The tale goes that Le Loi King came across a shining metal bar when he visited his friend. It turned out that his friend caught the bar in one of his attempts for fish. The King asked for the bar, brought it home and moulded it into a sword. All of a sudden, there was two words printed on the sword “Thuan Thien” (harmonious with heaven). Le Loi then understood that the sword was a gift from heaven. He used it for the battle against the war with a neighbouring country. At the beginning of 1428, when peace prevailed, on one of his trip to the Thuy Quan (now Hoan Kiem) Lake, there was a tortoise rising above water and shouting: “Please return the sword to the Dragon King”. Without hesitation, the King threw the sword to the lake. The tortoise took the sword and dove down the water. From then on, Thuy Quan became Hoan Kiem lake.
Located in the middle of Ha Noi, a rapidly developing city where changes take place every hour, Ha Noi Old Quarter with its old-styled narrow streets full of antique brick houses seems to nostalgically resist the flow of time while still actively trying to adapt to the dynamic atmosphere of the modern city. Once a bustling area where merchants and artisans gathered to sell their products, Ha Noi Old Quarter consists of many small, meandering streets, each bears the name of the goods that was specifically traded there such as Hang Bac (Silver Product), Hang Ma (Paper Product), Hang Go (Wood Product), just to name a few. Visiting this unique historical vestige comfortably lying around Hoan Kiem Lake, tourists get lost in a totally different world from the rest of the city and have the chance to explore the modest but energetic life of the local a hundred years ago, where there were no high-rise buildings, too much traffic or fancy stores; things will get a little bit smaller, as visitors may have used to those skyscrapers and shopping centers in other parts of the city, but not at all less lively and vigorous.
Located at 57B, Dinh Tien Hoang street, nearby Hoan Kiem Lake, Thang Long Water Puppet Theater is a familiar address for both domestic tourists and foreign ones, who want to enjoy water puppet shows and discovery the beauty of this unique Vietnam traditional art. In 1969, the theater was established and since 1990; many water puppet shows have been performed by Thang Long theater artists.Every year, about 500 shows are offered to approximately 150,000 audiences. Moreover, the theater has brought water puppetry art to more then 40 foreign countries like Japan, France, America, Australia, Spain… through performance tours, or international cultural exchange program or puppetry festivals.
Great experience, highlight was going on the Cyclo and our tour guide Ashley. Ashley was an excellent tour guide. I was a little disappointed with the water puppet show as I found it to be a little childish and more suited for kids but was a good experience.
We were pick up with a rickshaw, the guide took us for dinner and coffee and finally dropped us at the puppet show with tickets already bought. The ride is extra beautiful at night!
Tour guide, Stella, was very friendly and knowledgeable. She took her time to answer our questions and explain the history. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip with her!
Our tour guide Tina was very knowledgeable and friendly. Pho was very yummy. Coffee was delicious. Highly recommend Tina as she made the experience very enjoyable and even offered to help us get back to the hotel. Thank you Tina x
Leon was an amazing guide and made sure that we had a great time with some wonderful recommendations. The water puppet theatre was incredible - an experience not to be missed
The description does not do this tour justice! It was so much fun -- the water puppet show was so interesting, and all six of us are still laughing about the cyclo tour. I cannot imagine that there is a better way to experience Hanoi!
Perfect intro to the city of Hanoi. We landed and took this tour after a banh mi. What a highlight. Paul our guide was awesome. He took us to the puppet show, helped us cross streets, set us up in a cyclo which was heaps of fun (please remember to tip the hardworking drivers), and then I had my first egg coffee and local pho. One of my favourite tours of our holiday. Thank you Paul.
Chloe our local tour guide was amazing! She brought us to the local owned family restaurants in which you wouldn’t be able to find on google and they all served amazing traditional local food. The best part was, Chloe would try out these places on her own time before recommending them to the tourists.
Nic was a very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide. Thank you for a wonderful tour we thoroughly enjoyed everything including all the historical & current information on the Vietnamese culture. We love Vietnam 🇻🇳 ❤️
Scooter tour & food was fantastic. Louisa was best tour guide & fantastic driver. Food was interesting & good. Saw lots of sights.
