Shopping in Hanoi provides tourists popular
shopping attractions as well as some secret shopping tips to contribute to your
trip here.
Hanoi is outstanding not only because of its spectacular cultural landscapes but
also its omnipresent thousands of bustling markets, narrow vendors and boutiques
full of lights. For those who are proudly shopaholics, shopping in Hanoi is one
thing that tourists can never miss.
Every year, thousand flocks of foreign tourists set their foot on
Hanoi for
traveling and most of them don't come back home without purchasing some
meaningful handicrafts to keep traditional values of this land for themselves.
Wandering along Hanoi shopping places does not only bring you a chance to
purchase for a good but time to communicate with friendly locals and understand
more their daily lifestyles.
1. Shopping In Hanoi - What To Buy
Silks and Clothing
Silk products are found everywhere in Hanoi and are offered with great value. A
variety of silk products you can find from dresses, trousers, scarves to shoes.
Tailor clothes are another local specialty. Just only a few days, tailor shops
will recreate designs and make a high-quality product according to your request.
Some of the best places to find high-quality silk are:
- Duc Loi Silk: 77 Hang Gai Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Le Minh Silk: 79 – 111 Hang Gai Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Van Phuc Silk Village: 10km southwest of Hanoi Old Quarter, Van Phuc silk
village is the most ancient silk village which provides the best silk in
Vietnam. The silk made in Van Phuc Village has been known for its smooth,
lightweight, and elegant appearance.
Embroidery and Craft
Embroidery is a common cottage industry in
Vietnam so it’s not hard to find
yourself stunning embroidered cotton and linens. From the patterns of many
ethnic minorities to the quality work found in galleries, beautiful embroidery
can be found on any budget.
For the absolute best of the craft, I can only recommend you visit
- Quoc Su: Established in 1958, Quoc Su was founded by embroidery artist Nguyen
Quoc Su and now runs with more than 200 skilled embroiderers turning out almost
photo-perfect stitched artwork.
Address: 2C Ly Quoc Su Street
Phone: +84 24 39289281
- Tan My Design: The oldest embroidery shop in Hanoi. There are plenty of
embroidered pillowcases, tablecloths, placemats, dresses, etc. All the products
here are made by hands.
Address: 66 Hang Gai, Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Phone: +84 24 39381154
- Dong Xuan Market: A large selection of embroidered products is found in Dong
Xuan Market. You can go from this stall to another stall to choose and shop for
your favorite
Address: Dong Xuan Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Business hours: 7:00 to 18:00
Lacquerware
Lacquerware or “son mai” in Vietnamese is one of Vietnam’s best-known crafts.
Vietnamese lacquerware is usually had higher quality than those in other Asia
countries. These objects can come in the form of bowls, vases, boxes, and trays.
Unfortunately, the market now is flooded with low-quality mass-manufactured
offerings. For the best lacquerware, you should visit lacquerware shops along
Hang Trong Street, Hang Hom Street and Hang Manh Street in
Hanoi Old Quarter.
- Hanoia: Hanoia stakes its reputation on its quality wares but their prices
reflect the premium materials and skills that go into their merchandise
Address: 38 Hang Dao Street, Hoan Kiem District; 87 Ma May, Hoan Kiem; No.1 Hoa
Lo, Hoan Kiem; 56 Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem; 58 Quoc Tu Giam, Dong Da
- MARENA Hanoi: a place that sells top quality products with a wide range of
designs and colors.
Address: 28 Nha Chung Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Minh Tam Lacquerware
Address: 2 Hang Bong Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Souvenirs
Shopping in Hanoi for some souvenirs? Don’t worry because Hanoi is full of
interesting souvenirs.
- VUI Studio: a cafe-cum-boutique offers a minimalist range of ceramics, soft
home accessories and wellness products made by local creactives. Otherwise, you
will find quirky tote bags, silk homewares natural soaps, candles and many other
cute things here.
Address: 3C Tong Duy Tan Street
Opening hours: 9:00 to 23:00
- Collective Memory: Collective Memory offers a wide range of goods including
homewares (tea towels, cushion covers), posters, postcards, clothing and
accessories, oils, handmade soaps, books, puzzles, etc. Not just normal
souvenirs, everything sold here is designed to be integrated into your daily use
back home.
Address:
Opening hours: 9:00 to 20:00
Product of Ethnic People
Vietnam has a more than fifty ethnic minority groups and each even has their own
language, culture and tradition. Their handmade products are unique in pattern
decoration and has high quality. If you’re making a trip to Sapa, you can find
products of ethnic minority groups in these shops:
- Craft Link: a not-for-profit organization specializes in fair trade products.
Here sells woodwork, lacquer paintings, ceramics, textiles, carved Buffalo horns
as well as a selection of clothes, bags and scarves.
Address: 43 Van Mieu, Dong Da District, Hanoi
- Mekong Quilts: Not only selling products but Mekong Quilts also focuses on
offering employment and developing the ethnic minority community. It now employs
over 340 women of different ethnicity.
Address: 13 Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Houseware and Ceramics
You can shop for homeware and ceramics if you don’t mind handling heavy luggage
back home. Hanoi is full of interesting home decorations with reasonable prices.
