Hanoi City Tour (full day)

This full-day private tour of Hanoi showcases the best of a city known as the “Paris of the East”. Travelers will kick off their morning with a stop at the Ho Chi Minh Complex, where they will get an up-close look at the former leader’s stilt-house residence, mausoleum and Presidential Palace before exploring the Ho Chi Minh Museum. Afterwards, visitors with journey to the Temple of Literature, which was constructed as an homage to the great thinker Confucius. Travelers can wander the grounds of the first university in the nation, which dates all the way back to 1070! The historic halls are lined with decorative turtle backs inscribed with the names of university graduates. Five impressive courtyards with paths once reserved for the Emperor are now open to the public. Check out the statue of Confucius in one of the courtyards and marvel at the bronze storks standing atop resting turtles meant to guard the academic. Because Ho Chi Minh Moausoleum is closed on Mondays and Fridays, travelers will tour the Hoa Lo Prison instead. 

Enjoy a traditional Vietnamese lunch in comfort and style before touring the Museum of Ethnology. Championed as the top museum in the country, this impressive hub of culture and history offers up plenty of information about the 54 ethnic minorities that make up this nation. From there, travelers will head to Ngoc Son Temple, located on a small island in the picturesque Hoan Kiem Lake. This striking architectural masterpiece dates back to the 13th century.

Visitors will end the day on an hour-long cyclo tour through Hanoi’s Old Quarter, where an expert driver will navigate the narrow streets and back alley passes. Travelers can comb through the wares at tiny shops and quiet storefronts before returning to the hotel.