Hanoi

A two-day Hanoi loop from Hoan Kiem at dawn to Ba Dinh

Two days cover Hanoi's core sights if you split them by area. Spend the first around Hoan Kiem Lake, the Old Quarter and the French Quarter, and the second in Ba Dinh, where the mausoleum, the Imperial Citadel and the Temple of Literature sit close together. Start at 6am, when older Hanoians do tai chi by the lake.

Cross the red Huc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple, then head north into the Old Quarter for a bowl of pho before the motorbikes take over. Spend the late morning on Hang Bac, Hang Gai and Hang Ma, where silversmiths, silk tailors and paper-goods sellers still trade. Bun cha is the lunch. In the afternoon walk south to the French Quarter and the Opera House, then finish with bia hoi on a stool near Ta Hien.

Day two goes west. Be at Ba Dinh Square early if the mausoleum is open, because the queue moves slowly and the doors close before 11am. From there it is a short walk to the One Pillar Pagoda and then to the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, whose excavated foundations show a thousand years of building on one site.

After lunch, spend an unhurried hour in the Temple of Literature's five courtyards, then cross the road to the Fine Arts Museum for lacquer painting and bronze drums. In the evening, eat cha ca and, if it is a weekend, join the crowds walking the car-free streets around the lake.

Pho queues, Bun Cha smoke and egg coffee

Eat pho at breakfast, bun cha at lunch and cha ca or bia hoi in the evening, because Hanoi's best-known dishes keep strict hours. Famous pho stalls have queues by 7am and sell out by late morning, and most bun cha cooks light their charcoal only at midday.

Northerners argue that pho belongs to Hanoi, and the version here is plainer than in the south: a clear, deep beef broth, flat rice noodles and a few spring onions, with lime and chilli on the side and no basket of herbs. The stall on Bat Dan street is the best known.

Lunch is bun cha. Pork patties and slices of belly are grilled over charcoal on the pavement, so you smell the smoke a block away, then served in a bowl of sweet-sour fish-sauce broth with cold rice noodles and herbs to dip. The other dish to look for is cha ca, chunks of fish coloured with turmeric and fried at the table with dill and spring onion; Cha Ca street in the Old Quarter is named after it.

Breakfast alternatives include banh cuon, silky steamed rice rolls filled with pork and wood-ear mushroom, and bun rieu, a tomato and crab noodle soup. For coffee, try ca phe trung, egg coffee topped with whipped yolk and sugar, a Hanoi invention served in small cafes up steep stairs. Evenings are for bia hoi, fresh beer poured from kegs on street corners and best on a side street away from the Ta Hien crush.

Milk-flower autumns, drizzly winters and Tet in Hanoi

October and November are the best months for Hanoi, with highs of 27C to 30C, little rain and the scent of milk-flower trees at night. Winter is cool and drizzly, February and March are damp, and June to August is hot and wet. Plan around Tet, when much of the Old Quarter shuts for several days.

December and January are cool and grey, with average highs of about 20C, lows near 14C and fine drizzle. Most budget rooms have no heating, so pack a warm layer. February and March bring the damp spell locals call nồm, when walls and floors sweat with humidity.

Summer is hot and wet. June averages 35C, and from June to August each month sees roughly 250 to 275mm of rain, with occasional typhoon remnants. Sightsee early and save the afternoon for museums or a nap. October and November are the reward: highs near 30C falling to 27C, rainfall dropping to about 60mm in November, and in October the streets smell of hoa sua, the milk-flower trees that bloom after dark.

Tet, the lunar new year in late January or February, empties the Old Quarter for several days as families go home; plan around it. In the weeks after Tet, pilgrims head south-west of the city for the Perfume Pagoda festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival, usually in September, turns Hang Ma street into a tunnel of paper lanterns and toys, best seen in the week before the full moon. National Day on 2 September brings flags and crowds to Ba Dinh Square.