The President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is a mausoleum which serves as the resting place of Vietnamese Revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is a large building located in the center of Ba Dinh Square, where Ho, Chairman of the Workers' Party of Vietnam from 1951 until his death in 1969, read the Declaration of Independence on 2 September 1945, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. It is also known as Ba Đình Mausoleum and is open to the public.
The One Pillar Pagoda is a historic Buddhist temple in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It is regarded alongside the Perfume Temple, as one of Vietnam's two most iconic temples.
The Tran Quoc Pagoda in Hanoi is the oldest pagoda in the city, originally constructed in the sixth century during the reign of Emperor Ly Nam De (from 544 until 548), thus giving it an age of more than 1,450 years. When founded the temple was named Khai Quoc (National Founding) and was sited on the shores of the Red River, outside of the Yen Phu Dyke. When confronted with the river's encroachment, the temple was relocated in 1615 to Kim Ngu (Golden Fish) islet of Ho Tay (West Lake) where it is now situated. A small causeway links it to the mainland.
The Old Quarter is the name commonly given to the historical civic urban core of Hanoi, located outside the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long. This quarter used to be the residential, manufacturing and commercial center, where each street was specialized in one specific type of manufacturing or commerce. Another common name referring to approximately the same area is the 36 streets, after the 36 streets or guilds that used to make up the urban area of the city.
The royal enclosure was first built during the Ly dynasty (1010) and subsequently expanded by the Tran, Le and finally the Nguyen dynasty. It remained the seat of the Vietnamese court until 1810, when the Nguyen dynasty chose to move the capital to Hue. The ruins roughly coincide with the Hanoi Citadel today. The royal palaces and most of the structures in Thăng Long were in varying states of disrepair by the late 19th century with the upheaval of the French conquest of Hanoi. By the 20th century many of the remaining structures were torn down. Only in the 21st century are the ruin foundations of Thang Long Imperial City systematically excavated. In mid-1945 the Citadel was used by the Imperial Japanese Army to imprison over 4000 French colonial soldiers captured during the Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina in March 1945. The central sector of the imperial citadel was listed in UNESCO's World Heritage Site on July 31, 2010 at its session in Brazil, as "The Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long – Hanoi”.
Hoan Kiem Lake, meaning "Lake of the Returned Sword" or "Lake of the Restored Sword"), also known as Hồ Gươm (Sword Lake), is a fresh water lake, measuring some 12 ha in the historical center of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. In the past, the lake was variously name "Luc Thuy Lake", meaning "Green Water Lake" - aptly named for the water's color) or "Thuy Quan Lake", meaning "Mariner's Lake". The lake is one of the major scenic spots in the city and serves as a focal point for its public life.
Hoa Lo Prison was a prison used by the French colonists in French Indochina for political prisoners, and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. During this later period it was known to American POWs as the Hanoi Hilton. The prison was demolished during the 1990s, although the gatehouse remains as a museum.
Enjoyed our tour of Hanoi with Tim our guide and Bang our driver. Tim was very knowledgeable and personable. He shared many interesting facts about Hanoi and the surrounding area and provided great perspective that gave us a much better understanding of Vietnamese history, life and culture. Our driver was equally professional and always seemed to be exactly where we needed him.
Excellent tour. Long journey from ship to HanOi but well worth it. Dani was excellent and made sure we saw Train Street which was unbelievable. He knew all the best restaurants and bars too. Great day to explore the city.
We paid $110 CAN each for our group of 6 to have our own private driver/ car/ guide and tour of Hanoi from Halong cruise port (about 2 hours away). Yes, the drive is long but our guide gave interesting information about Vietnam along the way. We booked the tour (and 3 others) directly with Maximus Travel Vietnam. This company and Mr. Thu Ho, our contact, responds quickly and comprehensively to messages sent through TripAdvisor or private email. A few days prior to our tour, they gave us our guide's name, Dani, and his WhatsApp phone number. On the day prior and on arrival day, we received messages from Dani on WhatsApp and he was waiting for us right on time with a large, new condition nice mini-shuttle. On the way into the city, we stopped at a Pearl factory and got to witness how pearls are seeded and harvested. Also a bathroom break. A walk through the store but no pressure to buy. For the sites, he gave some basic information, focussed on the history and gave some commentary on the political climate past and present. The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum was closed during our visit but we did walk the area and see the outside. We skipped a few of the temples that could have been seen, by our request, but did see the famous Turtle Pagoda in the city park. One highlight was Train Street where Dani got us into a small shop to sit with a drink and watch the train travel directly in front of us and the stores. Less than a foot away. We saw the specialty street of the Old Quarter such as book street - all book stores. Lunch was great and local.Dani was a great guide, friendly and knowledgeable. Overall we were very pleased and had a great experience - hard to beat for the price and a private experience where you can do everything at your own pace.
