Hanoi’s Old Quarter is one of Asia’s great urban experiences, 36 streets each historically dedicated to a single craft or trade and now a living marketplace of silk merchants, jewellers, paper shops, and street vendors. Mornings begin at dawn with banh mi carts and egg coffee prepared in cramped but celebrated cafes. Afternoons are best spent getting gloriously lost in the lanes, following the sound of motorbikes to unexpected temples and pagodas that have survived centuries of war and change. Beyond the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake is the city’s spiritual heart, where couples walk in the evenings and the red Huc Bridge leads to the Temple of the Jade Mountain on its own small island. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and One Pillar Pagoda offer deeper insights into Vietnam’s history, while the Museum of Ethnology provides a beautifully curated introduction to the country’s 54 ethnic groups. Hanoi’s food scene deserves its legendary status. Pho reaches its peak here, richer and more deeply spiced than its southern cousins. Bun cha, grilled pork served with rice noodles and broth, is another Hanoi essential, as is banh cuon, delicate steamed rice rolls served at breakfast. In the evenings, explore the Old Quarter for street food or head to the Tay Ho lakeside neighbourhood for refined Vietnamese cuisine in beautiful colonial surroundings. Hanoi is the natural gateway to northern Vietnam’s greatest attractions: the UNESCO-listed Ha Long Bay, the mountain town of Sapa, and the rural valleys of Ninh Binh. The city itself rewards several days of unhurried exploration, and The Travel Suite’s tailor-made itineraries ensure you experience Hanoi at exactly the right pace with all the local knowledge needed to go deeper than the tourist trail.