Hoan Kiem Lake
The centre of gravity of the old city: a small lake with a squat stone turtle tower on an islet, a red-lacquered footbridge to the 18th-century Ngoc Son Temple, and a shoreline path that half of Hanoi seems to walk every morning. The surrounding streets close to traffic on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.
About Hoan Kiem Lake
The centre of gravity of the old city: a small lake with a squat stone turtle tower on an islet, a red-lacquered footbridge to the 18th-century Ngoc Son Temple, and a shoreline path that half of Hanoi seems to walk every morning. The surrounding streets close to traffic on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.
Hoan Kiem Lake is one of the places most visitors to Hanoi make time for. A thousand-year-old capital that still runs on plastic stools, motorbike horns and the smell of charcoal — and the natural first stop for the north.
Before you go: Ngoc Son Temple charges a small entry fee (roughly 30,000-50,000 VND, an estimate — fees are revised periodically); the lakeside path itself is free at any hour.
Read the full Hanoi travel guideOther places in Hanoi
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