For a long time, Hanoi’s old quarter night market has been regarded as a place converging the cultural characteristics not only of Hanoi but also of the whole country. Spend a carefree evening strolling around the old town night market and indulging in admiring traditional items, tasting some typical dishes of Hanoi will be the most interesting and memorable experience for you and your friends.
Old Quarter Night Market always has a great appeal to both the young people in the capital city and visitors from many places because of bustle atmosphere and the convergence of diverse cultural features of Hanoi from the ancient period to modern time. Many people say that the old quarter is the most beautiful at night. With a lively night market atmosphere, the old quarter is sparkling with full of bright lights, but still has quiet beauty with the tiled roof houses, the walls with brown moss which evoke nostalgic feelings. Certainly, a lot of people like to come here in order to wander around the city on walking streets, leisurely listen to music and see the busy life of people in the old quarter. The night market is held from 18 pm to 23 pm on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at nearly 3km walking street through the houses that still retain many ancient features, the deep alleys or sidewalk stalls interspersed bright lights stalls. The walking streets stretch from Hang Dao street to the gate of Dong Xuan Market and go through Hang Khoai, Hang Giay street. On weekly Saturday night, the night walking street is also home to performances of street art such as contemporary hip hop, playing violin along with cultural performances of traditional folk arts such as Cheo singing, Xam singing, Quan ho singing, Ca tru singing and so on.
This is considered a unique feature of the old quarter night market. This activity is really meaningful to help preserve and promote folk art to the youth and foreign tourists. A lot of people who love traditional culture, especially the elderly, often come here from early and passionately immerse in the ancient tunes performed by the famous artists and only return when the performances end. Foreign tourists also stop here to feel the new and unique culture of Vietnamese people. The night market is a bustling place of trade with the participation of nearly 4,000 stores. The goods are very diverse ranging from clothing, footwear, household appliances to the handicrafts, porcelains, ceramics made by the skillful artisans sold in many booths. Sophisticated ceramic bowls, cups; folk toys, household utensils made of bamboo and rattan; the colorful brocade bag; and the precious worshiping bronze statues are converged here. Walking through these stalls, you will feel excited to be returned to an ancient market and admire delicate products of the ingenious people. So many people come here to see more toys to purchase. In particular, in addition to exploring an ancient city of Hanoi in the lifestyle of people and shopping, enjoying street food is what makes the market more appealing and attractive than ever.
Hang Buom is one of the typical street food that should not be missed when you explore the night market. Besides the traditional food of Hanoi such as beef noodle soup, steamed sticky rice, noodles, tea … You can also find the typical dishes of the Asian – European cuisine and even the dish that takes you back to the childhood of many Vietnamese people including candy, sweet potatoes, corn. The night market’s cuisine and night walking street not only attract large numbers of tourists at home and abroad but also many citizens of the capital also visit here at the weekend to stroll leisurely on streets and enjoy the food. Take about 2-3 hours to explore all the night market and walking streets. It will be better if you are on the streets early before 19 pm to park vehicles and leisurely enjoy carefree but lively nightlife here with no traffic noise, no dust and the grip of the romantic young couple as well as naive voices of children. You can find yourself a small corner in a stall and taste a cool glass of beer and observe other beauty of Hanoi, a peaceful town in the heart of the city. At that time, wander around the streets of Hanoi in the autumn night and taste some dishes in a diverse cuisine of Hanoi are the most interesting things to do as traveling to the land of the thousand year civilization. Despite the hot or cold weather, even the rain, the walking streets are still crowded every night. The attraction of a new way to explore Hanoi makes those who visit once cannot help returning.
