1

First stop Old Quarter.

2

Take the walking tour of The Old Quarter outlined in The Lonely Planet Guide, veg out on the tourist/local Bia Hoi corner. A nice little place is '54 Traditions' Museum (?) it has a website.

3

Then
Hoan Kiem Lake
Temple of Literature
Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum
Thanh Long Water Puppet Theatre
One Pillar Pagoda
Plus lots more..

4

Old Quarter, French Quarter, Hoan Kiem,
West lake area and Botanical gardens then walk to the Mausoleum district.
Citadel (check opening times) and flag mast
Lenin Park
Temple of Literature
Stroll around the area around the south of the Hoan Kiem
Museum of Ethnology
Take the #47 bus to the Bat Trang Ceramic village. The ride is as interesting as the village.

5

Drop in to see Uncle Ho. My Daughter swears she saw his little finger move.

6

Sure it was his little finger and not something else?

7

If you're up for a walk, after visiting Uncle Ho, walk along Ngoc Ha street, turn left onto Hoang Hoa Tam and walk about 100m and turn left down an alley with a red sign with an arrow on it and continue down the alley for about 100m and see what's left of the B-52 in the lake. Retrace your steps back to the main road, if you turn left, there is a good bun cha restaurant a few meters down the road, or turn right, cross over Ngoc Ha and continue down Hoang Hoa Tam and do a tour of the botanical gardens. After the gardens, continue down the road, through the round-about and walk down a beautiful road called Pham Dinh Phung which is full of old colonial buildings, just be careful when taking pics, don't take a pic if there is a uniform wearing guy or he'll tell you off. When you see the church on your left, turn left down Nguyen Bieu and do a lap of Truc Bac. There is a good restaurant on the corner of Ngu Xa and Truc Bac. It has an English menu and prices. Return to Pham Dinh Phung and walk down the road; perhaps have a coffee in front of the old gate. Just keep walking down until it becomes Hang Dau. Near the end of Hang Dau is a good BBQ restaurant, or Nuong Bo in Vietnamese (maybe only in the evenings) continue to the main road, Yen Phu. Go and explore the magnificent Long Bien Bridge. If you walk halfway across, there are some steps so you can check out the rural life under the bridge, cross to the other side and walk back to the Old Quarter.

You can check this on google maps.

You're welcome.

8

Otford I think Uncle Ho saw a girl in a mini skirt and low cut top, standing beside him...that explains the mystery.

9

^ and avoid touts.

10

Thank you all for your feedback and advice :) Any feedback on cruise to Halong Bay? Heard of Golden lotus and Glory cruise? Pls kindly share. tks.,

11

michelle, avoid touting PMs. General forum info is OK.