Editing Hanoi (section)

== Tourism ==
[[File:Old and French quarters hanoi.png|thumb |Approximation of Hanoi's Old Quarter and French Quarters|215x215px]]
According to [[Mastercard]]'s 2019 report, Hanoi is Vietnam's most visited city (15th in Asia Pacific), with 4.8&nbsp;million overnight international visitors in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/places/mastercard-lists-hanoi-hcmc-among-top-20-asia-pacific-travel-destinations-3982199.html|title=Mastercard lists Hanoi, HCMC among top 20 Asia-Pacific travel destinations|work=[[VNExpress]]|access-date=13 November 2019|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022012813/https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/places/mastercard-lists-hanoi-hcmc-among-top-20-asia-pacific-travel-destinations-3982199.html|archive-date=22 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Hanoi is sometimes dubbed the "[[Paris of the East (disambiguation)|Paris of the East]]" for its French influences.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/julia-plevin/notes-on-hanoi-vietnam_b_269307.html |title=Notes on Hanoi, Vietnam |last=Plevin |first=Julia |date= 26 September 2009|website=[[The Huffington Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161121042452/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julia-plevin/notes-on-hanoi-vietnam_b_269307.html |archive-date=21 November 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=30 April 2017 }}</ref> With its tree-fringed boulevards, more than two dozen lakes and thousands of French colonial-era buildings, Hanoi is a popular tourist destination.

The tourist destinations in Hanoi are generally grouped into two main areas: the [[Old Quarter, Hanoi|Old Quarter]] and the French Quarter(s). The "Old Quarter" is in the northern half of [[Hoàn Kiếm District]] with small street blocks and alleys, and a traditional Vietnamese atmosphere. Many streets in the Old Quarter have names signifying the goods ("hàng") the local merchants were or are specialized in. For example, "Hàng Bạc" (''silver stores'') still have many stores specializing in trading silver and jewelries. Two areas are generally called the "French Quarters": the governmental area in [[Ba Đình District]] and the south of Hoàn Kiếm District. Both areas have distinctive [[French Colonial]] style villas and broad tree-lined avenues.[[File:Hanoi Train Street (20231225b) (53489076293).jpg|thumb|215x215px|[[Hanoi Train Street]], a popular tourist destination in Hanoi.]]
The political center of Vietnam, Ba Đình has a high concentration of Vietnamese government headquarters, including the [[Presidential Palace, Hanoi|Presidential Palace]], the [[National Assembly Building of Vietnam|National Assembly Building]], and several ministries and embassies, most of which used administrative buildings of colonial [[French Indochina]]. The [[One Pillar Pagoda]], the [[Chu Văn An High School (Hanoi)|Lycée du Protectorat]] and the [[Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum]] are also in Ba Dinh.

South of Hoàn Kiếm's "French Quarter" has several French colonial landmarks, including the [[Hanoi Opera House]], the [[Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi]] hotel, the [[National Museum of Vietnamese History]] (formerly the [[École française d'Extrême-Orient]]), and the [[St. Joseph's Cathedral, Hanoi|St. Joseph's Cathedral]]. Most of the French-Colonial buildings in Hoan Kiem are now used as foreign embassies. Northwest of the historic center, the [[Vietnam Museum of Ethnology]] opened in 1997, and consists of two major exhibition halls and an Architecture Garden.  It is one of the most important Asian collections of traditional architecture. Since 2014, Hanoi has consistently been voted in the world's top ten destinations by TripAdvisor. It ranked eighth in 2014,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/tripadvisors-most-popular-travel-destinations-2014-4?op%3D1 |title=The 25 Most Popular Travel Destinations in the World |website=[[Business Insider]] |access-date=28 June 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815113350/http://www.businessinsider.com/tripadvisors-most-popular-travel-destinations-2014-4?op=1 |archive-date=15 August 2016 }}</ref> fourth in 2015<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/24/travel/gallery/tripadvisor-top-world-destinations-2015/ |title=TripAdvisor's picks: World's top 25 destinations |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=28 June 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624133909/http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/24/travel/gallery/tripadvisor-top-world-destinations-2015 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |date=24 March 2015 }}</ref> and eighth in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2016-03-21 |title=TripAdvisor picks world's top 10 destinations |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/tripadvisor-top-world-destinations-2016-feat/index.html |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Tourism in Hanoi also faces several issues and negative aspects.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Làng Cười Du lịch Hà Nội |url=https://langcuoi.danviet.vn/lang-cuoi-du-lich-ha-noi-99944031-d4021.html |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=langcuoi.danviet.vn |language=vi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Newnet |date=2023-11-12 |title=Pinterest downloader |url=https://pinterestdownloader.app/ |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=Pinterest Downloader |language=en}}</ref> The Lonely Planet website warns about situations where foreign tourists are scammed by taxis and buses into being taken to fake hotels and charged exorbitant prices. Around the Hoàn Kiếm Lake area, gay male tourists may be lured into karaoke bars where the bill for just a few drinks can reach $100 or more.<ref name=":0" />