Things to Do in Hanoi 2026: A Local’s Guide

What Are the Best Things to Do in Hanoi?

The best things to do in Hanoi are cheap, close together and mostly outdoors. The historic core sits inside about two square kilometres, so you can walk from a 1,000-year-old temple to an egg coffee to a puppet show in one afternoon without ever getting in a vehicle. Here is the short list, with what each one actually costs in 2026.

Prices converted at roughly 26,100 VND to $1 USD. The Imperial Citadel is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the most underrated of the paid things to do in Hanoi — it gets a fraction of the crowds the Old Quarter does.

Is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Open in 2026?

Not right now. The Mausoleum closes every autumn for scheduled maintenance, and in 2026 that closure runs from 4 September to 2 November, with visits resuming on 3 November. If you are in Hanoi during those weeks, Ba Dinh Square, the Presidential Palace grounds and the One Pillar Pagoda are all still open — only the Mausoleum building itself is shut.

It is the only entry on our list of things to do in Hanoi with a hard closure date, so check it before you build your week. When it reopens, entry is free but the window is narrow: Tuesday to Thursday plus Saturday and Sunday, roughly 07:30–10:30 in summer and 08:00–11:00 in winter. Arrive by 07:30. Shoulders and knees covered, no bags, no phones out, no talking inside. It is the one place in the city where the rules are enforced without negotiation.

What Are the Best Things to Do in Hanoi’s Old Quarter?

Walk it, eat in it, and do not try to plan it. The Old Quarter is 36 streets, each named after the guild that used to trade there. Hang Bac was silver; Hang Ma is still paper offerings. Half the pleasure is getting turned around, so give it a full morning with no destination.

Three things worth doing deliberately. Sit on a plastic stool for bun cha, which runs 35,000–60,000 VND a plate. Drink an egg coffee at Cafe Giang, where it costs about 35,000 VND and has been on the menu since 1946. And come back on a Friday evening. The streets around Hoan Kiem Lake close to traffic from 7 PM until midnight on Sunday, and the whole area becomes a pedestrian zone with night-market stalls along Hang Dao and Hang Duong.

Budget 150,000–300,000 VND (~$6–12 USD) per person for a full day of eating — breakfast, lunch, coffee, dinner and dessert. That is the real reason street food ranks so high among things to do in Hanoi: it is the best value in the city by a distance. If you are nervous about eating from a stall, our honest answer on street food safety is worth five minutes first.

Can You Still Visit Hanoi Train Street?

Yes, with a catch. Train Street is open and free to look at, but the lane itself is barriered and the only reliable way in is through one of the cafés licensed to seat visitors. You buy a drink, they walk you in, and you sit at a table roughly a metre from the rail. Cafés along the lane generally run from about 07:00 to 22:00.

It is one of the few things to do in Hanoi that comes with real rules, so two honest warnings. Train times move, and any café that promises you an exact minute is guessing — ask on the day and expect to wait. And this is not a place to bring a toddler or a tripod. If the barrier is manned and nobody will let you through, that is the rule being enforced that week rather than a scam; come back another day.

How Do You Get Around Hanoi?

Walk in the centre, Grab everywhere else, and use the metro for the two routes it happens to cover. Hanoi now has two operating metro lines and both are cheap, air-conditioned and easy to read in English.

Neither metro line reaches the Old Quarter yet, so treat them as a novelty ride rather than your main transport — most things to do in Hanoi are still reached on foot or by Grab. Grab works the same way in Hanoi as it does in Saigon — fixed price before you accept, no haggling, and it removes the single most common tourist argument in Vietnam.

How Do You Get From Noi Bai Airport Into Hanoi?

Noi Bai sits 27–32 km north of the Old Quarter, which is 35–60 minutes in a car depending on the hour. A Grab runs 200,000–300,000 VND (~$8–12 USD) including the airport pickup surcharge. Express bus 86 costs 45,000 VND, leaves every 30 minutes, and takes 1 to 1.5 hours — fine in daylight, less fun at 1 AM with luggage.

Immigration is the part that catches people out, especially on the late-evening bank of arrivals. We run fast track at Noi Bai. A greeter meets you at the aircraft exit before immigration and walks you through the priority lane. Standard is $30 USD per person, VIP is $45 USD with baggage help, and VVIP is $60 USD with a private car into the city. Our honest verdict on whether Noi Bai fast track is worth it also explains when you should skip it — a quiet midday landing usually clears in fifteen minutes on its own.

If you would rather just know the layout before you land, our step-by-step Noi Bai arrival guide walks the whole route from gate to taxi rank.

What Day Trips Are Worth Taking From Hanoi?

Two, and they are very different. Both count among the best things to do in Hanoi even though neither is in the city. Ninh Binh is limestone karst rising straight out of rice fields about two hours south. Six trains a day make the run in 2 hours 9 minutes from 93,000 VND for a soft seat, and a shared limousine van costs around 200,000 VND ($8–12 USD) door to door. It is the best single day trip in northern Vietnam, and it works even in poor weather.

Ha Long Bay and neighbouring Lan Ha Bay are the other draw, and they are a longer commitment. Most people take an overnight cruise instead, because a day trip means six hours in a van for four hours on the water.

Both are places KissTour is opening up in the north right now. We have run tours in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang for years with an all-women team of riders. The northern routes are being built on the same idea: small groups, local food, no coach buses. Prices are not published yet — message us and we will tell you what is running.

When Is the Best Time for Things to Do in Hanoi?

October and November, without much argument. The things to do in Hanoi barely change by season, but your appetite for walking does. Those two months bring 18–28 °C, the lowest humidity of the year and the clearest skies — exactly what you want for a city you explore on foot. December through February stays cool at 16–23 °C and is the driest stretch, under 50 mm of rain a month, though grey drizzle and fog are common.

May to September is the hard half. It is hot and heavy, August has touched 39 °C with 80% humidity, and July and August are the wettest months, with downpours that are heavy but usually short. Hanoi has a real winter, unlike the south, so pack a layer if you are coming between December and February. Our what-to-wear guide breaks it down by region, and the packing list covers the rest.

Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City — Which Should You Choose?

Hanoi is older, slower, colder and more beautiful. Ho Chi Minh City is bigger, hotter, louder and better at eating late. Most first-time visitors do both, and the honest answer is that the things to do in Hanoi are heritage-led while Saigon’s are appetite-led.

If you only have time for one, choose Hanoi for history, lakes and a base for Ninh Binh and Ha Long; choose Saigon for food, nightlife and the Mekong. Our full comparison of the two cities goes deeper, and the Hanoi to Saigon travel guide covers flights, trains and what each actually costs. Travellers adding a third stop usually land on the central coast — our Da Nang guide is the equivalent list for that city.

One thing that genuinely differs: the pho. Northern pho is clearer, plainer and served with less garnish, and people have strong feelings about it — we compared north and south bowl by bowl.

FAQ: Things to Do in Hanoi

Message us on WhatsApp — ask us what’s running in the north

Written by the KissTour team. Prices, hours and the Mausoleum closure dates checked September 2026 — venues set their own prices and these can change.