The bus and tour guide will pick you up from hotel in old quarter about 8 AM, driving to Tran Quoc Pagoda is located on an island east of West Lake (Tay Ho District), with 1500-year history, which is considered to be the oldest in Thang Long-Hanoi. It was the Buddhist center of Thang Long citadel in the Ly and Tran dynasties. With its historical and architectural values, Tran Quoc pagoda is famous for its sacred Buddha land, which attracts many Buddhists and visitors to Vietnam.
Then, you will visit Ho Chi Minh complex ( Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, the presidential palace, house on stilts, the final resting place of Uncle Ho, where he lived and worked from 1954- 1969).
After that, visit the Ethnology Museum, this is the most recent yet probably the largest and undoubtedly the most interesting Museums in Ha Noi and Viet Nam. There are both indoor and outdoor sections, while the in–housed exhibition is particularly informative, the outdoor display and activities make the museum stand out from the rest. There are a number of houses modeled after the traditional architecture of ethnic minorities, especially those who live in Northern and Central highlands.
Lunch at a local restaurant.
In the afternoon, visit the Temple of Literature, an ancient school of Thang Long and the first university in Vietnam, Temple of Literature is acknowledged as an ancient historical-cultural heritage that gives tourists a deeper understanding of Hanoi's years of culture and tradition.
Continue the visit to Hoa Lo Prison which was built in 1899. The French kept mainly political prisoners here along with those awaiting sentencing at the nearby Court of Justice, also where American pilots who had been shot down and captured were kept as prisoners of war. The pilots called it, sarcastically, the “Hanoi Hilton.” John McCain was held here at various times during his five and a half years as a POW.
In the evening, experience the Water Puppet Show before returning to your hotel. Overnight in Hanoi.
Please note:
- On Monday and Friday morning Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and museum are closed, instead by the Vietnamese women museum.
- Wearing sort clothing is not recommeded to visit the mausoleum and temple.