# Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi

> Hoan Kiem Lake, the Lake of the Returned Sword, is the heart of Hanoi at the southern edge of the Old Quarter. A 1.7 km lakeside loop takes 25–40 minutes; the shore is free and open 24/7. Ngoc Son Temple, reached by the red The Huc Bridge, costs 50,000 VND and opens 7:00–18:00 (21:00 at weekends). Allow an hour.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/hoan-kiem-lake

- City: [Hanoi](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi), Vietnam
- YesGo score: 46/100 (Yes, if nearby)
- Time on site: 1 h
- Opening hours: Lake open 24/7; Ngoc Son Temple Mon–Fri 7:00–18:00, Sat–Sun 7:00–21:00; walking street Friday 19:00 to Sunday 24:00
- With kids: Fine with kids
- The lake: Free, open 24 hours
- Ngoc Son Temple: 50,000 VND per adult under Hanoi’s current fee resolution; older guides still say 30,000
- Children: Unofficially free under 15; discount for students
- Temple hours: Mon–Fri 7:00–18:00, Sat–Sun 7:00–21:00 — per travel guides; no official timetable found
- Walking street: Friday 19:00 to Sunday 24:00: Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Lê Thái Tổ and Hàng Khay closed to traffic; changed around public holidays
- Free temple days: The 1st of every lunar month, the 20th day of the 8th lunar month and 23 November
- Ticket booth: At the foot of The Huc Bridge on Đinh Tiên Hoàng; you need a ticket to step onto the bridge
- Paying: Cash in VND; Grab takes foreign cards
- Coordinates: 21.02889, 105.85250
- Facts checked: 05.11.2026

## Key facts

- **≈ 1.7 km** — lakeside loop, 25–40 minutes at an easy pace (source: vietnamtourism.com; consistent with the lake’s size on English Wikipedia)
- **50,000 VND** — entry to Ngoc Son Temple since 2024, up from 30,000 (source: Nhân Dân and Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam on the Hanoi People’s Council fee resolution)
- **Fri–Sun** — the streets around the lake go car-free on weekend evenings, since 2016 (source: VnExpress International; Người Quan Sát)
- **700 × 250 m** — maximum length and width; average depth about 1.2 m (source: English Wikipedia)
- **1886** — year the Turtle Tower was built on its islet; no public access (source: English Wikipedia; tonkosti.ru; vietnamtourism.com)
- **1865** — The Huc Bridge, the Pen Tower and the Ink Slab date from the temple’s rebuilding (source: vinwonders.com; vietnamtourism.com; English Wikipedia (repairs of 1864))
- **January 2016** — the lake’s last giant softshell turtle died; it is preserved in Ngoc Son Temple (source: English Wikipedia; vinwonders.com)
- **Hồ Gươm** — the everyday Vietnamese name, “Sword Lake” (source: English Wikipedia; Wikidata)
- **From 5 am** — the shore fills with tai chi groups, dancers and badminton players (source: vietnamtourism.com; localvietnam.com)
- **6 bus routes** — stop at the lake: 08, 09, 14, 31, 36 and the airport bus 86 (source: VnExpress International)

> **No cars on weekend evenings** From 19:00 on Friday until midnight on Sunday the roads around the lake are closed to cars and motorbikes. A Grab or taxi will drop you at the edge of the zone, so set your pick-up a block or two away — near the cathedral or on Tràng Tiền. Times shift around public holidays and big city events.

## What is Hoan Kiem Lake?

Hoan Kiem Lake is the small lake at the very centre of Hanoi — the point most visitors orbit, because the Old Quarter and most backpacker and mid-range hotels sit just north of it. To the south and east run the wide French-era boulevards. It isn’t a ticketed sight so much as the city’s living room, with water in the middle.

**Hồ Hoàn Kiếm** means “Lake of the Returned Sword”; locals mostly just say **Hồ Gươm**, Sword Lake. It’s about 700 m long and 250 m wide, and barely over a metre deep on average. Two islets break the surface: one holds Ngoc Son Temple, linked to the shore by a red wooden bridge, and the other the small Turtle Tower.

