Overview : Hanoi, its former name of Thang Long (Dragon taking off), has many monuments and cultural relics millennia intimately linked to the history of Vietnam and its legends. 23 centuries ago, Co Loa (now in the district of Dong Anh) was chosen by A Duong Vuong as capital of the kingdom of Au Lac.

For a millennium, Hanoi was the center of the movement to fight the aggressors North to regain independence. With its position and favorable terrain, in the centre of the Red River delta, the country has gradually been expanded and transformed into a thriving settlement. 

Under different names, Thang Long, Dong Kinh, Dong Do, and finally, Hanoi (1831), the city has remained the heart of the country for nearly a millennium.
Located in the Red River Delta, the city of Hanoi is currently being transformed, in the image of the whole country. New boulevards, streets and highways have emerged. Many hotels and modern buildings grow everywhere giving a new image to the capital of Vietnam.
The capital of Hanoi is also bisected by the river Duong, Cau rivers, Ca Lo, Day, Nhue, Tich, To Lich and Kim Nguu. The river To Lich is very often mentioned in literary works of the former Hanoi as a city river crossing the heart of the city. Today, the river To Lich and Kim Nguu River are no longer a system of drainage. The government has developed a plan for redevelopment of the latter to make all its beauty to the city.
The city is protected by high dikes, dotted with lakes and tree-lined. It is crisscrossed by numerous small streets lined with tiny homes from another age pastel shade. Hanoi has been cut off from the world from 1954 to 1989, when peace finally conquered.

Sighseeing : Coming to the city, you can visit the Temple of Literature or Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam, the first university in Vietnam, which has trained thousands of talented writers. Probably, it is the most beautiful architectural structure of Vietnam, all regions and periods combined. Traveler also should visit Pillar Pagoda unique, Tran Quoc Pagoda, numbers museums, and many of the others.
Hanoi has several beautiful lakes; the most famous lake is the Hoan Kiem lake (Lake of the Sword returned) with the Ngoc Son Pagoda. It is connected to the mainland by a bridge in a lacquered red in the middle of the lake, with its small pagoda white (very beautiful at night, illuminated), the West Lake, Truc Bach Lake (white silk), Thien Quang lakes, Bay Mau and Ho Giang Vo (Martial Art Training Lake). These lakes are the lungs of the city with their flower gardens and shaded of their surroundings.
You can taste the specialties like com (glutinous rice shoots), pho, the cha ca, a net grilled fish, and so on. Hanoi is a city of eating, varieties and well. There's something for everyone and for every budget, soup (pho) served by itinerant kitchens to the finest sushi and sashimi served in the context of glacial Benkay, the Japanese restaurant in the Nikko Hotel. In southern Dong Xuan market, you will find a tiny alley cluttered with pots steaming around which people are attached. In each dish is prepared differently and, in the alley, smells to mingle with rumors of the city and may, for sensitive souls, provoke a clash unbearable. The Vietnamese eat in the street, sitting on tiny plastic seats. If the place described above is one of the most dramatic experiences of Hanoi culinary tables on the pavement, they are found everywhere. Furthermore, it eats mainly Pho, the famous soup-dish, a whole history. It gives you the broth, and there soaking successively, meats, vegetables, and so on . While a program, and a delight.
The centre of Hanoi abounds with stores in all kinds to buy souvenirs, handicrafts, clothing or paintings. As in all tourist cities in the world, some of the addresses are more advisable than others who, despite a very presentable appearance, proved to be scams. Strolls around the cathedral, around Lake Hoan Kiem, in the district of corporations and, farther north (and less tourists) on the side of the water tower, we will not fail to discover the shopping that there will be a joy when to return home.
Far from achieving the folly of Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, the night life in Hanoi is more than that of a Benedictine monastery. Over the past decade, we have seen a succession of night bars, clubs and other jazz clubs with varying degrees of success. Places change a mode very quickly, as their attendance. There are places for expatriates places at Bao Khanh (at the end of Hang Gay, near Lake) brings together a number of bars.