Bạch Mã Temple
37 Bach Mai, Cau Den, Hanoi, Vietnam
Bạch Mã Temple is the oldest temple in Hanoi's Old Quarter — an 11th-century shrine dedicated to the White Horse spirit (Bạch Mã) that according to legend guided King Lý Thái Tổ in building the walls of his new capital, Thăng Long (the imperial name for Hanoi).
Hanoi Opera House
1 Tràng Tiền, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi
The Hanoi Opera House is the finest colonial building in Vietnam — a Beaux-Arts theatre modelled on the Palais Garnier in Paris, completed in 1911, and designed to bring French high culture to the capital of Indochina.
Hanoi's French Quarter
24 Hai Ba Trung, Trang Tien, Hanoi, Vietnam
Hanoi's French Quarter is the colonial-era district south of Hoàn Kiếm Lake — a grid of tree-lined boulevards, yellow-painted villas, and the institutional buildings (the Opera House, the Sofitel Metropole hotel, the State Bank) that the French built to administer Indochina.
Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum & Complex
2 1 Dich Vong Hau Lane, Dich Vong Hau, Hanoi, Vietnam
The Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum is where the embalmed body of Vietnam's founding father lies in state — a granite and marble structure on Ba Đình Square modelled on Lenin's Mausoleum in Moscow, where visitors queue in silence to file past the glass sarcophagus containing the preserved remains of the man who led Vietnam's independence movement and is universally known as 'Uncle Ho.
Hỏa Lò Prison (Hanoi Hilton)
1 Hỏa Lò, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi
Hỏa Lò Prison is one of the most historically complex sites in Hanoi — a French colonial prison built in 1896 that was used to hold Vietnamese political prisoners during the independence struggle and later became the prison where American pilots shot down during the Vietnam War were held as POWs.
Long Biên Bridge
Long Bien Bridge, Phuc Tan, Hanoi, Vietnam
Long Biên Bridge is the most historically significant structure in Hanoi — a 1.
One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột)
Chùa Một Cột, Ba Đình, Hanoi
The One Pillar Pagoda is one of Vietnam's most iconic structures — a small Buddhist temple built on a single stone pillar in a lotus pond, designed to resemble a lotus flower rising from the water.
St. Joseph's Cathedral
40 Nhà Chung, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi
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Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu)
Quoc Tu Giam, Van Mieu, Hanoi, Vietnam
The Temple of Literature is Vietnam's most important historical monument — a Confucian temple and the site of the country's first national university, founded in 1070 by Emperor Lý Thánh Tông and operating continuously for over 700 years until the French colonial administration closed it in the 19th century.
Thăng Long Imperial Citadel
19C Hoang Dieu, Dien Bien, Hanoi, Vietnam
The Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that preserves the remains of 1,300 years of continuous political power in Hanoi — from the 7th-century Chinese Tang dynasty fortress through the Vietnamese Lý, Trần, and Lê dynasties to the French colonial period and the Vietnam War, when the D67 underground bunker beneath the citadel served as the command centre for North Vietnam's military operations.
Trấn Quốc Pagoda
Tay Ho, Quang An, Hanoi, Vietnam
Trấn Quốc Pagoda is the oldest Buddhist temple in Hanoi — founded in the 6th century during the reign of Emperor Lý Nam Đế and relocated to its current position on a small island in West Lake in the 17th century.
Van Mieu Lake & Quoc Tu Giam Garden
Quoc Tu Giam, Van Mieu, Hanoi, Vietnam
The garden and lake surrounding the Temple of Literature provide one of Hanoi's most peaceful green spaces — a landscape of ancient banyan trees, lotus ponds, and the kind of manicured tranquillity that Vietnamese temple gardens have cultivated for centuries.
Vietnam National Museum of History
1 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
The Vietnam National Museum of History occupies a handsome French colonial building on Trang Tien street that traces Vietnamese civilisation from prehistoric times through the Bronze Age Dong Son culture, the thousand years of Chinese domination, the independent Vietnamese dynasties, French colonialism, and the wars that defined the 20th century.
Explore history in Hanoi
GPS-guided narration at every landmark. Tap a spot on the map, hear the story. Every fact verified.