Vietnam - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 836

Hoan Kiem Lake
Hoan Kiem Lake itself is small - you can
walk round it in thirty minutes - but to
Hanoians this is the soul of their city, a
point of social convergence for groups of
power-walkers, families, older folk
practising Tai Chi and young courting
couples; it's particularly attractive when
lit up at night. A squat, three-tiered
pavilion known as the Turtle Tower
ornaments a tiny island in the middle of
Hoan Kiem, “Lake of the Restored
Sword”. he names refer to a legend of
the great fifteenth-century Vietnamese
hero, Le Loi, whose miraculous sword,
used to drive the Chinese out of
Vietnam, was snatched by a golden turtle
that restored the sword to its divine
owners. Cross the red-lacquered Huc
Bridge to a second island on which stands
Den Ngoc Son temple (daily 7am-5pm;
15,000VND), founded in the fourteenth
century and rebuilt in the 1800s in
typical Nguyen dynasty style. National
hero General Tran Hung Dao, who
defeated the Mongols in 1288, is
depicted on the principal altar, while a
giant stuffed turtle, found in the lake, sits
in a glass box in a side room.

full of bright red banners and lacquerware
for funerals and festivals, and at Hang
Ma, paper votive objects have been made
for at least five hundred years.
he aptly named fifteenth-century
tube-houses , most of which still remain
today, evolved from market stalls into
narrow single-storey shops. Some are just
2m wide, the result of taxes levied on
street-frontages and of subdivision for
inheritance, while behind stretches a
succession of storerooms, living quarters
and courtyards up to 60m in length. he
range of building styles along Hang Bac
and Ma May is typical, and Ma May even
retains its own dinh (no. 64).
he quarter's oldest and most revered
place of worship is Bach Ma Temple on
Hang Buom (White Horse Temple; daily
8-11am & 2-5pm; free), dating from the
eighteenth century and featuring an ornate
wooden chariot carved with dragons.
he city's largest covered market,
Cho Dong Xuan (open daily from 7am),
occupies a whole block behind its original
1889 facade, and is packed with stalls
selling cheap clothing, souvenirs and
fresh and dried food.

11

The French Quarter
he first French concession was granted in
1874, and gradually elegant villas filled
plots along the grid of tree-lined avenues to
the south and east of Hoan Kiem Lake. he
jewel in the crown was the stately Opera
House (now known as the Municipal
heatre), at the eastern end of Trang Tien,
which was based on the neo-Baroque Paris
Opéra, complete with Ionic columns and
tiles imported from France.
Stretching west from the Opera House,
Trang Tien is the main artery of the
French Quarter. South of Trang Tien you
enter French Hanoi's principal residential
district, whose distinguished villas run
the gamut of styles from elegant
Neoclassical through to 1930s
Modernism and Art Deco.

St Joseph's Cathedral
he neo-Gothic St Joseph's Cathedral
(daily 5am-noon & 2-7.30pm) at the far
end of Nha ho Street, was constructed
in the early 1880s, and boasts an
impressive interior featuring an ornate
altar and French stained-glass windows.
Sunday-evening Mass is a good time to
dawdle outside and listen to the singing.

The Old Quarter
At the northern end of Hoan Kiem Lake
lies the congested square kilometre
known as the Old Quarter . Hanoi is the
only city in Vietnam to retain its ancient
merchants' quarter, and its street names
date back five centuries to when the area
was divided among 36 artisans' guilds,
each gathered around a temple or a dinh
(communal house) dedicated to the
guild's patron spirit. Even today, a
surprising number of streets are still
dedicated to the original craft or its
modern equivalent: Hang Quat remains

French Quarter museums
he National Museum of Vietnamese
History , at 1 Pham Ngu Lao, inside an
elegant 1920s colonial building (Mon-Fri
8am-noon & 1.30-5pm; 20,000VND;