Perfect Hanoi Day

Description:

"The yogurt and pastry place" is how most people refer to this popular eatery. Well frequented by expatriates, it serves a fine assortment of Western fare, as well as its renowned croissants, cookies, and custard cakes. Busy most of the day, its long and spacious interior is forever buzzing with speedy waitress service and giggles from the open kitchen at the back. Fresh yogurt is made on the premises and can be taken away or you can eat in the Cafe. Call for timings before you plan your breakfast or brunch in the cafe.

Description:

Learn the secrets to preparing a great Vietnamese dish on this half-day cooking tour in Hanoi. Your Hanoi cooking tour will begin with a quick walk to the famous Chau Long market, where you will learn more about the various ingredients that go into a Vietnamese dish. It's then onto the Hanoi Cooking Centre for your hand's on cooking lesson followed by a chance to try your new creation.

Vietnamese food is healthy, simple to cook and downright delicious. This half day cooking tour in Hanoi will provide you with a hands-on lesson on how to shop for, and to cook, authentic Vietnamese food.

Your Hanoi cooking class will be held at the Hanoi Cooking Centre, a new complex nestled on the edge of Hanoi's famous old quarter and close proximity to the picturesque Truc Bach and West Lake.

Your half-day tour begins with a walk around the famous Chau Long market, nearby Truc Bac Lake. Here you will learn more about the various local ingredients including vegetables, fruits and Vietnamese herbs and spices.

Two-minutes away from the Chau Long Market is the Hanoi Cooking Centre. The Vietnamese cooking class is held in small groups (2 to 16 people) to enhance interactivity with the head chef. You...

Description:

This boutique (whose name means "life" in Vietnamese) carries original designs offering a modern twist on classic Vietnamese styles. They are a bit on the pricey side, but the clothing is thoughtful and well-cut. Everything is a creation of established designer Valerie Gregori McKenzie, who first began designing in France and continued her trade in California. Her clothing and home collections are a mix of Vietnamese classical styles and a tropical boehmian chic look.

Description:

Hoan Kiem Lake is the center of the city both literally and figuratively. The lake is the city's most popular strolling ground and a lovers' lane at night with couples locked in embrace on benches or parked motorbikes looking out over the placid waters, the shadows of overhanging willows cast by moonlight. In the morning the lake area is crowded with folks out for their morning exercise -- running or walking in a circle around the lake or joining in with the many tai chi, martial arts, calisthenics, aerobics, and even ballroom dancing groups that meet in the open areas at water's edge. Hoan Kiem Lake is also the city's own creation myth: the Legend of the Lake of the Recovered Sword. In the mid-15th century the gods gave emperor Le Thai To a magical sword to defeat Chinese invaders. While the emperor was boating on the lake one day, a giant tortoise reared up and snatched the sword, returning it to its rightful owners and ushering peace into the kingdom. Stroll around the lake in the early morning or evening to savor local life among the willow trees and see elders playing chess or practicing tai chi. In the center of the lake is the Tortoise Pagoda; on the northern part is Ngoc Son...

Description:

This large three-story market to the north of Hanoi's Old Quarter offers a varied cornucopia of goods of all sorts. Hundreds of stalls, with thousands of workers, trade extremely fresh produce, dried foods, household goods, appliances and more. The market has an interesting history. It saw fierce fighting between Vietnamese resistance units and the French. Later, in 1994, the market was destroyed in a fire that resulted in the death of five people and the loss of an estimated USD4.5 million in stock.

Description:

This gallery is more like an ethnographic museum, library, and gallery all rolled into one. The space is divided into five theme rooms (e.g. "Functional Objects", and "Shamanism") and co-owner Mark S. Rapport is more than happy to play guide for a day. Rapport is a self-described collector, baseball cards when he was a kid, African art while living in New York, and then Vietnamese minority art when he moved to Hanoi. Rapport has a natural gift for bringing the artifacts to life and, given the range of affordable pieces (small mounted prints made from antique stamps or seals got for less than $10/£5.55) and exquisite antique artifacts, few people walk away empty-handed.

Description:

There is nothing more striking in Hanoi than looking down Trang Tien Street and seeing the Hanoi Opera House standing strong at the end. Built by the French in 1911, and renovated in the late 1990s, this is an incredible building. The facade is colonial French with pillars and balconies overlooking the city center. The 900-seat opera house plays host to visiting foreign performances as well as Vietnamese symphonies.