HANOI FULL DAY CITY TOUR

PROGRAM

Meet your local guide and driver at the hotel and set out for a full day sightseeing tour of Hanoi which includes the most significant attractions. Visit Ba Dinh Square, a much remembered historic place by Vietnamese where Ho Chi Minh declared the making of the independent Vietnam also the first republic after centuries being a monarchy.

Take a picture at the front of Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum which sits at the center back of the square, then take a walk through the adjoining Presidential Palace. While strolling through the garden you will see the working offices, the large fish ponds, the wooden house-on-stilts where Ho Chi Minh lived during his last years, and the strong concrete house behind where he took his last breath. Continue on the way out and visit the famous One-pillar Pagoda, indeed a Guanyin shrine built in the shape of a lotus bloom.

Short transfer to Quan Thanh Temple, which is dedicated to Hanoi’s divine protector Huyen Thien Tran Vu. On the main altar in the interior of the temple sits a huge bronze statue of Huyen Thien Tran Vu, measuring 4 meter high, weighing 4 tons. The size and the fine details earned the statue the National Treasure title and it’s obviously one of the masterpieces of Vietnamese bronze working of the 17th century. Take a short walk along the lake side, you will walk past the memorial of John McCain, former Senator of the US and even more famous as a shot-down US pilot in Hanoi during the war time. Next, visit the Museum of Ethnology, browse through the rich galleries of cultural artifacts of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. Stroll around in the garden where an interesting collection of ethnic houses is showcased.

After lunch, continue the tour. Visit the Temple of Literature and the attached Noble Academy which both date back to the 11th century, with architecture restored to preserve the history of imperial education. A highlight in the complex is the collection of stone stelae bearing names of the successful mandarin examinees in many centuries. Continue the tour toward the Sword Lake and visit Ngoc Son temple built on a little island in the lake and connected to the bank by the The Huc Bridge conspicuously painted in red. Take a walk in the Old Quarter nearby and explore the buzzing sights and sounds of the shophouse streets.

Late afternoon, enter the water puppet theater to see the colorful and interesting performance of this art type which was invented by a famous Buddhist master in the 11th century.  Return to the hotel and end the tour.

INCLUSIVE OF

• Private vehicle.
• English speaking tour guide.
• Entrance fees: Presidential Palace, Quan Thanh Temple, Museum of Ethnology, Temple of Literature, Ngoc Son temple, water puppet show at Thang Long theater.
• Wet tissue and drinking water.

EXCLUSIVE OF

• Breakfast/Lunch
• Tips for driver and guide.