- Vietnamese House: visit for a nice selection of stone carved vases and boxes.
Address: 92 Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Mosaique Decoration: this three-floor shop offers home furnishing from
trinkets to bedroom furniture.
Address: 6 Ly Quoc Su Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Bat Trang Village: this is a famous village for porcelain and ceramics because
of their quality and traditional designs. From the old days, this village is a
pottery supplier for Ming Dynasty in China and even exported goods during the
French colonial period.
Address: Bat Trang Commune, Gia Lam District, Hanoi
Snack Food
O Mai is a favourite snack and special treat commonly offered by Hanoians to
guests during Tet holiday - the biggest holiday of the year.
O Mai is made from dried fruits and then seasoned with salt, sugar, ginger,
chili which gives off a nice mixture with many flavors. In recent years, O Mai
has been a popular souvenirs gift among travelers visiting Vietnam. There are
some famous brands and you can find the best O Mai in
- O Mai Hong Lam: Hong Lam is the most famous O Mai brand in Vietnam and also
the birthplace of O Mai. Visiting the store, you get a chance to try the taste
before buying so that is a huge plus
Address: 11 Hang Duong Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
- Other O Mai store you can come are Tien Thinh at 21 Hang Duong Street, Hoan
Kiem and Toan Thinh at 15 Hang Duong Street, Hoan Kiem.
2. Best Hanoi Shopping Malls - Where to shop in Hanoi
Aeon Mall - Best shopping mall in Hanoi
Opened in 2015, Aeon Mall Long Bien is one of the first and largest Japanese
shopping centers in the Hanoi. Located at 27 Co Linh, Long Bien District, Aeon
Mall is about 8 kilometers and a 20-minute drive from the Old Quarter. There are
several shuttle buses which serve various routes to Aeon Mall on a daily basis
and you can catch one. Otherwise, hail a taxi that costs around 130.000 VND to
150.000 VND to get to the mall.
Aeon Mall has a large area of 120.000 square meters divided into 4 floors, which
creates an entertainment center including over 100 retail outlets and a wide
variety of family-friendly entertainment centers, attracting a good mix of
locals and travellers.
Besides shopping, dining options are plentiful here, ranging from fast food
joints and cafes to the expansive food court, where you can enjoy Thai,
Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, and western fare at reasonable prices. There is
also a variety of entertaining activities here. You can enjoy a round of bowling
or catch the latest films at the cinema.
Aeon’s fashion areas are located on the 2nd and 3rd floors, near the dining
area. It is completely possible to shop for and entertain the whole family for a
while day with various fashion styles, attractions, and food.
Address: 27 Co Linh, Long Bien District, Hanoi
Business hours: 10:00 to 22:00
Lotte Shopping Center
Lotte Shopping Center is the second tallest building in Vietnam after the Keang
Nam Landmark in Hanoi. This high rise building is also home to a hypermarket, a
hotel, residential apartments, restaurants, a gym, a spa and the city’s finest
observation deck. It takes 2-hour drive to reach Lotte from Hanoi Old Quarter.
Lotte Shopping Center offers a broad range of approximately 250 fashion and
lifestyle brands, featuring many brands famous around the globe. It also offers
enough entertainment and dining possibilities that you could easily spend a day
in this center.
First floor is the hypermarket; the second floor contains imported fashion,
watches, jewellery and cosmetics retailers; the third floor have women's
fashion, shoes & handbags and cosmetics; the fourth floor houses young casual,
jeans & unisex, lingerie and casual watches; the fifth floor you will find men’s
fashion and sports & golf; the sixth floor have home appliances and furnishings.
However, the most attractive part of the building is the observation tower
located on the 65th floor of the building, where you can observe the stunning
panoramic views of the city of Hanoi. This is a famous check-in location of
Hanoians.
Address: 54 Lieu Giai Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
Business hours: 9:00 to 22:30
A Complete Guide to Shopping at Hanoi
Vincom Shopping Malls in Hanoi
The system of Vincom Group includes a large number of leading shopping malls in
many busy areas of Hanoi. These are some of a few that is close to the city
center and easy to reach
- Vincom Mega Mall Royal City – 72 Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District
Vincom Mega Mall Royal City is the first underground trading center in Vietnam.
This is a modern and luxurious shopping center and entertainment complex. It has
two subterranean floors that are home to many retail shops and also an indoor
ice-skating rink, a waterpark and many restaurants.
- Vincom Mega Mall Times City – 458 Minh Khai Street, Hai Ba Trung District
Times City is located in the most populous urban area of Vinhomes with free
water music for residents and visitors daily. Times City is famous in Southeast
Asia for having the largest aquarium in Vietnam and being home to many animals
such as salamanders, sharks, penguins and even pythons.
- Vincom Center Ba Trieu – 191 Ba Trieu Street, Hai Ba Trung District
Vincom Ba Trieu is the first shopping mall in the whole in Hanoi, having opened
on 23/11/2004 with 2 office towers and 1 apartment tower. Vincom Ba Trieu is a
popular gathering place for young people.
