Dong Xuan is Hanoi’s oldest market, says The Trip Guru. Originally built during the French administration in 1889, this “colossal structure” has become “the lifeblood to both the city and its locals.” Its three stories are filled with stalls that sell various kinds of goods -- “visitors and locals swimmingly travel from one place to the other with speed and ease.” Wares includes garments “such as the Non La (Vietnam’s famous conical shaped hat),” leather shoes, kitchen accessories, handicrafts and souvenirs, and “everything in between.”
A visit to chaotic Long Bien market is a “fascinating exposure to the life of a large proportion of Hanoi residents,” says Travelfish. “There are vendors as far as the eye can see with stalls heaving with fresh produce, buyers and sellers crowded around stalls and trucks, and motorbikes loaded with fruit weaving down aisles,” writes Independent Travel Cats. “The paths can be hard to navigate as those on foot have to be careful for the constant traffic of motorbikes, carts, and trucks picking up and delivering goods,” and while it “might be sensory overload for some,” it gives you a “glimpse into the early rising Vietnamese who buy and sell at this market.” Conde Nast Traveler once named Long Bien on its list of the world top seven street markets, reports the Hanoi Times.
The Weekend Night Market is” a fun place to touch the pulse of modern Hanoi,” recommends Rough Guides, even if there’s “not much on sale that would interest most Western visitors.” Most shoppers here are “Vietnamese youngsters snapping up fashion accessories like mobile phone cover.” Opn from around 7pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunda on the streets running north from Hang Dao, “it can get very crowded at times.”