Old Quarter in Hanoi, Vietnam

Earlier, Hanoi Old Quarter was dotted with old-style buildings and was used by the Vietnamese army during the Indochina wars to avoid the streets. Though their numbers are dwindling now, Old Quarter has held on to its share of antiquity. The streets of Old Quarter are packed with old architectures, Buddhist temples and pagodas, which can be explored on Hanoi Old Quarter walking tours. But the thing this place is most well known for is trade.

When the Old Quarter of Hanoi was established a thousand years ago, it was mostly a commercial hub. The unique feature was that separate areas of the quarter were devoted to one particular type of commodity, like Hang Tre Street was for bamboo products and Hang Dong Street was for copper. The traditional commodities are gone, but the essence of it has stayed.

The Old Quarter is easily the most popular tourist destination in the city. Things to see in Hanoi Old Quarter include Bach Ma temple, the one pillar pagoda, Hanoi Opera House, National Museum of Vietnamese History, Thang Long Puppet Theatre and the largest and most frequented marketplace of Hanoi, Dong Xuang Market. This is the place for Hanoi Old Quarter shopping, where the majority of the locals and expats come for their everyday grocery and wet market needs on the ground floor. But the other three storeys are all dedicated to tourists, selling garments, jewellery, bags, watches and bazillions of other accessories and local trinkets as souvenirs. For nightlife options, Bia Hoi Junction offering special Vietnamese draught beer and delicious sides and Hanoi Old Quarter night market is a must-visit place in the Old Quarter.