Hanoi - our lowdown on Vietnam's second city Overview Trip ideas Experiences Places to visit Best time to visit Accommodation Back to all places Combining canary-yellow French palaces with colourful and chaotic market streets dating back to the imperial dynasties, Hanoi is the place to soak up the atmosphere of old Vietnam. Railway tracks of Hanoi Entrance to the Temple of Literature Hanoi shopfront Connects with Vietnam Halong BayJungle-clad islands cloaked in atmospheric sea mist and 2,000 limestone pinnacles thrusting skywards: Halong Bay is indisputably one of Asia’s great landscapes. Vietnam Pu LuongDeep in the limestone mountains southwest of Hanoi, Pu Luong’s landscape of rippling rice terraces and thatch-roofed stilt villages is so perfect we’re tempted to keep it all to ourselves. Vietnam Ninh BinhNinh Binh’s landscape of jagged peaks could be taken straight from the pages of Vietnamese legend, but it’s real enough — and whether you explore by boat, bike or foot, it always delivers.