerary may change on the day.