Lê Hương

A weekend night cycle tour has been launched by the Sustainable Tourism Investment and Development Joint Stock Company (Vietnam STID) and the Việt Nam National Museum of History to offer a gentle way of exploring the capital by night.

The three-hour Thăng Long Night – Hà Nội tour starts at 6.30pm at the museum after participants check out the exhibits in the nearly 100-year-old building that blends Indochinese and western architecture.

“I have visited the museum several times, but at night the garden and national treasures seem more mysterious,” Japanese Haruko Sato said.

He also paid tribute to the tour guide saying: “[His] explanations about the Nam Giao Stele erected in 1679 under Lê Trung Hưng reign (1533–1789) and the remains of two of the five main gates of the Hà Nội citadel … made things clearer for me this time.”

He said he felt transported back to olden times by the night tour.

He also liked enjoying the heritage sites from atop a slow and green vehicle.

“During the day the city is bustling with speeding vehicles, but on this tour we can slow down, think more about the profound values of the sites and also exercise at the same time.”

The participants visit the Opera House, Tonkin Palace, North Gate Citadel, Hà Nội Flag Pole, Thăng Long Citadel Complex, Ba Đình Square, Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum, Parliament House, the Presidential Palace, Quán Thanh Temple, and Trấn Quốc Pagoda before winding up at the Ngũ Xã night food area.

“We explored so many important historical sites before having a real treat at the food zone,” Ngô Huy, an overseas Vietnamese man from the US, said.

“We had so much fun and like Hà Nội even more after the tour.”

Phùng Thị Hoàng Anh, director of VIETNAM STID, said another tour starts at the Thăng Long Citadel Complex on Saturday nights for a group of over 10 participants. 

The two tours are among 15 night tours launched recently by the city Department of Tourism.

Frenchman Berniot Mulhiem loved the tour since he is interested in French architecture in Hà Nội.

“I think Hà Nội will be more beautiful and peaceful with bicycles and fewer cars. I love French buildings in Hà Nội. I would have felt I was in Paris if it had been less humid.”

The reservation hotline for the tours is 0902115698. — VNS