A motorbike city where breakfast is on the pavement and beer costs 20 cents.
Hanoi is a cash city, the Vietnamese dong is heavy on zeros (€1 ≈ 27,000 VND). Pull 5 to 8 million dong per person from an ACB or Vietcombank ATM, never a Citibank one (high fees). Breakfast is on a tiny plastic stool on the street, pho is €2, bia hoi (fresh draft beer) is €0.30 a glass at the Old Quarter corner of Ta Hien. Tipping is not expected but 10 percent at sit-down restaurants is appreciated. Tap water is not drinkable. The traffic looks like chaos but obeys one rule: walk slowly and predictably, the scooters flow around you. Stopping is what kills you.
Not the headlines. The spots Hanoi locals reach for after the famous ones are done, and why each one is worth the detour.
Locals queueing for breakfast, plastic stools on the pavement, €2 for the best pho in the city.
Sit at a cafe table six inches from the active rail line, the 3:30pm train still runs, locals know the schedule.
Bia hoi for VND 7,000 (€0.25) a glass on a tiny plastic stool, the social hub of the Old Quarter.
A 15km loop around the lake at golden hour, cafes on stilts, the local middle-class evening route.
Vietnamese coffee with whipped egg yolk, the local invention, military-themed cafe chain, locals go too.
October to December (dry, mild, the best season) and March to April (warm, foggy mornings, atmospheric). May through August is humid 36°C; January is cold and grey.
Very safe for violent crime, low for petty theft if you keep phones in front pockets and bags zipped. The classic scams are the airport taxi (always use Grab or the green Mai Linh taxis), the shoe-polish tourist trap, and the cyclo driver who asks for 10x the agreed price at the end. Negotiate everything in writing on a phone.
Walk slowly, steadily, and predictably. Do not stop, do not run, do not change direction. The scooters and cars calculate your trajectory and flow around you. Hesitation breaks the algorithm. Locals will gesture for you to follow them; do.
Day trips are rushed and the bay is crowded; an overnight cruise from a reputable operator (Bhaya, Indochina Junk) at €150 to €250 per person is the move. Better still, do Lan Ha Bay (next door, almost no boats) on a 2-night cruise for the same price.
Everyone votes, nobody argues, the itinerary builds itself. Free for the first trip.
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