Little Paris in Hanoi

Tour Itinerary

Duration: 4 hours half day or 8 hours full day tour.
Discovering the French culture and French legacy in Hanoi.

Half day tour

8.00 Our guide meets you at your hotel and start the half day tour to discover the French culture in Hanoi by cyclo or cycling. We start visiting the St. Joseph’s Cathedral, with the architectural style described as resembling Notre Dame de Paris. The Church was one of the first structures built by the French colonial government in Indochina when it opened in December 1886. This is the oldest church in Hanoi.

Continue on Cyclo through the tree-line street, the Sofitel Legend to the Hanoi Opera House. It was modeled on the Palais Garnier, the older of Paris’s two opera houses, and is considered to be one of the architectural landmarks of Hanoi. Behind the Hanoi Opera House is the National Museum of Vietnamese History, which was an archaeological research institution of the French School of the Far East under French colonial rule. It is considered a blend of French colonial and traditional Vietnamese architecture, also called Indochina architecture.

Move on to Long Bien Bridge, a historic cantilever bridge across the Red River, which was built by the French (1898 – 1902). It is the first longest steel-made bridge retaining the beautiful architectural style in Vietnam in early 20th century.

Continue to the Old Quarter and visit Dong Xuan Market which is originally built by the French administration in 1889. Nowadays, it is the largest covered market of Hanoi where the wholesale traders sell everything from clothes, household goods to foodstuffs.

Time to sit like the local Hanoian, have a seat at a streetside café, taste a little baguettes or “petit pain” and enjoy a cup of coffee where you can have talks with local people, exchange cultural way of life. Come back to your hotel at 12.00.

Extend your time to full day tour.

Have stop at a lovely restaurant on Hoang Dieu street, where you will have a meal in natural and relaxing space.

Continue our tour to enjoy your afternoon by rambling about the most beautiful tree-streets in Hanoi: Phan Dinh Phung, Hoang Dieu, Le Hong Phong… with many dracontomelum trees with yellow falling leaves in the early summer, creating a special romantic scene. Going on to the former Governor of Indochina (now the Presidential Palace).

To add more relaxing we go visiting the Botanical Garden, watching the sun rays passing through each leaves in the Botanical Garden in the summer afternoon. This garden was also built by the French. There is a very beautiful natural lake, a gentle hill, lots of lawn and winding paths under the canopy of lush trees.

Last as our recommendation (your choice) to go on to visit Hoa Lo Prison. This is where the French colonialists had built in 1896 and now it becomes a meaningfully historic destination.