City Information

Hanoi has a population of approximately 6.5 million residents which has grown exponentially since the turn of the millennium. Most residents of Hanoi have been there for three generations or more and 85% of Hanoi's Population comprises of ethnic Vietnamese. 3% of Hanoi's Population is ethnic Chinese or Khmer and there are members of more than 55 different ethnic groups who call this city home. It is a cultural norm in Hanoi to make conversation with strangers, and tourists are often asked general questions about where they are from or what they do. Such friendliness often proves extremely useful; particularly in cases of street crime where other young male pedestrians might try to catch the culprit while female pedestrians help the victim by calling the police or the ambulance if the victim is wounded.

The ideal time to visit Hanoi is in spring or autumn. The ‘Tet’ holiday which is the celebration of the Lunar New Year is in the spring; flowers are at their most beautiful during this time of the year and the city becomes even more magical as locals celebrate what is an important part of the year for them. The weather starts to warm up with occasional light rain which the citizens of Hanoi believe brings prosperity and luck for the New Year. Autumn is also a unique time of the year in Hanoi. The temperature drops and the humidity of the summer months dissipates, and the foliage is beautiful, as it is in the spring. It is not advisable to visit Hanoi in the summer months due to the intolerable heat and humidity, and winters are generally cold, and made even colder by an absence of central heating systems.

The city is located on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is located at 1,760 km north of Ho Chi Minh City and is the capital of Vietnam.

Currency in Vietnam is: Vietnamese Dong (VND)

New Year's Day - 1st January Lunar New Year - varies annually Hung Kings Commemorations - 23rd April Liberation Day - 30th April Labor Day - 1st May National Day - 2nd September

Month Average Minimum Average Maximum January 13 20 February 15 20 March 18 23 April 21 27 May 24 32 June 25 33 July 26 33 August 25 32 September 24 31 October 22 29 November 18 25 December 15 22

Hanoi today is the leading center of scientific study and research in the country and has always been a centre for education and the arts. Retaining much of its older colonial charm, a fairly significant side effect of conflict has been to make Hanoi largely oblivious to modern architecture, except of course in select cases. The Old Quarter is famous for uninterrupted stretches of colonial and pre-colonial architecture, and it trades the commercial boom and modern sprawl of Ho Chi Minh City in the South for a more understated charm, worth enjoying for an extra day or two, and with countless transport options and travel agents, it makes a perfect base for exploration of the North.

Hanoi has made a fine capital for more than a thousand years; through several invasions, occupations, restorations, and name changes. The Nguyen Dynasty gave the city its modern name of Ha Noi in 1831, and in 1887, the French colonists made Hanoi the capital of all Indochina. It changed hands again in 1954 and, when it was ceded to Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh after almost a decade of fighting, it became the capital of North Vietnam. Upon reunification in 1975, it assumed that title for the entire country. Its post reunification history has been one of growth and progress and till today it retains the most unique feel of all the cities in Vietnam.