Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, has attractions for adults to explore and many places and activities that children can join. Let’s find out the top 07 things to do with kids in Hanoi with Handspan Travel Indochina!

Through this article, you can find some detailed information about these activities below.

Watching a water puppet show in the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre

Water puppets have been a unique traditional folk theater art form in Vietnam for more than a hundred years. Watching a puppet show will be a suitable choice if you would like to learn about Vietnam's traditional customs and culture. It is also one of the exciting things to do with kids in Hanoi that you should not miss. 

Water puppet show

Watching the water puppet show, you and your kids will be excited about the wooden puppets and how the artisans control them. Through a system of rods and strings, the artisans can control the puppets behind the stage built in the middle of a pond or lake, symbolizing Vietnamese rural houses' roofs. Under the Cheo melodies or folk songs in the Northern Delta of Vietnam and other instruments like drums and bamboo flutes, the water puppet show is more appealing to tourists. 

In Hanoi, the best place to enjoy water puppets is the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. It is the only theater in Asia to hit the record for performing water puppetry 365 days a year. 

Let's bring your kids here, and learn about this art type and the Vietnamese culture!

Enjoying a circus show in the Hanoi Centre Circus

Hanoi Centre Circus is the place to hold the Vietnam Circus Federation’s circus shows, and maintain and preserve Vietnam’s circus art. Below is some information about the Hanoi Centre Circus.

• Address: 67-69 Tran Nhan Tong, Le Dai Hanh, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi
• Opening hours: 08.00 a.m. - 05.00 p.m. (Monday to Friday) & 08.00 p.m. - 10.00 p.m. (Saturday & Sunday)
• Price: VND 120,000 - VND 200,000 (depending on performing time)
• Contact: 0944.036.668

Coming to the Hanoi Centre Circus, you can enjoy the awesome circus performances with the cooperation between people and animals. Together with the music, arts, clothes, makeup, sounds, lights, etc., the performances become more appealing.

Vietnamese circus performance

Enjoying a circus show is indeed one of the things to do with kids in Hanoi that both domestic and international tourists are interested in. Let’s come to the Hanoi Centre Circus and appreciate the attractive performances!

Visiting the Temple of Literature

• Address: 58 Quoc Tu Giam Street, Van Mieu, Dong Da, Hanoi
• Opening hours: 08.00 a.m. - 04.30 p.m.
• Price: VND 30,000 for adults and free for children under 15

Known as the first university in Vietnam, Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam is a famous historical relic of Hanoi you should visit. It was built in 1070 by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong to serve as a learning center in Vietnam.

Hanoi Temple of Literature

Visiting the Temple of Literature is also among the enjoyable things to do with kids in Hanoi. Coming to the Temple of Literature, you will have a chance to visit the architectural works and learn about the unique architecture. There are five distinct areas inside; each zone has separate walls and gates linked together and different functions. Besides, if you come here during the Tet Holiday in Vietnam, you can see people gathering to “ask for the word” to wish for a peaceful or prosperous new year, especially for students before essential exams. 

Let’s bring your kids here and learn about the quintessence of previous feudal historical periods and preserve Vietnam's traditional values!

Wandering in the Hanoi Old Quarter 

Hanoi Old Quarter is a famous attraction in Hanoi you should not miss. Coming to the Hanoi Old Quarter, you will have the chance to learn about the life, culture, and people in Hanoi with its ancient and nostalgic beauty. 

Hang Ma Street

Wandering in the Hanoi Old Quarter is also on the list of things to do with kids in Hanoi. Let’s explore these activities to do with your children around the Hanoi Old Quarter below.

• Visiting the Ma May Ancient House and Bach Ma Temple
• Going shopping or experiencing the locals’ day-to-day life in Dong Xuan Market
• Walking around the Hoan Kiem Lake and dropping in Ngoc Son Temple
• Exploring the crowded atmosphere in Hang Ma Street
• Trying street food around the Hanoi Old Quarter

Besides, if you travel to Hanoi at the weekend, you can catch up with the night market held every weekend. This place is the normal market with selling and buying activities and a place of cultural exchange, preserving many unique features of ancient Hanoi, and attracting both domestic and foreign tourists. 