The tour operator was great to work with and I would recommend the company. I didn't think our particular guide was right for, the company took care of it.
It was a full day of discovering this exciting city. We had a great time Great tour guide We enjoyed every money of it
Our shore excursion to see Hanoi in a day was excellent. We had a great tour guide and a very reliable driver in a very nice vehicle. Hanoi is far from Halong Bay so you have to account for the distance and the traffic. This tour did just that going there and back. Once in Hanoi, our tour guide Tam educated and showed us to all the main sites such as train street and the old quarter. We had a terrific Pho lunch! Everything was on point t and we really enjoyed our tour which I highly recommend.
Donie is a terrific guide. He gave us information about the country on the long rides to and from Hanoi, loved taking photos for us, knew schedules of events to give us an optimum itinerary.
Peter was a likable and good guide, and he has a good command of the English language, but often his pronunciations made it difficult to understand his meaning. He met us right on time at the designated spot and communicated well on WhatsApp. The vehicle was spacious and the driver very good at getting us close to where we were going. The included lunch was good, but the low typical Vietnamese seating was a little hard for us older and disabled persons. Peter and the driver were very conscientious about our safety and accommodated our requests. We particularly appreciated Peter being quiet on the long drive back to Ha Long, as the heat and humidity wore us out. We were very satisfied with the tour and felt we got a good sense of Hanoi in a short time frame. We were a little disappointed we were just a few minutes late to see the train pass through on Trsin Street, which would have been very cool. Overall, a good experience. Pay attention to the description; it is quite a trek to Hanoi from Ha Long .
Anh The was a great guide, offering a personalized experience of Hanoi. He was very knowledgeable and accommodating for our group. Thu Ho with Maximus Travel Vietnam was also great to work with. We booked three tours while visiting Vietnam and he was very communicative before each tour began.
Such a great city to visit. Very busy with great food and history!!! Don’t miss this tour. We went to a coffee shop and had great coffee. Also had a ride on a cyclo to enjoy the sights and smells of the city. Toured the prison and had a great lunch. Vingh was a great tour guide.
Our tour guide Duc was very kind and knowledgeable! He was very accommodating as to what we were interested in seeing and made sure that each member of our group was safe and accounted for as well, especially with the crazy Vietnam traffic. We really felt we were in good hands - during our trip to Asia we had a lot of tour guides and Duc was by far one of the best. I would definitely recommend Duc to anyone looking to have a great day learning about local history and experiencing the best of what Hanoi City has to offer.
On a cruise and was the first stop in Vietnam. Was very interesting and we learnt a lot about Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh. Guide was great and had a fabulous informative tour.
Excellent tour! We had Mickey as our guide. He was informative, friendly and fun! There were 6 of us in a roomy VIP van for 8 and we asked lots of questions! Mickey accommodated our schedule and time and even took us to a 120 year old coffee house for some Excellent Vietnam coffee! It was a perfect tour complete with NY celebrations at the Imperial Citadel.
Pros - The special itinerary cater to our group. Best was the pho and dumplings we ate at, highlight was seeing the train pass on the narrow street. Cons - long drive to and from Hanoi, the mini van had garbage and cigarette smoke smell inside.
Very fun tour. Our party of 4 had 4 university students that took us around all the sights of Saigon on the back of scooters. Had terrific food and drinks from the area. Saw things that most others would not see. Drive was fairly long (2+ hours) from cruise port. Didn't have any concerns with traffic, safety or food. Highly recommend.
Discussing this with our friends we felt the entire tour was very good. Our guide was very good and the vehicle we rode in was very comfortable.
Excellent professional guide and friendly service! Highly recommended to best visit the bustling city of Hanoi..
Peter was our terrific guide! He addressed every need of ours. It was a private tour so he was flexible. He truly did everything he could to make our experience in Hanoi a great one. Anyone would be lucky to have Peter as a guide.
This excursion is a great stress-free way to visit Hanoi while docked in Ha Long Bay. Round trip with our great guide and driver. He was attentive and informative while showing the city's highlights and stopped several times to experience the local foods and treats. He allowed considerable time touring the Hanoi Hilton Prison with its interesting history during the Vietnam war years. Highly recommend this day trip, although long, but well worth the time. And don't forget to try the peanut butter ice coffee our guide recommended.
Our guide Alex was very attentive, flexible and accommodating. We enjoyed this tour very much and would definitely recommend.
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