The French designed the French Quarter’s street plan over a century ago, but the Vietnamese have since made it their own. Motorbikes course through the streets, coffee shops spill onto the pavements, and parasite architecture abounds, adding a textured aesthetic to the orderly European blueprint.
The French Quarter is also a culinary hub. Of the 48 restaurants listed in the MICHELIN Guide Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City 2023, around a third in Hanoi are in this part of the city. In recent years, the neighbourhood has become a melting pot of family-run eateries, innovative bistros, and international newcomers. This means that between wandering the streets and checking out the sights, a memorable meal is never far away.
While the French Quarter wraps around the Old Quarter in a sweeping c-shape, this guide will focus on the grid system south of Hoàn Kiếm Lake. This is an ideal part of the city to base yourself, with some of Hanoi’s premium hotel options, including the Sofitel Metropole Legend Hanoi, the capital’s flagship heritage hotel, and Capella Hanoi, an extravagant homage to the legacy of opera.
Neighbourhoods for city ramblers
What to see and do
The French Quarter is like a patchwork of micro neighbourhoods, each one distinct. For early-morning buzz, the grid system east of Thống Nhất Park is a good place to start. Triệu Việt Vương Street is the French Quarter’s unofficial café hub – the ideal place to position yourself in a street-facing coffee shop and watch Hanoians race to work on motorbikes. There’s a long row of cafes on Triệu Việt Vương Street to choose from, including Ca Phê Thái, a traditional coffee house that has existed in some form or another since 1926.After exploring the tree-studded streets, check out the MICHELIN-selected Bún Chả Hương Liên for brunch. Proudly displaying images of its celebrity guests – chief among them Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain – Bún Chả Hương Liên serves up bun cha (grilled pork with vermicelli noodles in a sweet and sour sauce). Tempting sides include a garden herb salad and deep-fried spring rolls.
North of here are the three broad boulevards of Trần Hưng Đạo, Lý Thường Kiệt, and Hai Ba Trưng. This handsome neighbourhood holds some of Hanoi’s grandest colonial houses, many of which are now embassies and ambassador residences. It is also home to some compelling museums, including the Vietnamese Women’s Museum and Hoả Lò Prison.
Getting to grips with Hanoi’s chequered history is a complicated and sometimes sobering experience, so consider debriefing over a meal at nearby T.U.N.G Dining, a MICHELIN-listed in the MICHELIN Guide Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City 2023. The acronym stands for twisted, unique, natural, and gastronomic, which covers the culinary philosophy of the head chef (who uncoincidentally is called Hoang Tung). His 20-course tasting menu serves minimalist dishes that “explode with every bite,” wrote our inspectors. Booking is essential.
Parks and lakes for tree huggers
What to see and do
Green space is hard to come by in many big Southeast Asian cities, but Hanoi’s French Quarter is an exception. Thống Nhất Park is one of the biggest in central Hanoi, and it’s especially animated in the early morning, when fishermen, dancers, weightlifters, and martial artists occupy various corners. Just north of the park is Thiên Quang Lake, bordered by some handsome Art Deco French mansions and a pair of pagodas.Mere steps from the lake and inside the Hotel du Parc is Azabu, a recommended restaurant in the MICHELIN Guide Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City 2023, which offers decent lunch deals. Sit at the wooden counter and watch the team work their magic, or savour the minimalist dining room for a little more privacy.
Southeast of Hoàn Kiếm Lake is another cluster of small parks and flower gardens, as well as some of Hanoi’s most iconic French architecture. Two triangular green patches – the Nhà Hát Lớn and Cổ Tân flower gardens – flank the Hanoi Opera House, modelled on the Palais Garnier in Paris. There’s also an artifact-studded garden within the National Museum of History, an unusual chunk of colonial architecture just behind the Opera House. A little north of the Sofitel Metropole Legend Hanoi is Lý Thái Tổ Park, which also touches Hoàn Kiếm Lake.
Two and a half blocks south of the Opera House sits an artisanal café by day and modern European bistro by night. Habakuk, MICHELIN Guide Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City 2023, is one of less than a dozen Bib Gourmand restaurants in the city, with cooking that is “confident, neatly presented and steeped in well-judged flavours,” wrote our inspectors.
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