Let’s visit the Hanoi Old Quarter and enjoy the best time with your family!

Trying Hanoi street food

Trying Hanoi street food is a good idea for things to do with kids in Hanoi. Walking around Hanoi streets, you will see people gathering in the street food vendors to try local dishes. It is a familiar scene in the streets of Hanoi in which you can find rich and sophisticated cuisine. Let’s explore some street food in Hanoi you should try.

• Pho Hanoi

Although Pho is available in every region of Vietnam, Pho Hanoi is the best among them. A delicious bowl of pho should be "classic" pho, cooked with beef, and clear and sweet broth. It should be added with just enough lemon, northern pepper, chili, and green onion. Pho Thin, Pho Bat Dan, Pho Suong, and Pho Ly Quoc Su are some well-known Pho restaurants in Hanoi that you can try.

Pho Hanoi

• Banh Mi

Banh Mi is among the most popular street foods in Hanoi. You can find Banh Mi at every corner of Hanoi, but here are some recommendations for you.

• Bun Dau Mam Tom

Bun dau is a very popular Hanoi street food with a few chopped leaf vermicelli, a few chopped Vietnamese tofu bars deep-fried in cooking oil until crisp. Below are some places you can find delicious Bun Dau.

Bun Dau Mam Tom

Besides these above dishes, you can refer here for more tasty Hanoi street food.

Joining a cooking class

It will be a miss if you do not join a cooking class when you travel to Hanoi. Joining a cooking class, you and your children will have a chance to immerse yourself in the crowded atmosphere of Hanoi’s local markets and choose the ingredients yourself. After learning cooking, you can enjoy the dishes made on your own. It will be one of the unforgettable things to do with kids in Hanoi during your trip.  

You can join us in the half-day tour cooking class and dinner with Chef Ai at her home. Chef Ai is a Vietnamese kitchen cook with more than 15 years of experience. Under her guide, you will learn about many Vietnamese dishes and the recipes for a delicious meal. For further information about Chef Ai's cooking class, please refer to our blog post: Meet with Chef Ai - A passionate and professional chef in Hanoi.

Chef Ai's cooking class

Besides joining our tour, you can find some other cooking classes below.

• Dương’s cooking class
• Apron Up cooking class
• Orchid Restaurant & cooking class
• Madam Yen Restaurant & cooking class

Let’s join a cooking class tour and make your own Vietnamese dishes!

Visiting the Bat Trang Ceramics Village

About 15 kilometers from the Hanoi city center, Bat Trang Ceramics Village is one of the most ancient ceramic villages in Vietnam. Bat Trang’s ceramic products are not only items associated with daily life but also fine art products, the combination of skillful and sophisticated handcraft methods and shaping art. Under the artisans’ skills, you can see common utensils contain their own beauty, simplicity, and sophistication. Let’s find an ideal itinerary for a day in Bat Trang with Handspan Travel Indochina!

• Creating your own ceramic products 

Coming to the village, besides visiting and buying ceramic products, you will also have the chance to create your own products from ceramic and porcelain enamel. With the help of Bat Trang’s artisans, you can become a potter and creatively make your products with clay and turntables.  

• Walking around the Bat Trang ceramics market

Walking around the ceramic market, you can catch up with different ceramic arts in distinctive types, colors, and sizes, from bowls, cups, porcelain pictures, ceramic jewelry, etc.

• Visiting the Van Van Ancient House

Van Van Ancient House is among the top 10 most beautiful ancient houses in Vietnam, located at the end of the Bat Trang Ceramics Village. The house is more than 400 square meters with three up-to-200-year-old houses and one place simulating a ceramic kiln. 

With these exciting activities, visiting the Bat Trang Ceramics Village is indeed one of the best things to do with kids in Hanoi. 

In conclusion, through the article, you can learn about the best things to do with kids in Hanoi. Hope that you will have a good time with your family in Hanoi with these pieces of information! For further things to know before traveling to Hanoi, please visit our blog post here: Hanoi travel guide.