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A print of Long Biên Bridge seen from below: the iron trusses drawn in black line and painted ochre, green and red, against bare paper sky.A photograph of Long Biên Bridge seen from below: the iron trusses drawn in black line and painted ochre, green and red, against bare paper sky.

Sông Hồng

The iron bridgeOchre, Lake jade, Sappan red, Shutter green, key blockLong Biên BridgeLine drawn by FLUX.2 [klein] 4B, an image model, after a photograph by Amenoc, Photograph by Amenoc, CC0. Cropped for this site.

Long Biên

Long Biên and the Red River

An iron bridge, and the river the city is named for.

What it is

Hà Nội means “inside the river”, a name given in 1831. The Red River runs the colour of wet clay, and Long Biên Bridge, which opened in 1903, crosses it on iron trusses. It was designed by the French firm Daydé & Pillé and is often credited, wrongly, to Eiffel. Trains, motorbikes, bicycles and people on foot use it. Cars are not allowed.

Below the bridge, on the river's sandbank, there are banana groves and small fields, which turn blue at dusk.

When to go

Late afternoon, to walk the bridge towards dusk. December to March is the dry stretch, with under 40 mm of rain a month, and the river is lower then.

How to behave

Walk on the inside of the deck and stay clear of the rails when a train comes. People farm the sandbank: keep to the paths, and ask before photographing anyone at work.

Things to do

  • The bridge

    Walk it from the Hà Nội end towards the far bank.

  • The sandbank

    Banana groves and small fields on the river's island.

  • The river at dusk

    Clay-brown water turning grey, then blue.

  • The railway ramp

    Where the line climbs from the city to the first truss.

Walk it with us

A print of the Red River in mist from high up: the long iron bridge in clay red across the distance, a few boats, and a green sandbank with a dark channel in front.A photograph of the Red River in mist from high up: the long iron bridge in clay red across the distance, a few boats, and a green sandbank with a dark channel in front.

Over the iron bridge

Long Biên at dusk, then down to the banana fields on the sandbank.

Length
3 hours
Starts
16:30
Group
Up to 8
From
USD 39
A print of three glasses of beer with white heads on a red plastic stool, seen from above, on a deep indigo ground.A photograph of three glasses of beer with white heads on a red plastic stool, seen from above, on a deep indigo ground.

The city eats on stools

Eight stops on an evening walk. Bia hơi included.

Length
3.5 hours
Starts
18:00
Group
Up to 8
From
USD 59

Next neighbourhoodThe Old Quarter