What to Do in 3 Days in Hanoi Vietnam? A Local Plan

Think three days is too short to feel a city? With the right local insight and a “live like a Hanoian” approach, these 3 days in Hanoi Vietnam will leave you captivated by the city’s scent of morning pho, its tangled layers of colonial history, and the quiet spiritual pull of West Lake at night. This is not a race through landmarks – it’s a deliberate, immersive, memory-making journey. Welcome to your Hanoi 3 day itinerary—crafted by Vietpower Travel, one of Vietnam’s top 100 most trusted tour 

1. Day 1 – The Scent of History and Morning Streets

5:30 – 8:00 AM: Start Like a Local

We rise early because Hanoi mornings are sacred. At Hoan Kiem Lake, locals begin their day with tai chi or a brisk walk around the waters. You’ll sip iced tea on a low plastic stool, next to retired teachers or war veterans chatting about the day’s headlines.

By 6:30 AM, we head to a pho institution. Phở Thìn at 13 Lò Đúc is famous for its rich, smoky broth, while Phở Gia Truyền Bát Đàn demands patience—and respect for local queuing culture.

Fact: In Hanoi, eating phở after 9:00 AM is almost a crime. Locals believe food must be fresh, and timing reflects discipline and pride.

9:00 AM – 4:00 PM: From Temples to Trauma

Your deep-dive begins with three powerful sites:

• Temple of Literature – Vietnam’s first university, where Confucianism shaped generations.
• Thang Long Imperial Citadel – an active archaeological site unveiling 13 centuries of political shifts.
• Hoa Lo Prison (“Hanoi Hilton”) – a sobering window into colonial brutality and wartime resilience.

What makes this unique? Our guides often come from families tied to Vietnam’s wartime past. You don’t just “visit Hanoi” here—you understand it.

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Dine and Discover the Old Quarter

We skip tourist-trap restaurants and dine like Hanoians: bún chả grilled over charcoal in alleys without signage. Then, a heritage house tucked behind Hàng Đào Street opens its doors just for us, where a local artist narrates the fading tradition of street craft guilds.

Want something cinematic? Vietpower arranges a night street portrait session with a local photographer. The glint of headlights, the misty steam from food carts—it’s urban poetry frozen in time.

2. Day 2 – Layers of Identity and Creativity

9:00 AM – 11:30 AM: The Story of 54 Ethnicities

We head to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, but this isn’t just a walk through static displays. Together, we ask: How has Vietnam maintained peaceful coexistence among 54 ethnic groups for centuries?

If you join our Vietpower small group tours, you’ll have the rare chance to make Tày-style sticky rice cakes or dye indigo cloth with H’Mông artisans—a real cultural exchange.

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Coffee Meets Creativity

Our afternoon traces the emerging soul of Hanoi's youth culture. From Manzi Art Space to Ơ Kìa Hà Nội, we explore art born from memory and resistance.

Need a coffee break? We avoid the usual spots and ascend to rooftops only locals whisper about. Favorites? Cà phê Nhà Sàn, hidden in Tay Ho, or Tranquil Books & Coffee, where jazz and the scent of old pages wrap around every sip of egg coffee.

6:30 PM – 10:00 PM: Hanoi After Dark

Dinner tonight is not in a restaurant, but a family’s home. These meals—available via Vietpower’s reservation-only local dinners—bring you into Hanoi’s kitchens, with dishes like caramelized pork belly or sour fish soup cooked to family tradition.

Our Hanoi After Dark tour ends day two: cruising the lake roads of West Lake, chanting quietly with locals at Phúc Khánh Pagoda, and finally descending into a hidden jazz bar near Trúc Bạch where Miles Davis meets Vietnamese lullabies.

3. Day 3 – Escape the Center, Enter the Soul of Hanoi

7:00 – 8:30 AM: Depart for Hanoi’s Craft Villages

Your final day in this Hanoi 3 day itinerary begins with a drive or motorbike ride out of the Old Quarter. Choose between:

• Vạn Phúc Silk Village (8km, 25 minutes) – famed for its 1,000-year-old weaving tradition.
• Bát Tràng Pottery Village (13km, 35 minutes) – where the Red River’s clay becomes legacy.

9:00 – 10:30 AM: Coffee Break and Cultural Debrief

We stop for coffee at a river-view shop near Long Biên. Try the signature salt coffee or green rice latte, grown locally in Bắc Ninh. Use this moment to ask your guide questions: Why are young Vietnamese returning to village work? What’s the difference between traditional craft and commercial souvenir?

This part of the Hanoi travel itinerary helps travelers engage beyond visuals—to think about Vietnam’s future through the lens of its past.

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Lunch at an Urban Hydroponic Farm

Arrive at an urban farm tucked between banana gardens in Long Biên District, just across the Chuong Duong Bridge. Here, Vietpower arranges a farm-to-table cooking workshop where you:

• Harvest herbs like perilla and mint from hydroponic towers.
• Prepare two dishes: bún cuốn rau sống (fresh spring rolls with herbs) and chè đậu xanh (mung bean sweet soup).
• Dine with the urban farmers who started this project after returning from overseas.

This is not just a meal. It’s a learning moment about Hanoi’s food sustainability movement—ideal for travelers who’ve already done the classic street food circuit.

2:00 – 3:30 PM: Reflections at West Lake

Cycle with your guide around West Lake (Hồ Tây)—Hanoi’s largest body of water. We stop at:

• Phủ Tây Hồ, one of the city’s most spiritually active temples. There, you’ll join a local ritual by writing a wish on paper and floating it on the lake.
• Quiet poetry benches and lotus-pier paths, perfect for photo stops.

You’ll notice that Tay Ho isn’t just an expat area—it’s also where many of Hanoi’s thinkers, artists, and retired officials reside. Ask your guide about the lake’s connection to Hanoi’s identity over time.

4:00 – 5:00 PM: Farewell Keepsakes – Capture Your Hanoi

In your final hour, Vietpower offers two farewell gifts:

• A live portrait sketched by a Thanh Niên Street artist (ready in 20 minutes).
• Or, choose a mini drone shoot capturing your walk by the lake, waving goodbye with Hanoi’s skyline behind you (video delivered same day).

4. Expert Tips from Vietpower for Deeper Hanoi

• Avoid peak traffic hours: 7:00–8:30 AM and 5:00–6:30 PM around Kim Mã, Trần Duy Hưng, and Cầu Giấy.
• For major attractions like the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum or Văn Miếu, arrive before 9:00 AM to avoid long queues.
• Be cautious with over-touristed areas like Hanoi Train Street—many are now closed to unsupervised visitors. Use licensed guides to access.
• Want to distinguish authenticity? Ask questions. If the vendor can tell you their family story behind the dish or item, it’s likely not staged.
• When visiting spiritual sites: no sleeveless tops, no loud conversations, no posing in front of altars.

5. Conclusion

Three days in Hanoi Vietnam? It’s never just sightseeing. It’s being invited into stories, meals, and memories. From the misty rooftops of the Old Quarter to the echoing drums at Phúc Khánh pagoda, this isn’t about what to see in Hanoi in 3 days, it’s about how you choose to feel it. And if you want to extend your journey, explore our Vietnam travel itinerary, especially the immersive Seven Days of Central Vietnam and Northern Vietnam in 8 days.