The planning of the new capital was started on a war footing, keeping all the tenets of ancient philosophies in mind. The city was given five clear-cut purposes, pertaining to the four different directions and the centre of the city:

City Centre: It was the place where the king reigned over his kingdom and looked after the administration of his dynasty. This area was later taken over by the French when they conquered the country. They ruled for many years, converting the lands magnificently, giving a face lift to many structures and also creating many more beautiful buildings in the typical French architecture until they left in 1955.

North: This was the primeval site of the city meant for performing religious rites and for other leisure activities. To this day the Ho Tay area where the Summer Palace used to exist has a lot of recreational facilities such as fishing, boating etc.

East: This was to be the commercial centre of the city where all traders, businessmen and artisans congregated to carry out their trade. Today you can see evidence of this original planning in the Old Quarter area which is densely populated and houses numerous little markets.

West: This was the agricultural land where all farmers cultivated land and produced crops. This area is still largely open and has very few buildings or structures.
South: This was the centre of academic and civil affairs and held the venerable Temple of Literature. Foreigners were accommodated further down south, and slaughter houses, cemeteries etc were located at the southern most end.

In the evening, after rush hour traffic has abated, ride with a companion or alone in a cyclo around the Old Quarter and French Quarter of the city and anywhere cyclos are permitted. Hanoi cyclos seat two passengers. For a day trip, visit the Perfume Pagoda, and be sure to opt for the boat ride to the mountain - try to go in the off-season to avoid the crowds. Catch the orchestra or a play at the majestic renovated Opera House. End the day by sitting beside a lake, a favourite rendezvous spot with young couples in Hanoi.

Museums and historical sites abound in Hanoi. Places worth seeing to discover the history and culture of Vietnam include: Fine Arts Museum, History Museum, Ethnology Museum, One Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature.

Tour the Old Quarter and see the traditional crafts that are still actively pursued in the city: stone carving, silver, lacquer, silk. Good time to shop or order something to be made. Visit Dong Xuan Market in the morning to feel the hustle and bustle of a typical marketplace in Vietnam. Cho 19-12 off of Hai Ba Trung Street is typical of a street market.

Hanoi is famous for its artists, many of whom you can meet personally to see their work. Otherwise, visit the art galleries located around Hoan Kiem Lake Incidentally, lacquer painting is unique to Vietnam and definitely worth a look. Visit one of the many temples in Hanoi - enjoy the quiet, take in the incense and somber mood. If you're motivated, make a small donation, light some incense and say a prayer for a deceased ancestor. Or watch as others do it. Come right before the Tet lunar new year (in late January or early February) and see the flower market and vendors selling kumquat trees and peach blossom trees.

See a traditional water puppet show at the Water Puppet Theatre (Nha Hat Mua Roi) near Hoan Kiem Lake. Eat Cha ca (fried, grilled fish) on Cha Ca or Luong Van Can Streets or stop by any of many places selling bun cha for a sustaining snack.

For a feel of modern day Hanoi, visit a popular local cafe or beer joint, order a drink and watch a soccer (football) game on television with the locals. For an even more spirited experience, try to catch a match involving the Vietnamese national team against a foreign team Vietnam is partly defined by 2,000 years of struggling for independence - this tour is good for those who are interested in military conflicts and Vietnam's history which is a curious mix of legend, myth and historical fact.

The lake is located in the heart of the city, a pleasant lake lined with old trees, many of them bent gracefully over the water. Le Loi was a common fisherman who discovered a magical sword that helped him become the heroic Vietnamese military general who defeated the Chinese Ming invaders in the early 1400s. He eventually became the Emperor Le Thai To of Vietnam. It is said that the sword was taken from him while he was boating on the lake by a golden tortoise that returned it to its divine owners, thus giving the lake its name "Lake of the Restored Sword". Ho Guom, an alternate and more commonly used name by locals, means little lake which is how it was referred to by the French (Petit Lac).

Early in the morning there are people around the lake doing their morning exercises and in the evening, especially on Sundays and holidays, the lake is festive with music, dressed up families and vendors selling balloons, toys and treats.

The 18th century Tortoise Tower (Thap Rua) stands in the middle of the lake (which actually has a number of turtles) and is a popular image used to represent Hanoi. Not far from this tower is a tiny islet where the 19th century Temple of the Jade Mound (Den Ngoc Son) stands in honor of the national hero Tran Hung Dao and three patron saints - Nguyen Van Xuong of literature, Quan Vu of martial arts and La To of medicine. To get to the islet, one must cross a red arched bridge, the Sunbeam Bridge (The Huc), which is a great place to have a picture taken.

A very interesting destination in Hanoi is the Temple of Literature. Established in the 11th century, it enjoys the distinction of being the first university in the world and came into existence a few years after the Norman Conquest and well before the English language originated. Two other beautiful spots in Hanoi that shouldn't be missed are the Jade Pagoda and the red Sunbeam Bridge. Both provide great photo ops and also a scenic view of the city.

Built in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius and used as a school for princes and the sons of mandarins, the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) is a rare and relatively well preserved example of traditional Vietnamese architecture. It is about 350m long and 70m wide and surrounded by a vast wall of bricks with 5 courtyards inside. The middle entrance was reserved for the king, one side entrance was for civilian mandarins and the other for military mandarins.

There is a pavilion for poetry recitals where the most educated people recited composed poems and made literary comments. 82 stone stelae remain (of the original 117) resting on the backs of stone tortoises, inscribed with the names of the doctors of philosophy who passed the king's examination from 1498 to 1787. Once adjoined by the School of the Elite of the Nation in 1076, it became Vietnam's first national university.

