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Orientation
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At the heart of Hanoi lies
Hoan Kiem Lake
, around which you'll find the banks, airlines and GPO, plus many hotels, restaurants, shopping streets and markets. The lake lies between the cramped and endlessly diverting
Old Quarter
in the north, and the tree-lined boulevards of the
French Quarter
to the south. West of this central district, across the rail tracks, some of Hanoi's most impressive monuments occupy the wide, open spaces of the former
Imperial City
, grouped around Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum on Ba Dinh Square and extending south to the ancient, walled gardens of the Temple of Literature. A vast body of water confusingly called
West Lake
sits north of the city, harbouring a number of interesting temples and pagodas. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Viet Nam,
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