Hanoi - Vietnam's capital

Imagine a city where the exotic chic of old Asia blends with the dynamic face of new Asia. Where the medieval and modern co-exist. A city with a blend of Parisian grace and Asian pace, an architectural museum piece evolving in harmony with its history, rather than bulldozing through like many of the region’s capitals. Hanoi is where imagination becomes reality.

A mass of motorbikes swarms through the tangled web of streets that is the Old Quarter, a cauldron of commerce for almost 1000 years and still the best place to check the pulse of this resurgent city. Hawkers in conical hats ply their wares, locals sip coffee and bia hoi (beer) watching life (and plenty of tourists) pass them by. Witness synchronised t’ai chi at dawn on the shores of Hoan Kiem Lake while goateed grandfathers tug at their wisps over the next chess move. See the bold and beautiful dine at designer restaurants and cut the latest moves on the dance floor. Hanoi has it all: the ancient history, a colonial legacy and a modern outlook. There is no better place to untangle the paradox that is modern Vietnam.

The grand old dame of Asia, Hanoi lay in a deep slumber after Vietnam’s partition in 1954 until the effects of economic reforms kicked in four decades later. The city survived American bombs and Russian planners to emerge relatively unscathed in the early 1990s as an example of a French-conceived colonial city. Huge mansions line grand boulevards, and lakes and parks dot the city, providing a romantic backdrop to the nonstop soundtrack. There are still moments of Paris, as the smell of baguettes and café au lait permeates street corners.

Known by many names down the centuries, Thanh Long (City of the Soaring Dragon) is the most evocative, and let there be no doubt that this dragon is on the up once more.

A Thousand Years of Culture...

Hanoi has an elegance, a grace, unlike any other city in Asia. It is a stately capital, an old grande dame whose worn beauty hints at untold stories - a secret past. It is a city that invites nostalgia, just as it invites questions - who else has stopped beneath this spreading banyan tree? Who once live in that proud colonial villa? Who lives there now?

In the wide, tree-lined boulevards of the French Quarter, the past is palpable. History clings to the sun-drenched walls like moss.

But the fine colonial mansions are but one layer of history. Strolling around the little lake in the heart of Hanoi, where legends grow thicker than water lilies, you will get a sense of the city's true cultural depth.

One myth tells of a golden turtle, which rose from the lake's green depths to present Vietnam's King with a magical sword, used to repel northern invaders in the 15th century!

Hanoi's position as Vietnam's capital, when Emperor Ly Thai To established the court of Thang Long (Ascending Dragon) on this site.

Over the centuries the city's name changed several times, until Emperor Tu Duc christened it Hanoi (City in a bend of the River) in 1831. Then, from 1902 to 1953, Hanoi was the capital of French Indochina.

Vietnam's long struggle for independence and its birth as a socialist state are commemorated in many of the city's museums and monuments, the most famous which is President Ho Chi Minh's imposing stone mausoleum. 

In the Old Quarter Hanoi’s rich past comes to life. Stroll down the ancient guild streets, where the wares on offer have remained unchanged for centuries: traditional medicines and herbs, brightly coloured votive paper, bolts of finely spun silk, silver and jade jewellery. 

Ten centuries of culture and commerce are layered like paint, creating a vibrant mural past and present. Here you will see the life of Hanoi: the women had pad past with baskets of bread perched on their heads; the flower vendors wheeling bicycles festooned with fresh-cut roses, mums and lilies, the brown-robed monks on their way to the pagoda.

As well as bring Vietnam’s political centre, Hanoi has long been the country’s artistic and cultural heart.  Visitors can explore the peaceful grounds and pavilions of the Temple of Literature, an ancient university where the first scholars enrolled in 1070.

Today, the city’s aura of culture continues to draw intellectuals and artists. Dozens of galleries showcase the fruits of a flourishing contemporary art scene.

This creative legacy is not surprising, given that Hanoi invites quiet contemplation. With its shady lakes and countless street-sides cafes, the city tempts you to linger over a cup of thick Vietnamese coffee and watch the world go by. 

Spend some time in Hanoi and you too will fall under its languid spell. Hanoi’s cloistered beauty hides Vietnam’s ancient soul.