Hanoians use it all day. Before sunrise the shore is packed with tai chi, aerobics and badminton; by afternoon people sit under the trees; in the evening families stroll, and at weekends the roads around it turn into a big pedestrian street. The central district of the city, Hoan Kiem, takes its name from the lake.

## Ngoc Son Temple ticket price

Walking around the lake is free. You only pay for **Ngoc Son Temple** on Jade Islet: **50,000 VND** per adult. Hanoi’s People’s Council set this fee alongside new prices for the Temple of Literature, so blogs quoting 30,000 VND are out of date.

The ticket booth is at the foot of The Huc Bridge on Đinh Tiên Hoàng street, and the bridge itself is inside the paid area — if you just want a photo of it, shoot from the shore. Guides say under-15s go in free and students with a card get a discount; we couldn’t confirm this officially, so ask at the booth.

Under the same resolution the temple is free on the 1st day of every lunar month, on the 20th day of the 8th lunar month — the anniversary of Tran Hung Dao — and on 23 November, Vietnam’s Cultural Heritage Day. Expect crowds of local worshippers with incense on those days.

Bring **cash in Vietnamese dong**, in small notes; no source says the booth takes cards. Foreign Visa and Mastercard work in hotels and bigger restaurants, but street stalls and small ticket desks run on cash.

## Opening hours and the weekend walking street

The lake never closes — the shore is a public street. Ngoc Son Temple, according to travel guides, opens **7:00–18:00 on weekdays and 7:00–21:00 on Saturdays and Sundays**. We couldn’t find an official timetable, so treat those times as a guide.

The **walking street** runs every week from **19:00 on Friday to 24:00 on Sunday**. It covers Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Lê Thái Tổ and Hàng Khay around the lake plus the nearby blocks, with no cars or motorbikes allowed. Hoan Kiem’s local authority regularly extends or shifts it for public holidays and major events.

## Things to do at Hoan Kiem Lake

- **Cross The Huc Bridge** (Thê Húc) — the vermilion wooden bridge to Jade Islet, poetically “Perch of the Morning Sunlight”. It looks best from the north-east shore.
- **Visit Ngoc Son Temple** (Ngọc Sơn, “Jade Mountain”) — it honours Van Xuong, patron of scholars, and the national hero Tran Hung Dao. Incense, old trees and a view back across the water.
- **See the preserved giant turtle** in a glass case inside the temple. Giant softshell turtles lived in the lake for decades; the last one died in January 2016.
- **Look for the Pen Tower and the Ink Slab** at the entrance to the bridge — a stone tower shaped like a writing brush and a gate holding an ink stone, both from the 1865 rebuilding.
- **Spot the Turtle Tower** (Tháp Rùa) — a three-tier tower from 1886 on an islet in the middle of the lake. You can’t visit it; it’s lit up at night and is the classic Hanoi photo.
- **Walk the loop** — about 1.7 km under willows and banyans. From here it’s a short walk north into the Old Quarter, west to [St Joseph’s Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/hanoi-cathedral) and on to the [train street](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/hanoi-train-street), and to the [water puppet theatre](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/hanoi-water-puppet-theatre) on the north-east shore.

## The legend of the returned sword

The story goes that Emperor **Lê Lợi** was out boating on the lake when a **Golden Turtle God** rose from the water and asked for the magic sword he had been given. The emperor handed it over, the turtle sank with it, and the lake was renamed Hoàn Kiếm — the Lake of the Returned Sword.

Every Vietnamese child knows the tale, and the turtle is the lake’s emblem: the Turtle Tower went up on its islet in 1886. Real giant softshell turtles lived in the lake for generations and were treated as its guardians. The last known one was found dead in January 2016; it was preserved and now sits in Ngoc Son Temple next to an older specimen.

