Stand at the northern end of Hoàn Kiếm Lake early on a weekend morning and the lakeside road has no traffic on it at all — just people moving slowly through tai chi, and the water holding the reflection of the island tower. That closed-off street is as good a first hour in Hanoi as any monument.
Hanoi suits travellers who are happy to spend a morning on museums and an afternoon walking, and who do not mind that the most interesting stops are spread between the centre and the outskirts. This guide covers the sights the sources describe in detail, ordered so the strongest come first, followed by a single-day plan built only from those places.
Top things to do in Hanoi
1. Hoàn Kiếm Lake
A park in the centre of town and an easy walk from anywhere in the Old Quarter. It is the locals' favourite leisure spot, which is the main reason to give it time rather than treat it as a landmark to tick off.
Come at the weekend, when the lakeside streets are closed to traffic and become a pedestrian-only area. Mornings are best for watching people practise tai chi; afternoons are for sitting and reading.
2. Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum
The mausoleum holds Hồ Chí Minh himself, entombed in a distinctly Lenin-esque fashion. Viewing is solemn and strictly regulated: no talking, no revealing clothing, and shorts should be knee length with shoulders covered. Photos are allowed only from outside, in Ba Dinh Square.
It is closed for a couple of months around the end of the year while the body is taken abroad for maintenance, and it closes in the afternoons. Entry is free. Purses are allowed into the tomb but will be searched, and left luggage runs through a complicated scheme of separate offices for large bags and cameras, so travel light.
3. Hồ Chí Minh's Vestige in the Presidential Palace Area
The exit from the mausoleum leads straight into the grounds where Hồ Chí Minh lived and worked from 1954 until his death in 1969. The landscaped complex includes his two homes — a small one-storey house and a traditional stilt house — a garage with two presidential cars, a carp-filled pond, his work room and the Politburo meeting room.
Pamphlets are available in English, Chinese, French and Korean, and guided tours are usually available if you wait. The Presidential Palace itself is nearby but is not open to visitors. It is closed on Monday and Friday afternoons.
4. Museum of Ethnology
Exhibitions cover the culture and ritual practices of the ethnic groups across Vietnam, with explanations in Vietnamese, French and English. The open-air exhibition is the highlight: reconstructions of traditional houses from multiple ethnic groups, complete with inhabitants in costume.
There is an excellent café on the premises. Bus 38 goes from right outside the Temple of Literature to the street the museum is on; Bus 14 runs from Hoàn Kiếm Lake, from which you walk about 500 m.
5. Hồ Chí Minh Museum
A gleaming white building intended to evoke a white lotus, and the perfect chaser to the solemnity of the mausoleum. The main exhibition is on the third floor, mixing photographs, prison documents and newspaper cuttings tracing his life with postmodern set pieces — cars crashing through walls, a cave hideout re-imagined as the inside of his brain — and ending with a burnt bridge signifying separation and a reconstructed one showing reunification.
Free guides are available in English, French, Chinese and Russian, and displays are labelled in English and French. Note the split hours: it opens daily in the morning and reopens in the afternoon only on Tuesday to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
6. Fine Arts Museum
Three floors of a colonial building, plus another three galleries in the west wing, showing only party-approved art with information in English and Vietnamese. Pieces include soldiers on boats depicted on prehistoric bronze drums, Buddhist art, revolutionary art of the 20th-century wars, and lacquer and silk paintings.
It sits opposite the Temple of Literature, so the two combine naturally in one outing.
7. Vietnamese Women's Museum
An often overlooked museum that 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 covers the female heroines of Vietnamese history, rituals and traditions surrounding women in the family, and a beautifully presented collection of hand-made ethnic costumes.
A highlight is the regularly updated special exhibitions, ranging from single mothers and street vendors to traditional medicine and Mother Goddess worship. English-language tours are available on request.
8. National Museum of Vietnamese History
Actually two museums: one covers Vietnam from prehistoric times to 1945, the other covers 1945 to the present. The account of the Vietnamese struggle against first the French, then the US, is informed and detailed, and the building itself — designed by Ernest Hébrard and completed in 1932 — is considered a successful blend of colonial French and traditional Vietnamese architecture, with double walls and balconies for ventilation and shade.
It closes on the first Monday of the month, and breaks for lunch in the middle of the day, so plan around both.
9. Vietnam Military History Museum
Relocated in 2024 to an enormous compound on the city's outskirts, this is now the largest and most modern museum in Vietnam. The main building covers the country's military history extending back some two millennia, with all exhibits and videos captioned in Vietnamese and English, while the vast courtyard houses dozens of military vehicles, aircraft and artillery, many of them French, American and South Vietnamese assets captured in the Indochina wars.
It is extremely popular with locals and usually packed on weekends, with peak queuing times exceeding an hour. Visit early on a weekday if possible, and call beforehand to check how busy it is.
10. Hanoi Museum
Local natural and human history down the ages, and free to enter. A straightforward stop if you are already in the Cau Giay District.
It keeps the same split hours as several other city museums, opening in the morning and again in the afternoon, and closes on Mondays.
11. Air Force Museum
A collection of aircraft including a UH-1 helicopter, Soviet-built MiG fighters and a huge Mi-6 helicopter. Be aware that the aircraft have been exposed to the elements for some time and local children climb over them, so come for the hardware rather than for a polished display.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start at Hoàn Kiếm Lake while the lakeside streets are still quiet, then walk to the Vietnamese Women's Museum when it opens. If it is a weekend, the lake is at its best as a pedestrian-only area, so linger there first and shift the museum later.
Afternoon: Move to the Ba Dinh area for the Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum, remembering that it closes in the afternoons and that you need knee-length shorts and covered shoulders. The exit leads directly into Hồ Chí Minh's Vestige in the Presidential Palace Area, so see the two together, then finish the afternoon at the Hồ Chí Minh Museum, which is open in the afternoon on Tuesday to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Evening: Return to Hoàn Kiếm Lake, which is an easy walk from anywhere in the Old Quarter, and sit by the water as the day winds down.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to visit Hoàn Kiếm Lake?
Weekends, when the lakeside streets are closed to traffic and become a pedestrian-only area. Mornings are good for watching people practise tai chi, and afternoons for sitting and reading.
What should I wear to the Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum?
No revealing clothing. Shorts should be knee length and shoulders should not be exposed. Talking and other signs of disrespect are not allowed while viewing, and photos are permitted only from outside, in Ba Dinh Square.
Can I see the mausoleum and the Presidential Palace area in one visit?
Yes. The exit from the mausoleum takes you right into the grounds of Hồ Chí Minh's Vestige in the Presidential Palace Area. The Presidential Palace itself is nearby but is not open to visitors.
Which museums are closed on particular days?
The Vietnam Military History Museum and the Hồ Chí Minh Museum are closed on Monday and Friday, though the Hồ Chí Minh Museum is open daily in the morning. The National Museum of Vietnamese History closes on the first Monday of the month, and the Hanoi Museum closes on Mondays.
Pick your dates around the mausoleum's annual closure and the weekend crowds at the lake, and the rest of the city will arrange itself around a few short walks.