7 Notable Spots You’ll Pass on a Hanoi Motorbike Tour

If you’re the type of traveller who prefers dodging tuk-tuks and tour buses for a motorbike and a bit of chaos, then Hanoi is your playground. Especially in the Old Quarter, where scooters weave through tangled alleys and centuries-old street corners. Taking a Hanoi motorbike tour here isn’t just transport, as it’s a front-row seat to the city’s raw energy. As someone who’s both guided and joined these tours myself, here’s what you can actually expect to pass, see, and even smell while riding through the beating heart of Hanoi.

Dong Xuan Market

Starting off strong, Dong Xuan Market is usually the first pulse point on a typical Hanoi motorbike tour. This isn’t your average shopping stop—it’s a local trading hub packed with dry goods, electronics, knockoff fashion, and food stalls selling everything from frog legs to sour apricots. From the saddle of your motorbike, you’ll see sellers balancing crates on their shoulders, grandmas elbow-deep in spice sacks, and probably a few chickens on the loose.

Long Bien Bridge

You won’t ride across it without feeling the age. Long Bien Bridge, designed by the same guy who did the Eiffel Tower, still stands as a dusty symbol of Vietnam’s resistance and history. It stretches across the Red River with rusting iron bones, and motorbike tours often pause here for a breather. Riders stop to snap photos, watch trains pass beneath, or just take in the sight of Hanoi’s banana fields rolling into the mist.

Train Street

One of the most Instagrammed places in Hanoi, Train Street snakes through tight residential walls where a train literally squeezes by twice a day. While direct access is restricted now due to safety, motorbike tours often cruise past the fringes or stop nearby to explain the backstory. It’s a wild spot—café stools cleared out just minutes before the train thunders through. Even if you don’t catch the train, it’s still fascinating to witness how close local life gets to steel rails.

St. Joseph’s Cathedral

As you navigate toward the French Quarter side of things, this neo-Gothic cathedral comes into view. St. Joseph’s is more than a pretty church—it’s a living reminder of colonial Hanoi. Motorbike riders often park nearby to take a breather at one of the artsy cafés facing the cathedral, or just to admire how it manages to look Parisian yet totally Vietnamese at the same time, surrounded by electric wires and bánh mì carts.

Hoan Kiem Lake

You can’t skip this one. Hoan Kiem Lake is like the eye of the storm—serene and green, right in the middle of Hanoi’s madness. A Hanoi motorbike tour often loops around it slowly so riders can glimpse the Turtle Tower, Ngoc Son Temple, and the locals practicing tai chi along the edge. If you’re lucky to ride in the early morning or late evening, the roads are less jammed and you get that magic golden hour light bouncing off the water.

Hang Ma Street

If your ride passes through during any Vietnamese holiday, Hang Ma Street will feel like a fever dream. Lanterns, red paper, plastic masks, loudspeakers, lucky charms—you name it. This Old Quarter street is a cultural overload in the best way possible. Your guide might pause here to explain Tet traditions or the Mid-Autumn Festival madness. If you’re feeling brave, hop off your bike and walk it through—the crowd might make it easier than riding.

O Quan Chuong Gate

One of the last remaining gates of old Hanoi, O Quan Chuong stands defiantly while motorbikes buzz through its narrow archway. You’ll slow down here, partly out of necessity and partly in respect. It’s a cool photo-op, but more than that, it gives riders a sense of Hanoi’s deep history, a time before French colonials and independence struggles, when the city was still surrounded by defensive walls.

Why Go by Motorbike?

Let’s face it, no car or tour bus is getting you through half these places without getting stuck. A motorbike tour is hands-down the best way to explore Hanoi’s Old Quarter if you want to feel the tempo of the city. You’ll dodge between cyclos and taxis, smell the incense wafting from street shrines, and maybe even get splashed by a bucket of street-washed veggies. It’s chaotic, unpredictable, and completely unforgettable.

For travellers staying at Quiri Hostel Hanoi, you’re already positioned in the heart of the Old Quarter. Ask the front desk about local Hanoi motorbike tours or combine it with your Ha Giang Loop adventure. Most tours are led by locals who grew up here—drivers who know exactly when to throttle, when to slow down, and when to pull over for that perfect street-side coffee.