## How to get to Hoan Kiem Lake

1. **Walk from the Old Quarter** — 5–15 minutes. Hàng Đào runs straight north from the top of the lake into the quarter. If your hotel is there, you won’t need transport at all.
2. **Airport bus 86 from Noi Bai** — the express to Hanoi Railway Station passes the lake; useful stops include Hanoi Central Post Office (Bưu điện Hà Nội) on Đinh Tiên Hoàng on the east shore and the Opera House. Allow about an hour. Unofficially 45,000 VND, cash on board (older guides say 35,000).
3. **Taxi or Grab from the airport** — 45–60 minutes; unofficially 300,000–450,000 VND to the Old Quarter. Grab takes cash or a foreign card linked in the app.
4. **City buses** 08, 09, 14, 31 and 36 also stop at the lake; check stops in the Tìm Buýt app.
5. **Grab across town** — about 10 minutes from the [Temple of Literature](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/temple-of-literature). On weekend evenings set the drop-off a block away from the lake, because cars can’t get through.

## How long do you need, and is it worth it?

A full loop takes **25–40 minutes** at an easy pace; add Ngoc Son Temple and it’s about **an hour**. It’s absolutely worth it — you’ll pass the lake anyway on the way to almost everything in central Hanoi, so you might as well come at the right time.

To be honest, on a weekday afternoon it’s just a pretty pond ringed by busy traffic. Come **at dawn**, when hundreds of locals exercise along the water, or on **a Friday, Saturday or Sunday evening**, when the cars disappear and the streets fill with families, buskers and folk games. If you only have one evening in Hanoi, make it a weekend one.

## Weekday morning or weekend evening?

|  | Weekday morning | Fri–Sun evening |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Traffic | Cars and bikes around the lake | Car-free from 19:00 Fri to 24:00 Sun |
| What you’ll see | Tai chi, dancing and badminton from 5 am | Buskers, street games, food and craft stalls |
| Ngoc Son Temple | Opens 7:00 | Open until 21:00 Sat and Sun |
| Crowds | Light, mostly locals exercising | Very busy |
| Taxis | Drop you at the shore | Only to the edge of the zone |

Temple hours are from travel guides; walking street times are from Hoan Kiem’s local announcements. Mornings are best for photos of the Turtle Tower, weekend evenings for atmosphere.

## Before you go

- [ ] Small VND notes for the temple ticket
- [ ] Shoulders and knees covered for Ngoc Son Temple
- [ ] Picked a time: dawn or a weekend evening
- [ ] Grab pick-up set outside the walking zone at weekends
- [ ] Water and a hat — the shore gets hot by midday
- [ ] Phone charged for the lit-up Turtle Tower

## Hanoi by the water

Waterside places in Hanoi rated by YesGo.

- [Hoan Kiem Lake](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/hoan-kiem-lake) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free; Ngoc Son Temple 50,000 VND
- [Tran Quoc Pagoda](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/tran-quoc-pagoda) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free
- [Ha Long Bay](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/ha-long-bay) — YesGo score 32/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · Fee 250,000 VND; tours cost more

## Central Hanoi in a day: temple, trains, cathedral and the lake

The Temple of Literature in the morning, the train street and St Joseph’s Cathedral after lunch, then Hoan Kiem Lake and a water puppet show on its shore. Add it to your route and YesGo sets the timings and walks.

1. [Temple of Literature](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/temple-of-literature) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 70,000 VND, under-16s free
2. [Hanoi Train Street](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/hanoi-train-street) — YesGo score 52/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free; drink at a café is paid
3. [St Joseph's Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/hanoi-cathedral) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free
4. [Hoan Kiem Lake](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/hoan-kiem-lake) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free; Ngoc Son Temple 50,000 VND
5. [Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/hanoi-water-puppet-theatre) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 100,000–200,000 VND

> **Best photo spots** Shoot The Huc Bridge and the temple from the north-east shore on Đinh Tiên Hoàng, early, before the crowds. For the Turtle Tower with its reflection, try the west shore at sunset and just after, when the lights come on.

## Don’t confuse it with

Hoan Kiem Lake is not West Lake (Hồ Tây), the much bigger lake about 3 km north-west where you’ll find [Tran Quoc Pagoda](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/hanoi/tran-quoc-pagoda). And “Hoan Kiem” in a hotel address means the central district named after the lake, not necessarily a lake view.

