Starting the day trip with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Complex, which includes Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum (closed on Mondays & Fridays) & his former stilt-house residence. We will then visit the Temple of Literature, constructed in 1070 to worship Confucius, which also served as the first Royal National University in Vietnam. There are 82 stone steles, carried by tortoises, engraved with names, birthdates, and birthplaces of honoured doctorates from 1442 to 1779. Local people believed that touching the head of these tortoises would bring luck. The green and neatly maintained gardens and lotus ponds make this place a peaceful hideaway from the city’s hustle and heat. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. 
Our afternoon exploration begins with the Museum of Ethnology (closed on Mondays, the alternative on this day being the History Museum). The museum offers a wide range of informative and well-documented displays of the 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam, including colourful hill tribe costumes. The outdoor display is an impressive collection of traditional houses of various minorities from the north to the central Highlands.
We will drive to the Old Quarter, also known as “36 streets and guilds”. Now time for a street food tour and to get lost in the labyrinth of lanes in which each street once specialized in a specific type of manufacturing or trade. Most of the houses in the area were built towards the end of the 19th century. There is no better way of exploring this commercial district than on foot to capture all aspects of local daily life: crafts, Buddhism, temples, gastronomy, local markets, traditional tube-houses (a Vietnamese particularity), medicine… and perhaps most special, delving deep into the culture of the capital through local food will be a memorable experience. You will be tasting Hanoi specialties such as Pho, Bun Cha, Banh Mi, Banh Cuon (Steamed Rice Pancake), Banh Xeo (Fried Rice Pancake), Ca Phe Trung (Egg Coffee)…
The street food tour ends with a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of the Restored Sword) before watching a traditional water puppet show.