This pagoda is located beside Truc Bach Lake. In the 11th century Ly Thai To had it built and consecrated to Tran Vo, the genie of the North who, according to legend, freed the lake from a terrible nine-tailed fox. Tran Vo bore a Black flag and his symbols were the tortoise and snake. In the 18th century, the temple was renovated and the statue of Tran Vo was cast in bronze. This statue is 3.4m tall and weighs 4 tons. Ho Truc Bach (White Silk Lake) has a little history of its own. In the 18th century the Trinh Lords built a palace next to the lake that was later turned into a reformatory for deviant concubines who were condemned to weave a fine white silk.

This establishment was built at the end of the 20th century. During colonial times it was used as a base for the French army. Later it was transformed into a museum about Vietnam's wars against foreign invaders displaying many photos, weapons, medals, regimental banners, trophies and other vestiges of war including an American B-52 bomber which lays in the courtyard. There are large, detailed models of the battle of Dien Bien Phu and the siege of Saigon. For those interested in military conflicts or Vietnam's wars and revolutions, there is also the Air Force Museum, the Revolutionary Museum, the Hanoi Hilton prison and the Independence Museum. A visit to any one or all of these should serve to make visitors realize that Vietnam should not be defined by its conflict with the Americans alone but rather by thousands of years of resistance against foreign domination.

Formerly the French School of the Far East, this building was completed in 1930 and has an impressive collection including relics from the Hung era and Neolithic graves, Bronze age, Funan, Champa and Khmer kingdoms and artifacts from the Vietnamese dynasties. It also has displays about the struggle against Chinese domination and French colonization and on the history of the communist party.

The Old Quarter is bounded by Hoan Kiem Lake, the Citadel, Dong Xuan Market and the Red River. The area was designated the commercial district when Hanoi was first planned and is where the original 36 artisans and merchants guilds conducted business and lived. Its busy streets bustling with shops and activity still recall the Hanoi of old.

Houses in the area are narrow and long, allowing more families to have a store front on the street to conduct business, while leaving the back for domestic use and storage. Some are only a few meters wide. The numerous small streets bear the names of different trades: Cotton Street (Hang Bong), Sugar Street (Hang Duong), Rice Street (Hang Gao), and so on. Dong Xuan Market is located in the north end of the Old Quarter and is a major local market for everyday goods.

Many of the Old Quarter's streets no longer sell the product of their naming while others still do. Here is a guide to what a visitor can find where.

Antiques, real and otherwise: Hang Khay, Trang Tien
Art: Trang Tien, Dinh Tien Hoang
Fried fish: Cha Ca (Fried Fish Street) and Luong Van Can (both streets are an extension of each other)

Handicrafts: Hang Khay, Hang Gai
Shoes: Hang Dau and northeast corner of Hoan Kiem Lake
Silk: Hang Gai (also clothing, embroidery)
Silver: Hang Bac (Silver Street) for silver and other jewelry
Souvenirs: Hang Gai and surrounding streets

16 km north of Hanoi in Dong Anh district are the remains of the Co Loa citadel fortress. This was once the ancient capital of the Thuc Dynasty ruled by King An Duong Vuong from 257 to 208 B.C. The walls of the citadel have the ingenious structure of an oyster shell that allowed guards to sound an alert (using a conch shell) that could be amplified, heard anywhere within the city and in surrounding villages. Legend has it that the wall continually failed to stand until a golden tortoise, Kim Quy, came to the king in a dream to tell him that occult forces were responsible. Eventually the king was able to build an indestructible fortress, only to have it be a target for the Chinese. The tortoise returned to give King An Duong a magic crossbow which he used to successfully repel the invading forces.

A truce between the invading Chinese General and the king resulted in the marriage of the king's daughter My Chau to the general's son Trong Thuy, who tricked his new wife into handing over the magic crossbow, which he gave to his father. With the magic crossbow, the Chinese were able to defeat the king's forces and Vietnam was once again under Chinese rule. The king was so angry he had his daughter beheaded and a statue of a headless woman is now enshrined next to an old banyan tree. There is also a well in memory of Trong Thuy who was so distraught he drowned himself. Such is the Vietnamese admiration of people who resist foreign invaders that on the 6th of January every year, people gather at a temple dedicated to King An Duong Vuong to honor him and his efforts toward an independent Vietnam.

60-70 km southwest of Hanoi in Hoa Binh Province is a complex of pagodas built into the limestone cliffs of Huong Tich mountain. Pilgrims from different parts of the country pour into the Perfume Pagoda in the spring, particularly around Tet (late January or early February) and during a festival that usually occurs in March and April - during which time it can get dangerously crowded while hiking up the steep, often slippery cliff. Those who cannot walk and are reasonably lightweight can hire someone to carry them on his back to the top - an option taken up by a number of elderly Vietnamese pilgrims. Those who choose to walk can do like the locals and chant prayers along the way to make the climb easier. A 4 km boat ride on the Song Yen stream through rice fields up to the mountain is unforgettable. Visitors will probably be impressed by the serenity of their surroundings and the strength and endurance of the tiny Vietnamese woman rowing their boat.

Visitors can stop at the Thien Chua (Pagoda Leading to Heaven) or the Huong Tich Chua (Pagoda of the Perfumed Vestige). Pilgrims looking to purify their soul, cure their ills or become pregnant will want to visit the Giai Oan Chua (Purgatorial Pagoda). Chua Huong, itself, is situated in a cave on the top of the mountain, a 4 km hike up thousands of stone steps. Wear shoes that don't slide and can grip the rocky path, not thongs or smooth-bottomed shoes. Be sure to use the restroom before beginning the boat journey, such facilities on the mountain are definitely to be avoided if possible. Visitors choosing to brave the pilgrim masses during busy times should discover the perfume of Chua Huong incense smoke and can take the fragrance home as it will be in their hair, skin and clothes.