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 Traveller's Tales: Shopping suggestions in Hanoi, Vietnam
Get the best advice on shopping in Hanoi, Vietnam. You may read about shopping malls, souvenir items and best buys in the area. Also, you might want to read our
Central Vietnam city guide,
Halong Bay city guide,
Hanoi city guide,
Ho Chi Minh city guide,
Phan Thiet city guide,
and Hoi An city guide.
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| K Tantiansu |
20 May 2005 |
Stayed at Fortuna Hotel Hanoi - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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I recommend Seasons of Hanoi restaurant in Hanoi--very nice ambience, good food, friendly staff. It was recommended to us by the receptionist at the Galaxy Hotel (when we couldn't find the restaurant originally recommended to us by our hotel's receptionist).
Our shopping experience in the Old Quarter was also very interesting. We found Vietnamese silk clothing at reasonable prices, and the stores we went to (one, I think, was called Tha Anh) had friendly and helpful staff. Although they speak barely understandable English, they also speak French.
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| P Sohonie |
06 December 2004 |
Stayed at Melia Hanoi - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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The best thing about Hanoi at this time of the year is the weather. It's cool and dry. Not much to see, Ho Chi Minh's museum was closed for annual refurbishing and the one legged pagoda a big dissappoint. The fine arts museum was worth a visit. Halong Bay is a 3 hr drive, very picturesque. Restaurants - recommend Little Hanoi Cafe, Indo Chine, Emperor and Lotus at Melia Hotel.
Taxis are easily available and also enjoyed bicycle rickshaw rides in the evenings when it was wonderfully cool.
Shopping is the main focus in Hanoi. Excellent lacquerware, table linen and plenty of art galleries to choose from. Do be careful, prices vary by 100% for certain artists!! Difficult to figure out the art scene but the Vietnamese artists are worth buying. Copies are excellent, so don't hesitate to buy them.
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| N Roy |
11 February 2004 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Comments from other travelers that they were being ripped of by cyclo's and taxi drivers in Hanoi may be somewhat unfounded. After renting a m/cycle for a week we found that the one way system in the city is limited with regard to a-b travel, also travel around the central lake area is limited for cyclos. We never paid more than we wanted to. Food was ok. Some CDs turned out to be a bit jerky. Handspan travel rocks. Hoi-an, Halong Bay and Sapa treks are great. We made up a small conversion chart for Dong/$US/Yen that was invaluable to both of us in those tight bargaining situations or at a glance shopping. Be polite in your refusals. No, means, no thank you. Anything you have made will be of poor quality, in the end be prepared to throw it away and you won't be disappointed. Kids collecting coins for their school etc...is a scam, they resell them. On that happy note, we'll be going back again nice people and a great place and you don't need to spend a lot to enjoy yourself. Oh, stay away from the night cludb on Cat Ba Island, met a traveler who was drugged there, and we saw a guy phasered there for what seemed like trying to dance with the wrong person, then taken to the alley for.
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| M Huang |
31 December 2003 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Hanoi is extremely noisy, and crossing the road is a real hazard. One has to be brave, walk slowly (the motorbikes will avoid you) and keep going. Halong bay is a must, but in the winter months, one day trip is sufficient (too cold to stay overnight on the boat). Can be very misty especially in Feb and March (but even in late December, it was also misty). We enjoyed the water puppet show. Must buy ticket early in the day (for the cheaper 10000 dong) to get seats as far forward as possible (instead of the more expensive 20000 dong). Shops are more expensive (but more choices and perhaps better quality) than in Hoi An. Lanterns and custom-made clothes are better bought in Hoi An.
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| J Loo |
29 December 2003 |
Stayed at Dan Chu Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We enjoyed walking aroung Hoan Kiem Lake, eating by the roadside around the Water Puppet Theatre. I would recommend you to go to Dong Xuan Market for handbags, shoes and fabrics as it is a wholesale market.As you walk away from the D.X market, you will find tailors along the Hang Gai Street where they can tailor make your viet dresses within a day or two.
We also tried the famous fish dish at Cha Ca La Vong which has history that dates back to 2 centuries. Very unique and tasty. For french food, we had a 5 course dinner at the French Reataurant in Sofitel Metropole. It was fabulous though a little pricey but worth it. For good Vietnamese food, we recommend Nam Phuong (which is a 5 star restaurant) and a very cosy Cay Cau located at the De Syloia hotel.
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| D Gibb smith |
29 December 2003 |
Stayed at Hanoi Horison Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Hanoi is a fantastic city. If you plan on seeing the Water Puppet show, it's 1st come 1st serve so go get your tickets early in the morning or a day before for the show you wish (only 100 seat capacity). We waited too late & missed out. Taxis from hotels are safe and charge US$5/hour for sightseeing. FYI: museums are closed on Monday's and most touristy things close from 11:30-1:30 for lunch so plan accordingly. Tablecloth & bed linens are the cheapest I've ever seen, quality beautiful & are sold all over the old quarter. Artwork is wonderful, but not cheap anymore (this is my 2nd visit after 4 years) and most works ranged around US$1500+.
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| A Mullany |
25 November 2003 |
Stayed at Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Shop around if you are buying art and do some research. One gallery (Hanoi studios) tried to sell us a painting by a young artist for US$1800 saying that he was one of their master artists - other galleries were selling his work for between US$450 - US$700.
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| D Hagerman |
23 November 2003 |
Stayed at Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Highly recommend following restaurants: Le Petit Bruxelles (fresh mussels flown in from France on Saturdays); Pan e Vino (Italian -- chef is from Piemonte)
Le Opera for Vietnamese (though it's expensive); KOTO, across from Temple of Literature -- excellent food (Vietnamese and western) and a good cause (employees are former street kids). Really some of the best Vietnamese food I've had in Vietnam.
Museum of Ethnology is well worth a visit and water puppets were delightful.
Visit ArtVietnam to shop for high-quality (museum quality -- not inexpensive) Vietnamese art (everything from woodblocks to oils on canvas). If nothing else go to view the current show and the stunningly renovated 4-story old "tube" house that the gallery occupies.
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| N Barguss |
19 November 2003 |
Stayed at Sofitel Plaza Hanoi - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We arranged a hotel/airport transfer, which at US$ 30 was expensive, but worth it when travelling with young kids. Hanoi is easy to walk around and we used the numerous cyclos when our kids got too tired to walk. There are loads of great coffee shops and restaurants, so feeding our kids was not any problem at all. We particularly liked "Little Hanoi" on Hang Gai. There are also some lovely restaurants around the cathedral area in Pho Nha Tho - we had a great meal at Mediterraneo. We found good shopping around Hang Be, Hang Gai and roads to the west of Hoam Kiem Lake. The decent art galleries were pretty expensive, but there were a few reproduction places who would copy pictures for about US$40 upwards and plenty of small art shops where paintings could be had for US$1-6.
Vietnam Airlines does not allow the pre booking of seats, so despite us travelling with kids, we had to sit apart on the flight - not ideal.
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| G Spallas |
15 November 2003 |
Stayed at Sofitel Metropole Hanoi - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We very much enjoyed Hanoi, a beautiful city with lots of sites. Great shopping in Old Quarter and lakefront area was very relaxing. Water puppet show definitely worth a visit as it is close, inexpensive and relatively short.
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