Where Hanoi shops, snacks and lunches: the markets worth your morning.
Food markets, farmers markets and covered halls: where Hanoi shops, snacks and lunches.
Cho Dong Xuan in Hanoi is the Old Quarter's largest covered market, built in 1889 under French rule and stretching across three floors of vendors.
Go for: Old Quarter shopping, Northern Vietnamese ingredients, Night-market street food, Souvenirs
Tip: 06:00-09:00 is the wholesale buzz; tourists arrive after 10:00. North side opens to Hang Khoai's night-market food stalls.
Cho Long Bien in Hanoi is the city's biggest wholesale produce market under the 1898 Long Bien Bridge, running through the night and peaking 02:00-05:00.
Go for: Night wholesale produce, Photographers, Pre-dawn pho stalls, Long Bien Bridge views
Tip: Grab a taxi or motorbike, not Grab car (the alley routes block large vehicles). Operating since 1992.
Cho Quang Ba in Hanoi is northern Vietnam's largest wholesale flower market on the West Lake bank, running 23:00-05:00 with pho stalls on the lake side.
Go for: Pre-dawn flowers, Pho breakfast stalls, Banh mi from the lake stalls, Tay Ho dawn walk
Tip: Best photographed 02:00-04:00 when buyers arrive from across northern Vietnam. Taxi or motorbike only at that hour.
Cho Hom in Hanoi is the Hai Ba Trung district's dry-goods market on Hue street, a quieter alternative to Dong Xuan with Northern food ingredients and Tet.
Go for: Dry goods, Northern ingredients, Banh chung wrappers in Tet season, Fabric
Tip: Less tourist-heavy than Dong Xuan; bargain on the ground floor, fixed prices on the upper levels. Cash only.
Cho Hang Be in Hanoi is the Old Quarter's pre-cooked-food market on Hang Be lane, where housewives buy roast duck and banh cuon for that day's meal.
Go for: Old Quarter pre-cooked dishes, Roasted duck, Banh chung in Tet, Pre-prepared family meals
Tip: Buzz peaks 07:00-10:00. Cash only and bring your own bag; vendors wrap in banana leaves but plastic costs extra.