Watching the annual influx of Euro summer content take over your feed while you’re staying on Aussie soil sucks—but what if we told you an affordable alternative with loads of history, an epic food scene and architecture to rival Rome or the Rhone was an 11-hour flight away?
Hanoi is a bustling capital known for its action-packed Old Quarter, historic sites spanning thousands of years, flashy French Quarter, and endless streetside snack stalls in between. Decades of French occupation in the late 19th and 20th centuries are still apparent in the architecture and local cuisine (hello, banh mi), with Vietnam's own resilient local culture shining bright and Amalfi-esque coastlines a short drive away.
Next time you’re eyeing up a Euro summer, here’s why you should consider a Hanoi holiday instead.
Less Travel Time—And Direct Flights
Instead of the entire day (at least…) it takes to get to Europe, you can be in Hanoi in less than half that time—so you waste less of your holiday in the air. Among their 58 weekly flights between Vietnam and Australia every week, trusted new-age airline Vietjet flies directly to Hanoi out of Melbourne and Sydney, with connections via Ho Chi Minh City from other locations.
If you feel like touching down in style Vietjet even offers business class travel so you can start sipping cocktails, resting up in 180-degree flatbed seats, and scoffing steaming bowls of pho before you’re even on the ground.
Transport within Hanoi is also a breeze, with local taxi app Grab providing travel across the city for just a few Aussie dollars. For longer journeys or group travel, consider booking a private car service with half- or full-day rates and various vehicles available.
French Feel
Image credit: Hyeryeong Song
The French influence on Hanoi is one element of its rich history that makes this destination worth a visit—especially when you’re chasing Euro vibes. In the French Quarter, the grand, yellow buildings like the Vietnamese National Museum of History, Hanoi Opera House and Presidential Palace have a completely different feel to the rest of the city.
Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in the Old Quarter is a striking example of neo-Gothic architecture, looming over the precinct since the 1880s. We’d visit one of the surrounding cafes or bars at sunset to see the lights illuminate the cathedral’s striking facade.
Image credit: Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi | Website
Lean in to the Paris-of-the-East experience by treating yourself to a stay at the stunning Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi—an iconic five-star hotel by the French hotel group in a 1901-built colonial property. This straight-outta-Paris stay has a streetside cafe and patisserie, stunning swimming pool and gardens, and restaurant with a top-notch French food and wine offering.
Head To Ha Long
If pics from the Amalfi Coast or French Riviera are inducing envy, consider heading east to Ha Long from Hanoi to check out the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ha Long Bay, known for its unique clusters of forest-covered islands jutting out of the ocean. It'll take you between two and three hours to get there on the highway from Hanoi.
Image credit: Marina Lobato
One-night and two-night cruises are popular so you can enjoy more time on the water, with meals included on board and activities like kayaking around the islands, sipping cocktails on the shoreline, and taking bamboo boat tours through the otherworldly surrounds.
Plenty of cruises can pick you up from the middle of Hanoi (either included in the ticket cost or for a small additional fee), or you can arrange private transfers and stay in Ha Long at properties like the Oakwood Ha Long (where the spacious villas are a great option for group travel) to take day cruises around the bay.
Street Eats And Michelin Stars
Vietnam’s most loved dishes like grilled bun cha on springy rice noodles (like the ones famously enjoyed by Anthony Bourdain and Obama at Bún chả Hương Liên) and banh mi on fresh-as baguettes are insanely affordable—a standard banh mi goes for about $2. If you only have one pho in Hanoi make it at Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su in Hoan Kiem, where a bowl will set you back about four bucks.
Image credit: Urban List
Hanoi is also home to world-class restaurants, with standouts like the Michelin-Starred Gia spinning traditional Vietnamese cuisine into an elevated experience retaining plenty of heart, or Hibana by Koki presenting a world-class omakase inside the breathtaking Capella Hanoi.
Don’t skip a visit to the TikTok-viral Train Street, where you can score a spot inches away from passing trains for an unforgettable take on Vietnam's coffee culture. Trains pass between 7pm and 10pm, Monday–Friday and between 8.45am and 11pm on weekends; timings vary seasonally so check online before you visit, and allow an extra 15 minutes to secure a seat at one of the numerous cafes lining the railway.
Image credit: The Haflington | Instagram
Come cocktail hour, try your luck finding Hanoi's museum-inspired and much-awarded bar The Haflington, where the fossilised skeleton of a mythical creature is suspended above the main bar, vibrant taxidermied birds and reptiles keep watch over every room, and the cocktail list is packed with textbook executions of beloved classics, plus some creative signatures.
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Main image credit: David Emrich
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