How to Spend 72 Hours in Hanoi

Get set for a medley of colourful sights, ancient traditions and popular local flavours in Northern Vietnam’s fast-paced capital with 72 hours in Hanoi.

As the gateway to Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh and the Sapa Hills, Hanoi will undoubtedly find its way onto your Vietnam itinerary, even if only for a brief stay. As well as it’s street food stalls, French colonial architecture and scooter-filled streets, you’ll discover a city of incredible history and authentic experiences.  

Here’s our itinerary for a 72-hour stay in Hanoi.

Day 1: Introduction to the Old Quarter

Morning: Arrival and Vietnamese coffee or pho

Whether you’ve arrived early this morning or late the night before, you’ll need some fuel for your first day of adventure in Hanoi. Start the day with your choice of a classic Vietnamese coffee or pho. 

For your first cup of Vietnam’s deep, robusta coffee over ice (deliciously sweetened with condensed milk, should you choose), start at Cafe Lam. Opened in 1949, it’s one of the oldest coffee shops in the city and provides an introduction to modern Vietnamese art, thanks to the owner’s extensive personal collection lining the walls. 

For your first bowl of the day, you can’t do better than Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su. Their renowned beef broth, made in traditional Northern Vietnamese style, warrants a line to dine in the evenings. Squeeze this one in early to beat the crowds. 

Afternoon: Walk through the Old Quarter and Train Street

Once you’re ready to stretch your legs, an overview of the city’s most popular and scenic neighbourhood is in order. Wander in any direction to take in the 36 guild craftwork streets, including Hang Tre (bambooware) Street, Hang Dong (copperware) Street and Hang Buom Street, dominated by patisseries and sweets shops. 

Wind your way along to Pho Duong Tau, where the local locomotive passes by twice a day, and at all other times pedestrians run the thoroughfare. Try to arrive around 3pm to find a spot in one of the cafe balconies overlooking the tracks – it’s the best (and safest) vantage point for watching the train come through.  

Evening: Banh xeo and Beer Street

Dinnertime means it’s time to taste another local favourite: banh xeo, a savoury golden egg crepe stuffed with meat or tofu. Mr Bay Mien Tay has English-speaking servers and instructions printed out on the walls to guide you in how to stuff one with a plume of fresh herbs and wrap it in rice paper for hands-on eating. 

Head to Pho Ta Hien to wash down your meal with the local lager, bia hoi. This rice beer is crisp, bright, refreshing.

Day 2: Food and fashion

Morning: Egg coffee and a trip to Dong Xuan Market

Get ready to indulge in the worlds of food and fashion today. Why not start with one of Hanoi’s famous egg coffees for breakfast? Cafe Dinh, hidden away in a second storey hall overlooking Lake Hoan Kiem, presents theirs with a loving swirl of latte art, using coffee to draw gingko leaves, peace lilies, camellias and orchids in mugs of a golden whip made from egg yolks and condensed milk. 

When you’re ready, walk 10 minutes north to discover Hanoi’s largest indoor market. Offering goods, from textiles to teas, fresh produce, souvenirs and more, this building houses a feast for the senses. Take your time among the fabric stalls and be sure to select a few reams of your favourite silks before you leave.

Afternoon: Banh mi lunch and a tailor shop visit

Along with pho, Vietnam’s famed baguette sandwiches are probably its greatest contribution to the modern culinary zeitgeist. Sit down for lunch at Banh Mi 25 to taste the perfect combination of barbecued pork, pate and zesty herbs tucked inside a pillowy pocket of fresh bread. 

When you’re done, walk south to Hang Bong Street, where an assortment of clothing shops and art galleries line the thoroughfare. Here, you’ll find any number of the city’s famous tailor shops and can have your silk refashioned into a suit or cocktail dress overnight. Tailor Bros and Bambou Silk both have excellent reputations.

Late afternoon: Chocolate tasting at Maison Marou

This local bean-to-bar producer has helped revolutionise the world of chocolate in South-East Asia with its terroir approach to cacao, sourced straight from Vietnam’s jungles. Every Saturday at 3pm, the in-house team of chocolatiers at Marou’s flagship store, just off Tran Hung Dao Street, host a guided chocolate tasting, open to all ages, offering free-flow samples of the single-origin dark chocolate bars that form the core of its range.

Evening: Join a night street food tour

Now that you’ve had all of Hanoi’s most popular dishes, it’s time to explore the scene like a local. Joining a group tour is one of the most fun, informative and inexpensive ways to discover a host of foods you’d never try on your own. 

You may start with a bowl of nom ga – a salad of cabbage and dark meat chicken (the local favourite) topped with tangy sauce – before sampling fresh banana fritters, straight from the fryer, and banh cuon – steamed rice paper rolls stuffed with fragrant minced meats. 

Perhaps follow this with a comparison of two different rice noodle dishes – bun cha, a deconstructed salad featuring thin noodles and spiced pork, and bun bo, a lemongrass beef soup made with vermicelli. 

Day 3: History and high culture

Morning: Choose your coffee adventure

By now you’ll have realised that Hanoi specialises in putting new spins on its coffee. Besides the ones you’ve already tried, other exciting options include coconut coffee (poured over frozen coconut cream), yoghurt coffee (refreshingly tart) and salted coffee (in which sea salt and a dollop of fresh cream temper the condensed milk’s sweetness). Vi Anh Coffee serves all of these in an energetic, yellow tearoom lit by strands of paper lanterns.

Afternoon: Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and the Temple of Literature

Wrap up your Hanoi stay with a deep dive into the country’s varied history. Start with a visit to the resting place of Vietnam’s much-beloved revolutionary President Ho Chi Minh, who led the country from 1951 to 1969.  

You can then make your way through the surrounding tropical gardens to visit a modest yet elegant house, built in traditional style upon stilts, where the President lived and worked. The Ho Chi Minh Museum next to it unravels the story of his life, from his upbringing to the founding of the Vietnamese Communist Party and beyond. 

Wind your way south to the Temple of Literature, a Confucian temple originally built in 1070. Its landscaped courtyards and pavilions housed Vietnam’s first national university for over 700 years, and today it presents an introduction to both ancient Vietnamese architecture and education. 

Once you’re done, be sure to pop back by your tailor’s shop to retrieve your new custom-made clothing (and possibly dress things up for dinner?).

Evening: Sunset cocktails at a rooftop bar and dinner

It’s time to toast your last night in Hanoi, and what better way to do so than with a visit to one of its colourful rooftop bars at sunset? Both SOL SKY BAR and Starlight Skybar offer views of Hoan Kiem Lake from their fairy-lit, open-air terraces. 

Wrap up your journey with a meal at one of Hanoi’s most notable restaurants, discovering the refined side of Vietnamese cuisine. Make a reservation at Backstage at Capella Hanoi or Michelin-starred Gia for a unique take on traditional foods, inspired by French culinary techniques.

Featured image: Hanoi street vendor. Source: supplied.