What to see in Hanoi in one day

If you have only one full day in the capital of Vietnam, you will have to determine the most important sights to visit, and make the most optimal route. To move, ideally, you need to use taxi rides on the counter (see taxi in Hanoi and how to use it) and move on foot, or, if finances allow, you can buy a Hop-on-Hop-off tourist bus ticket for 24 hours for 450,000 VND (approximately 17.1 USD, see currency of Vietnam), which is best done in advance in order to save time online on the site (see more about the Hanoi tourist bus). You will have to forget about budget travel on local city buses, otherwise you will spend too much time.

So, here is a variant of the ready route for one day in Hanoi

1. We start the morning with a walk near lakes of the returned sword, where we visit the Jade Temple on the island, and St. Joseph's church.
2. we go to Hanoi Old Town, walk through its shopping streets, visit Ancient House Museum of Hanoi.
3. we continue our walk through the Old Town to Temple of Bat Ma, and Old Town Gate. On the way we have lunch in one of the street cafes.
4. From the gates of the Old Town we cross the Main Street on a pedestrian bridge to the other side of the road, where there is giant ceramic mosaic.
5. After a walk along the mosaic we go to one of the two puppet theaters on the water: Thang Long or Lotus. You can get to the sessions at 16, 17 or 18 hours.
6. After watching the show, we go (preferably by taxi) to Ba Dinh square.
7. In the evening, Ba Dinh Square is very beautifully illuminated. We inspect the Square itself here, Ho Chi Minh City mausoleum and the National Monument.
8. After the square we go (better by taxi) back to the Old Town to the Covered Market Dong Xuan Market.
9. From the Covered Market on Dong Xuan street, walk along the street night markets, and then in a straight line go to the ring/Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square near the lake. There we end our day in one of the restaurants overlooking the lake, and a walk around the evening Lake.