The evening sightseeing tour allowed for a thorough exploration of Hanoi's Old Quarter. Our guide, Jackson, showcased the lively street scenes of the area as we walked around. The culinary segment featured a taste of typical Vietnamese pho, a culinary staple, alongside the unique experience of egg coffee. A notable part of the evening was the traditional Vietnamese water puppet show, providing an interesting glimpse into local artistry and cultural narratives. Overall, the evening unfolded smoothly, offering a well-rounded mix of cultural insights, culinary enjoyment, and entertainment. Recommended for those looking for a straightforward exploration of the Old Quarter.
Excellent tour. Was taken around the city and told interesting facts. Great to talk to a local and find out about the city and all the family owned businesses. Learned how the old town is set up. Tour guide Pietro’s English was excellent. Would totally recommend
Amazing food, get to know principal views on hanói. It rained, however Phang gave us raincoats and he was very helpful, attentive and great guide.
Guide Jenny did such an amazing job giving us an insight to the Vietnamese culture and making us welcome in her country. The program was interesting, fun and compact but also flexible and variated. Highly reccomended as the first day in Vietnam/ Hanoi! Big hugs to Jenny that set the tone for our great travels!
This was the first tour we did in Hanoi and it was a great way to explore it for the first time. Our tour was lovely and explained everything in detail but also really communicated the situation in Vietnam and how people live there. But the highlight of the tour was definitely the pho. This still remains the best meal we had in Vietnam. I would definitely recommend.
In less than 3 hours I could visit several important places at the old center of Hanoi City, by byke, I have an interesting conversation with Tom, my young and smart guide, I could try the famous Pho, at a popular and traditional place, we walk, I have learnt the way to prepare Vietnamese coffee and attend to a wonderful puppet and musical show. My money was absolutely well spent ... highly recommended
What an amazing evening, we thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Tom, we started out with a Cyclo tour of the city which was a wonderful way to take a sedate journey past some of the best sights of the Old Quarter whilst the hustle and bustle of the city is all around you, due to the time we were also lucky enough to get a spectacular sunset! We then moved onto the next part of the tour, which consisted of truly delicious food at some of the local eateries, we had Banh Mi then traditional Beef Pho this was followed by a walk through the street market, before heading for egg coffee (well in my case egg cocoa) in a hidden away gem of a cafe, and wow was that something special (Yum). Our final destination was the Water Puppet Show, this was quirky, funny and entertaining depiction of some of the local legends, the traditional music and singing were fantastic. All in all I would not hesitate at all to recommend this tour, Tom was a great guide, he was friendly, took lots of pictures for us, and was very informative and knowledgeable. Thanks for a wonderful evening in Hanoi, we will have treasured memories.
My wife and I booked this tour in Hanoi. We started with a 30 minute tour of the old quarter in a cyclo which was great. As we had already experienced Pho, our guide took us to another restaurant to experiece another northern dish of Bun Cha with is a grilled pork soup and was lovely. She then took us to a local coffee shop to experience the local specialty of Egg Coffee for dessert. Yum. We then walked along the lake and she explained the lake to us before providing us with the tickets to the water puppet show with set bookex seats. In all a really good tour and highly recommended.
<p>A most enjoyable evening tour covering traditional activities and experiences in Hanoi. Although we were initially disappointed when we noted who our guide was by chance, the same student we had for our Street Food Tour which we did not enjoy this went well. A walk to the gorgeous Garnier style Opera House to view it was followed by a Cyclo ride through the French Quarter, along Hoan Kiem Lake...gorgeous at night with the trees and buildings lit and all the twinkling lights....then through the quaint streets of Old Quarter for at least 30 minutes, alighting at a traditional Beef Pho restaurant. The meal was delicious. Then a real treat.....an egg coffee at a 'secret' coffee shop tucked away in the Old Quarter, with a stunning view of the Lake from high up....too beautiful. And the egg coffee, soooo delicious, wow! A short stroll with our guide saw us at The Water Puppet theatre for the 8pm show...what a delightful show. We enjoyed it immensely, it is a real treat, so clever and so entertaining. We were left at the Theatre and happily strolled back to our hotel after a really fun evening. We highly recommend this tour, it was a great way of capturing much of this lovely city by night.</p>
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