Hanoi walking streets have been closed to prevent the spread of Coronavirus for a year. But now we are happy to say that the walking streets are coming back. If you are planning to travel to Hanoi, this is one of the places that I recommend to explore.
Now let’s take a look at these walking streets – a feature of Hanoi Old Quarter.
What is Hanoi Walking Streets?
The walking streets had been set up around Hoan Kiem Lake in every weekend from Friday to Sunday with the purpose of making a place for people to enjoy the fresh air and explore the local life as well as the culture of Hanoian in the middle of Hanoi Capital.
What will we enjoy and explore when walking around Hoan Kiem Lake at weekend?
1. You will meet some professional dance groups performing here
Because the walking streets around Hoan Kiem Lake are the center of Hanoi Capital with large area and beautiful landscape, many dance groups in Hanoi choose this place to record the dance videos, which has become one of the specialties in the Old Quarter.
2. We not only have music, we have folk games
Actually I’m not a fan of games, no matter how the games are folk games or modern games. But the outdoors games are the activities to connect people, especially between the foreigners and the local people.
The folk games on the Walking Streets are such as jump rope, tug of war, Mandarin Square capturing, bamboo jacks, stilt walking… which is originated from the the old villages of Vietnam. These games remind a lot of Vietnamese people of childhood memories.
I sometimes see them organize folk games during the day, but there are other times as well.
If you go deep into the Old Quarter, you can also find Hang Ma Street. In the days before the Lunar New Year or Mid-Autumn Festival, this street will sell lanterns and other traditional decorations as well as children’s toys for these holidays.
3. Talking about Hanoi Walking Streets, I must mention our awesome Vietnamese street food
Maybe almost all of you when planning to travel to Vietnam have heard of Banh Mi and Pho before. Especially Banh Mi, if you want to try, I can introduce to you some places to have this food. You can check out at this post which I have written about Banh Mi and where to get it in Hanoi.
If you want to try something else besides Banh Mi and Pho, here is my suggestions: Top 5 must-try dishes to have in Hanoi which is my favorite food. You can ask locals in the house on either side of the road to find the address, they will show you the way. You don’t need to go to the exact address I’ve stated in this list, they are just what I have recommended, but there are still many places to enjoy these dishes where are also the good food stores/restaurants. Just asking locals is ok.
4. Another specialty which is must-try in Hanoi is the culture of draft beer on the pavement.
Draft beer on the pavement is what you can find in almost every districts of Hanoi. But in the Old Quarters, you will find a street with full of restaurants serving draft beer, which is quite close to the Walking Streets system.
You can ask Google or the locals to find Ta Hien Street. There will be so much fun.
Near Ta Hien street, you can find Ma May street with the specialties named Vietnamese barbecue.
Besides, there are also some bars or pubs on Ta Hien and Ma May street.
5. If you are looking for some books to read, don’t worry because you are very near from the book street
That’s Dinh Le Street – the oldest book street of Hanoi and it takes only 2 minutes to walk from Dinh Le Street to Hoan Kiem Lake.
Dinh Le Street is also a part of Hanoi Walking Streets system.
The book stores may look old, but you can find the newest books here, even the Vietnamese versions or the English versions.
6. Last but not least, please find some beautiful view to take some shots for memories
Even if it’s rainy or sunny, don’t forget to take some shots. They may be the shots with yourself in the photos or just the scenery, but I hope that the photos you take will be a part of your sweet memories about Hanoi, about the people in Hanoi. And when you look back to the time staying here, I hope that there will be a smile on you face – the smile of happiness.