## Tips

- Get up for 5–6 am at least once: hundreds of Hanoians exercising by the water is the lake at its best.
- Cover shoulders and knees for Ngoc Son Temple and keep your voice down — it’s a working temple.
- On weekend evenings book your Grab from a side street; cars can’t reach the shore.
- On the 1st of the lunar month the temple is free but very crowded.
- Vendors right on the shore charge more than the lanes a block into the Old Quarter.
- Pair the loop with a show at the water puppet theatre on the north-east corner.

## Questions

### Is Hoan Kiem Lake free?

Yes. The lake is free and open 24 hours. Only Ngoc Son Temple on the islet charges: 50,000 VND per adult, with under-15s unofficially free.

### What are Ngoc Son Temple’s opening hours?

According to travel guides, 7:00–18:00 Monday to Friday and 7:00–21:00 on Saturdays and Sundays, every day of the year. We found no official timetable.

### When is the Hoan Kiem walking street open?

Every week from 19:00 on Friday until 24:00 on Sunday. Times change around public holidays.

### How long does it take to walk around Hoan Kiem Lake?

The loop is about 1.7 km — 25–40 minutes at an easy pace, or about an hour with the temple.

### How do I get from Noi Bai Airport to Hoan Kiem Lake?

Bus 86 takes about an hour and stops by Hanoi Central Post Office on the east shore; unofficially 45,000 VND, cash. A taxi or Grab takes 45–60 minutes.

### Is Hoan Kiem Lake worth visiting?

Yes, especially at dawn or on a weekend evening. On a weekday afternoon it’s pleasant but ordinary — a lake ringed by traffic.

### What is the legend of Hoan Kiem Lake?

Emperor Lê Lợi returned a magic sword to a Golden Turtle God that rose from the lake, which is why it’s called the Lake of the Returned Sword.

### Are there still turtles in Hoan Kiem Lake?

The last giant softshell turtle died in January 2016. Its preserved body is on display in Ngoc Son Temple.

### Can you go inside the Turtle Tower?

No. It stands on a tiny islet in the middle of the lake with no access; you see it from the shore, best when it’s lit up at night.

### Where should I stay near Hoan Kiem Lake?

In the Old Quarter just north of the lake: the shore is 5–15 minutes on foot, and most Ha Long Bay day trips pick up there.

## How we checked

Ngoc Son Temple’s 50,000 VND fee comes from Hanoi People’s Council resolution 16/2023 as reported by two newspapers; we did not open the resolution itself or any later amendment, and some guides (including one vietnamtourism.com page) still give 30,000 VND, so it is marked unofficial. Free entry for under-15s and the student discount come from travel guides only. Temple hours: vinwonders.com and vietnamtourism.com give 7:00–18:00 on weekdays and until 21:00 at weekends; another vietnamtourism.com article says 7:00–18:00 with no weekend extension; there is no official timetable. Walking street hours come from a Hoan Kiem district announcement: Friday 19:00 to Sunday 24:00, adjusted for holidays. Bus 86: sources give 35,000 or 45,000 VND and different timetables; we use the more recent 45,000 and leave out the timetable. The 1.7 km loop is from vietnamtourism.com and matches the lake’s size on Wikipedia. Wikipedia’s two articles disagree on the century the temple was founded (18th vs early 19th), so we leave it out.

## Sources

- Nhân Dân and Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam: Hanoi’s new heritage site fees, Ngoc Son Temple, free days
- vinwonders.com and vietnamtourism.com: Ngoc Son Temple hours, The Huc Bridge, Pen Tower, preserved turtle
- Người Quan Sát: Hoan Kiem walking street announcement; VnExpress International: walking street, bus routes at the lake
- English Wikipedia: Hoàn Kiếm Lake, Turtle Tower, Ngọc Sơn Temple; Wikidata Q1151254
- tonkosti.ru: Turtle Tower, bridge
- A Social Nomad and nashaplaneta.net: airport bus 86 stops and fare
- vietnamtourism.com and localvietnam.com: loop length, early-morning exercise, airport taxis

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