Hanoi Things to Do Tips by guell

The Cathedral of St. Joseph was opened on Christmas Day, 1886. It was built over the former Bao Thien tower, which was standing during the Ly dynasty of the 11th and 12th centuries when the area was the ancient capital of Thang Long. A ritual ceremony dedicated to Jesus Christ is held in this cathedral every year on March 19.

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Directions: Located in the old quarter

After hours of dodging motorbikes and site seeing, it was nice to step inside St Joseph’s Cathedral. I was pleasantly surprised to see the intricately detailed altar.

Was I still in Vietnam? The sounds of honking motorbikes outside sent me back to reality!

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Address: In the Old Quarter

In the evenings we would go for a walk near Hoan Kiem Lake located in the middle of Hanoi. Its name means "The Lake of the Restored Sword", referring to a 15th-century legend in which the nobleman Le Loi, who fought for the Vietnamese against Ming China, received his sword from a magic turtle living in the lake. The nobleman defeated the Ming and returned home in victory. One day, the emperor was boating in the lake when the turtle surfaced demanding the sword's return. In memory of this event, the emperor built the Tortoise Tower on an island at the south end of the lake.

Enormous turtles still live in the lake today. When they are spotted, it is supposed to herald the death of one of the country's leaders. Some say the turtles are brought to the lake. What do you think?

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We were in Hanoi, so we HAD to pay a visit to Mr. Ho Chi Minh. His final resting place is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, built from 1973 to 1975 in a style similar to that of the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow, is located at Ba Dinh Square, where Ho Chi Minh publicly declared Vietnam's independence on September 2, 1945. Right after his death on September 3, 1969, Ho Chi Minh's body was embalmed by a team of Soviet experts. Visitors to the mausoleum are expected to behave devoutly.

When we arrived, we discovered that it was closed because Mr Minh was getting some touch-ups. Apparently, this happens every year around November.

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Directions: Ba Dinh District

The One Pillar Pagoda (Chua Mot Cot) was built in 1955. The pillar is made of Concrete and the structure on top is made of wood. The previous building was burned in 1954 by the French when they withdrew from Vietnam.

Chua Mot Cot was constructed to celebrate the tale of the heirless Emperor Ly Thai Tong, who dreamt about receiving a son from the Buddhist goddess of mercy and compassion, seated on a lotus flower. He married shortly after and bore a son, and the pagoda was built to honour the event. It is the most interesting of the city’s numerous pagodas, and beneath the ornate curved roof people come to pray for fertility and wellbeing, with allegedly miraculous effects. The unique wooden structure was designed to resemble a lotus flower, the Buddhist representation of enlightenment, emerging out of the water, with the single stone pillar its symbolic stalk.

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Directions: Take a Moto-Taxi to the Mausoleum.

The Temple of Literature is Vietnam’s historical seat of learning and is the most sacred place for the disciples of Confucius. It is one of the few remaining buildings from the original city founded by Emperor Ly Thanth Tong in the 11th century and is a well-preserved example of Vietnamese architecture. It became the site of the country’s first university in 1076. Consisting of a complex of small buildings and five walled courtyards, it was an exclusive establishment teaching the principles of Confucius. Over a period of 900 years thousands of Vietnamese scholars graduated from the university.

Legend has it that scholars composed poems while drinking wine at The Khuc Van Cac Pavillion pictured here.

Opening time: Open daily from 7.30am to 6pm (summer), and 8am to 5pm (winter)

Admission: 12,000d, and 20,000d for an English-speaking guide

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Address: 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Dong Da District

The Ethnology Museum is a great place to learn about the 54 different ethnic cultures of Vietnam. You'll see examples of traditional clothing and architecture.

I loved the full scale reproductions of the different house styles.

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Address: Nguyen v.Huyen Road 191/20/10 Nghia Do, Can Ciay