Hoan Kiem Lake (Hồ Hoàn Kiếm)

Hoan Kiem Lake lies in the centre of Hanoi, just south of the Old Quarter, and covers about 12 hectares. It is up to 700 metres long and 250 metres wide but shallow, with an average depth of about 1.2 metres. Locals often call it Ho Guom, Sword Lake, and in earlier times it was known as Luc Thuy, Green Water, and Thuy Quan.

Its name means Lake of the Returned Sword. According to legend, Emperor Le Loi used a magic sword to drive out the Ming Chinese in the 15th century, and later, while boating on the lake, a golden turtle rose from the water and took the sword back to its divine owner. The small Turtle Tower, standing on an islet in the middle of the lake, is linked with this story.

Near the northern shore, Ngoc Son Temple, the Temple of the Jade Mountain, stands on Jade Islet. It dates from the 18th century and honours the general Tran Hung Dao, among others. It is reached by the arched red wooden The Huc Bridge, a familiar image of Hanoi. The lake was long home to rare giant soft-shell turtles, and the last known one in the lake was found dead in January 2016. A preserved specimen is displayed at the temple.

Tree-lined paths run all the way around the lake, and early in the morning they fill with people doing tai chi, dancing and jogging. In the evening the lake and the surrounding streets are a popular place for families and young people to walk.

The lakeside is free to visit at any time, while Ngoc Son Temple charges 50,000 VND for adults. A walk around the lake takes about 30 minutes. Early morning and evening are the most atmospheric times, and the Old Quarter, St Joseph's Cathedral and the water puppet theatre are all within a few minutes on foot.

Ngoc Son Temple and the Pen Tower

The temple was one of the four guardian temples of Thang Long, the old name of Hanoi. Besides Tran Hung Dao, it honours the god of literature and generations of scholars, which explains the symbols at the entrance on the shore: a stone Pen Tower topped with a brush tip and a gate carved in the shape of an ink slab. Cross The Huc Bridge from there to reach the islet.

The giant softshell turtle in a glass case inside is Cu Rua, the lake's last known turtle, which died in 2016. Many Hanoians saw it as a living link to the Le Loi legend, and its death was national news.

Car-free evenings from Friday to Sunday

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings the streets around the lake close to traffic and become a pedestrian zone, with street performers, games and families out late. It is the busiest and most relaxed time to walk the shore. Weekday mornings before 7:00 are the quietest, when the paths belong to joggers and tai chi groups.