‘Walking tranquil among people amidst the autumn in Hanoi, I wondered who I was missing. One day the sky in Hanoi will give me the answer; there will be a day when every little street will give me the answer.’

That’s a fragment of the song “Hanoi’s Autumn” (Nhớ Mùa Thu Hà Nội, by the poet and songwriter Trịnh Công Sơn), often sung when the autumn comes.

There are indeed hundreds of poems and songs inspired by the beauty, elegance and romanticism that characterize the city during this season.

Wandering along the boulevards, the old streets and the lakes, while enjoying blue skies, magic carpets of red and yellow leaves, a gentle sunshine, a pleasant breeze and the smell of the blooming milk flowers is simply heartwarming.

Autumn is also the season of the persimmons, the green rice or the Long Nhan, a specialty that can be translated as “dragon eyes”, made from the longan (a fruit that looks like small lychees) and that is a great nutritional source with powerful health benefits.

It is said that there is no other place in Vietnam where you can feel the gentleness and the serenity of the autumn as in Hanoi, and even when we love every single corner of this S-shaped country, we kind of agree!