If you aren’t afraid of chaotic Vietnamese traffic in the form of cars, tuk-tuks, trucks, pedicabs, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, and carts, then Hanoi is a great city to see on foot.

We stayed in the center of downtown so we could start our adventure just by walking out the front door of our hotel, La Sinfonía del Rey.

Using NomadMania and Atlas Obscura as starting points, we picked our must-see stops on a walking route that was about 10 miles round trip. We weren’t able to fit in everything on our list, but that just means we’ll need to pay Hanoi another visit soon!

We were interested in the Thào Viên Botanic Garden, the Confucian Temple of Literature, Hoa Lo Prison (aka the “Hanoi Hilton”), Hanoi Opera House, Long Bien Market, the island of Trúc Bạch Lake, the temple of Đền Thủy Trung Tiên, Tran Quoc Pagoda, and a nighttime view of Ngoc Son Temple in Hoàn Kiếm Lake.

Along the way, we stopped by the statue of Lenin, the historic Hanoi flag tower, the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, the Vietnamese presidential palace, One Pillar Pagoda, Ho Chih Min’s stilt house and mausoleum, the 11th century Quan Thanh Temple, the Heritage House, and Bảo Tàng Lịch sử Quốc Gia history museum.

Plus a couple of restaurants and bars.

As the country’s capital with a population of 8.5 million, visitors can expect plenty of international options in Hanoi mixed with traditional Vietnamese history and culture.

And if Vietnam makes you think of Full Metal Jacket or Platoon, you should know that the country has changed a lot in the past 50 years.

More than 17 million tourists visited Vietnam in 2024, and Hanoi is one of the top 100 tourist cities in the world, ahead of destinations like Lima, Peru; Santiago, Chile; and Cairo, Egypt.

Because of the country’s French influences, Hanoi is sometimes called “the Paris of the East,” and you’ll see glimpses of it in everything from the colonial-style architecture to the crusty loaves of bread.

But you’ll also find all of your favorite Vietnamese dishes, like phở, bánh mì, and bún chả, the grilled pork dish Barack Obama enjoyed with Anthony Bourdain during their visit in 2016.

Our favorite food during this trip was a DIY dish, starting with a rice paper wrapper we stuffed with fresh lettuce and herbs, phở noodles, juicy strips of squash and mango, and pieces of a thin, crispy crêpe flecked with tiny dried shrimp. Accompanied by a sweet and spicy chili sauce, and it’s a perfect balance of bright and savory flavors and tender and crunchy textures.

We enjoyed it trackside on Hanoi’s famous Train Street in the historic Old Quarter. Built in 1902 by the French, these tracks run just inches away from cafes and shops, and trains whiz by several times a day while tourists and locals sit close enough to touch them as they pass. (But don’t touch them. You’ll lose a limb.)

Hanoi is also known for its rooftop bars, and we had several fun experiences that included a serious superhero tribute at the Marvel Bar atop the San Grand Hotel as well as an incredibly elegant meal at Solar Sky Bar atop the GM Premium Hotel.

After two failed attempts to visit Vietnam, our third effort paid off, and it was a truly wonderful visit we can’t wait to repeat.

For lots more from our fourth around-the-world adventure, including additional photos and videos from Vietnam, follow We Married Adventure on Instagram and Facebook.