What will you do and where will you go during this Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday in Hanoi?. The following are some suggestions if you wish to relax or explore Hanoi with family and friends.
1. Scholars’ Street
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Asking scholars for letters has become an age-old tradition of Vietnamese people when Tet comes. During the festive holiday, many people gather at so-called Scholars’ Street at Van Mieu (Temple of Literature) in the city centre to ask for letters, hoping for better luck in the new year.
This year Scholars’ Street is open from 08.30am to 08.00pm every day. Opening hours will last till midnight on New Year’s Eve and 10.00pm on the first Lunar New Year days.
2. Thang Long Imperial Citadel
You can drop in on the former Imperial Citadel of Thang Long to admire the beauty of Vietnamese heritage from different perspectives.
On display are more than 100 works selected from over 6,000 objects and examples featuring Vietnam’s natural heritage, tangible heritage (architecture, sculpture, painting, handicrafts, and villages …), and intangible cultural heritage (music and dance, festivals, folk games, religion and belief…).
The exhibition will last until February 28. Address: 18 Hoang Dieu Street,
3. Museum of Ethnology
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The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology will open its doors to festival goers from February 3-9. The first five days focus on cooking traditional Tet dishes, writing parallel sentences, printing Dong Ho folk paintings, and performing water puppet shows.
Visitors have the opportunity to play exciting folk games of various ethnic groups on the last two days (February 8-9).
Address: Nguyen Van Huyen Street
4. New Sun Park
New Sun Park, inside the West Lake Water Park, is an ideal place for visitors during the nine-day holiday.
A special art programme will be performed, including bamboo dance, puppet shows, and folk songs from the country’s three regions.
Children will be entertained with exciting magic shows and various games and activities. Visitors have the chance to sample rural dishes such as bun oc (snail noodle soup), banh cuon (rolls made from a thin, wide sheet of steamed fermented rice batter filled with seasoned ground pork, minced mushrooms, and minced shallots), and banh duc (cake made from ground rice and peanuts).
The park is open from January 31 to February 5. Address: 614 Lac Long Quan Road
5. Cinema
Movie theatres are a popular choice of many young people and families to relax after a hard working year.
Most cinemas are open on February 1, offering films of different genres from comedy to romance, action and horror.
Your favourite destinations are CGV Vincom, Platinum the Garden, Lotte Cinema Keangnam, national Cinema Centre, Thang Tam (August) Cinema, Royal City, Times City or Megastar Mipec Tower.
6. Cultural and Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups
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On a visit to the village in Dong Mo, Son Tay town, visitors will see horse races of the Mong ethnic group from Lao Cai province, promoting the martial art spirit of local people in the northwestern region.
They will also have the opportunity to explore other distinctive ethnic festivals such as Han Cuong (New Spring) of the Thai, Catching a husband of the Chu Ru, Rice Worship of the B’Rau or Kate of the Cham. These festivals last from February 15-17.
Six major Tet tourist destinations in Hanoi
