6 BEST ACTIVITIES TO EXPERIENCE HANOI
What to experience Hanoi? Hanoi – a place where you can still see glimpses of previous generations besides the harsh modernization. A post collecting most famous destinations, what they have and price fee is necessary for those who wants to find your soul at the ancient Hanoi.
Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, located along Dinh Tien Hoang Street, comprises 17 short sketches using traditional puppets within a one-hour performance. A Vietnamese orchestra accompanies each story, with musicians playing traditional operatic songs using drums, wooden bells, horns, bamboo flutes and cymbals.
Aside from the general admission fee of VND 100,000, there’s an additional camera or video fee if you wish to photograph or film the show. Tickets sell out well in advance so it’s worth booking yours as soon as you arrive in town.
Water puppet show is a good example to experience Hanoi
Opening Hours:
Daily 15:00, 16:10, 17:20, 18:30 & 20:00
Location: 57B, Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Price Range: VND 100,000
You can visit the theatre to book ticket: Thang Long Puppet show
Hoan Kiem Lake & Ngoc Son Temple – an interesting chance to experience Hanoi
Hoan Kiem Lake is such an ideal place for you to experience Hanoi, where you can find locals jogging, enjoying a coffee and even practicing Tai Chi in Hanoi Old Quarter. This peaceful lake surrounds Ngoc Son Temple, an 18th century pagoda sitting in on a small island that’s accessible via an ornate wooden bridge. Inside the temple are several altars dedicated to military leader Tran Hung Dao, large bronze bust, some ancient artefacts including ceramics, and a preserved specimen of a giant turtle found in the lake weighing 250kg. Tickets to Ngoc Son Temple can be purchased at a booth in front of the bridge.
Opening Hours: Daily 07:30 – 17:30 (Ngoc Son Temple)
Location: Hanoi Old Quarter
Price Range: VND 20,000 to enter the temple
Experience Hanoi in a different side in Dong Xuan Market
Dong Xuan Market is the largest market in Hanoi and has a wide array of products for sale over four floors, which will worth your visit in the aim to experience Hanoi. Located on the northern edge of the Old Quarter, having an imposing Soviet-style building.
It is a rough-and-ready type of market (some might even say ‘dirty’), especially in the ground floor wet market area. However, head up the stairs and you will find cheap printed tees, bolts of fabric, school uniforms, luggage stalls and much more, all available at wholesale prices. It is quite an experience, even if you only leave with a pair of cheap sunglasses and a Vietnamese conical hat.
Opening Hours: Daily 06:00 – 19:00
Location: Dong Xuan Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Price: Free for entrance enter
Explore here for 8 best experiences only you will get in Vietnam
Saint Joseph Cathedral of Hanoi
Saint Joseph Cathedral of Hanoi is known as the oldest Roman Catholic Church in the city. Saint Joseph Cathedral of Hanoi was inspired by Notre Dame de Paris, boasting a neo-Gothic architectural style, twin bell towers, intricately-designed altar, colorful paintings and stained-glass windows from France. Surrounded by plenty of trees and flowers, a statue of Mother Maria is also set within the courtyard in front of the cathedral.
Opening Hours: Daily 08:00 – 17:00
Location: 40 Nha Chung Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Bach Ma Temple
Your trip to experience Hanoi will not be fulfilled if you miss Bach Ma Temple. Bach Ma Temple dates back to the 11th century, and is widely known as the oldest of its kind in Hanoi Old Quarter. Constructed during the reign of Emperor Ly Thai To, this small pagoda honors a white horse which is believed to have guided the emperor in constructing walls of the Hanoi Citadel.
Bach Ma Temple has undergone several refurbishments throughout the years, where you can see colorful murals, a red-lacquered palanquin, the shrine of Confucius, and a phoenix altar that were added in the 18th century. Open daily, entrance is free of charge but do dress appropriately out of respect for the local monks and devotees.
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 08:00 – 11:00 & 14:00 – 17:00
Location: 76 Hang Buom Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Price Range: Free for entrance enter
Maison Centrale Hanoi (Hoa Lo Prison)
Maison Centrale in Hanoi, also known as Hoa Lo Prison and the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ housed Vietnamese revolutionaries and American POW during the Vietnam War. The fortress was once a vast colonial-style prison, most of which was torn down in the 1990s. Visiting today you will find the small southern section resting alongside a hotel and office complex.
Nowadays, the prison is still a popular tourist attraction for those on the war history trail. Official records claim inmates numbered in their hundreds although it was not unknown for up to 2,000 prisoners to be crammed into a space reserved for 600 inmates.
Opening Hours: Daily 08:00 – 17:00
Location: 1 Hoa Lo Street, Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Price Range: VND 30,000
Backpackers Vietnam
Date: Jun 18th, 2019