- Vincom Center Nguyen Chi Thanh – 54A Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, Dong Da District
Vincom Nguyen Chi Thanh is located in the center of the Cau Giay District, Dong
Da District, near two major universities: Foreign Trade University and
Diplomatic Academy. This is a romantic dating area that is frequently visited by
university students.
- Vincom Center Pham Ngoc Thach – 02 Pham Ngoc Thach Street, Dong Da District
Vincom Pham Ngoc Thach is the smallest Vincom shopping center in Hanoi. The
trade center stands out with its unique design: The stairs are outside and the
whole building resembles a boat going offshore.
Trang Tien Plaza
Trang Tien Plaza is a luxurious and high-end shopping mall that is home to many
famous and luxury international brands, such as Prada, Dior, Gucci and Louis
Vuitton. Trang Tien Plaza was originally built in 1901 in the French colonial
style design and was again renovated to become a commercial center of
world-class fashion brands.
Trang Tien Plaza is located on a corner next to
Hoan Kiem Lake. Its location can
easily be reached from the Old Quarter in a five to ten minute walk.
Trang Tien Plaza consists of six floors. On the first floor, you will find
apparel and fashion; the second floor contains fashion and mobile phone outlets,
the third floor contains household equipment, the fourth floor has a supermarket
and some grocery retailers, the fifth floor houses offices and restaurants and
the sixth floor is exclusively devoted to offices.
Address: 24 Hai Ba Trung Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Business hours: 9:30 to 21:30
Mipec Long Bien
Mipec Long Bien is located at Number 2, Long Bien 2 street, near the historical
monument Long Bien Bridge. Mipec Long Bien is designed as a
modern six-storey commercial complex with an area of over 24.000 square meters,
providing a diverse range of shopping, entertainment with reasonable price and
professional service.
On the third floor of MIPEC Long Bien is a modern recreation area, which is
consisted of 5 play areas.
Address: Number 2, Long Bien 2 Street, Long Bien District, Hanoi
Business hours: 9:00 to 22:00
3. Hanoi Markets
Dong Xuan Market
Considered as the largest outdoor market in Hanoi, Dong Xuan market is located
on the 4-storey Soviet-style building, witnessing the bustle speed of life in
Hanoi capital. Coming Dong Xuan market, visitors can observe hundreds of fashion
shops and small stores displaying a variety of T-shirts, cloths, school
uniforms, handbags and handicrafts with the wholesale prices.
Besides selling goods, Dong Xuan Market is also noted for special local cuisines
with a reasonable price of no more than 15.000 VND. Tourists can try local
specialties to enjoy its Vietnamese rural flavor such as banh mi, Banh Cuon (steamed rolled rice pancake) and
Pho (noodle soup).
Adjacent to Dong Xuan Market are some shops selling Bat Trang ceramic products,
Dong Ho paintings, Binh Da embroideries, which are all favorite products to lots
of foreign visitors. After shopping, you can take a evening stroll along Hoan
Kiem Lake to enjoy the tranquil atmosphere in here.
Opening Hours: Daily 06:00 - 19:00
Address: Dong Xuan Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Pro Tips - Markets in Hanoi
The market is very crowded so you should keep your eyes on your belongings.
The best time to go shopping is in the afternoon because someone has probably
bought something in the shop. Otherwise, when you bargain for your stuff, the
seller may guilt trip you into buying something. This can apply toshopping in
other places, as well.
Most of the goods in Dong Xuan market are sold in bulk so it will be a bit
tricky if you want to shop for retail goods. Ideally, when you want something,
ask to buy with your friends or wait for the night market. If you are in luck,
you could find the thing you like there.
Hanoi Night Market
Shopping in Hanoi with a low budget? You should come to Hanoi Night Market.
Although many other markets nowadays develop dramatically, shopping at weekend
night market cannot be beaten with a plethora of stalls selling a large number
of products including handicrafts, ceramics, porcelain, dolls andaccessories.
Similar to other markets, Hanoi Night Market also offer local food, however,
this pedestrian market is the place in which lots of fabulous performances from
Western countries to Asia one, Vietnam included are displayed. You can both do
shopping and watching musical performances. What an amazing idea, right?
Opening hours: Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night from 19:00 to 23:00
Address: Stretching from Hang Dao Street to the edge of Dong Xuan Market.
Quang Ba Flower Market
Quang Ba Flower Market is Hanoi’s busiest flower market. You’ll genuinely be
amazed at the volume of flowers being packed onto single motorbikes.
You can find hundreds of flower species here such as sunflowers, roses,
chrysanthemums, orchids, gerberas, lilies, hydrangeas and various kinds of
greenery being sold at the market. Quang Ba Flower Market opens all day but most
lively between 2:00 to 4:00 in the early morning.
Opening hours: All day
Address: Au Co Street, Tay Ho District, Hanoi
Shopping in Hanoi can be easy and hard at the same time if you don't know where
to find the products you want and the quality of products. Sometimes, you may
have to use your bargaining skills to go shopping in Hanoi. Above are a complete
Hanoi Shopping Guide with some of the most reputable places in Hanoi. Good luck
in finding your favorite products.