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A print of One Pillar Pagoda: a clay-brown timber pavilion with a sweeping tiled roof standing on a single thick pillar above a lotus pond, a white stone wall at the left and jade trees behind.A photograph of One Pillar Pagoda: a clay-brown timber pavilion with a sweeping tiled roof standing on a single thick pillar above a lotus pond, a white stone wall at the left and jade trees behind.

Chùa Một Cột

One Pillar PagodaLake jade, River clay, Shutter green, key blockBa Đình, Hà NộiLine drawn by FLUX.2 [klein] 4B, an image model, after a photograph by thalling55, Photograph by thalling55, CC BY 2.0. Cropped for this site.

Ba Đình

Ba Đình and Văn Miếu

The formal quarter, and the first university.

What it is

Ba Đình is the capital's formal quarter: wide avenues, Ba Đình Square and the Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum. Close by stands the One Pillar Pagoda, Chùa Một Cột, dating from 1049. French forces destroyed it as they left in 1954, and it was rebuilt in 1955.

A little to the south is Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám, the Temple of Literature. The temple was built in 1070 and the imperial academy beside it was founded in 1076, which makes it the first university in the country.

When to go

Mornings. The mausoleum opens only in the morning, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and closes every autumn for maintenance (in 2026, until 3 November). Check the official announcement before you go.

How to behave

The mausoleum is a place of mourning for many Vietnamese people. Cover your shoulders and knees, keep quiet, do not photograph inside, and follow the guards' directions. At Văn Miếu students still come to ask for luck before an exam: keep your voice low.

Things to do

  • Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám

    Five courtyards, stone steles on the backs of turtles, and the red Khuê Văn Các pavilion.

  • The One Pillar Pagoda

    A small wooden shrine on a single stone pillar in a lotus pond.

  • Ba Đình Square

    Large and open, best at the start of the day.

  • Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts

    Lacquer and silk, and the folk prints that Hàng Trống belongs to.

  • The mausoleum

    When it is open, and with the dress and quiet it asks for.

Walk it with us

A print of the Constellation of Literature pavilion: a red timber upper storey with a round window and curled eaves on four white pillars, framed by dark green and ochre leaves.A photograph of the Constellation of Literature pavilion: a red timber upper storey with a round window and curled eaves on four white pillars, framed by dark green and ochre leaves.

The first university

Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám, then the lacquer and silk rooms of the Fine Arts Museum.

Length
4 hours
Starts
08:30
Group
Up to 8
From
USD 55
A print of tall, narrow Old Quarter houses side by side: balconies and railings in black line, indigo shutters, red doors, an ochre gable and a green street tree under a tangle of wires.A photograph of tall, narrow Old Quarter houses side by side: balconies and railings in black line, indigo shutters, red doors, an ochre gable and a green street tree under a tangle of wires.

Thirty-six streets

The guild streets, a tube house from the inside, Bạch Mã temple, coffee.

Length
3.5 hours
Starts
08:30 or 15:30
Group
Up to 8
From
USD 49

Next neighbourhoodTây Hồ and West Lake