Looking for Hanoi hidden gems beyond the tourist trail? NOTE – The Scent Lab is a perfume workshop in Hanoi, Vietnam, tucked inside Lotte Mall Tây Hồ (★4.9, 500+ reviews) — and after years of living and working in this city, we have mapped the experiences most visitors never find. Hanoi rewards the curious. Its best moments are not on the first page of any guidebook — they are down an unmarked alley, behind a rusted gate, on the 2nd floor of a building you almost walked past.
This is not a list of “top 10 attractions.” You already have those. For the full weekend plan, see our 48-hour Hanoi itinerary. You already have those. This is a guide to the Hanoi that opens slowly, one discovery at a time — the kind of city that hides a 200-year-old temple behind a parking lot, serves the best egg coffee from a stairwell, and lets you create a custom perfume inside a lakeside mall while rain streaks down the windows.
These are 10 hidden gems we genuinely love. For Hanoi’s aromatic side, see our guide to the scents of Hanoi. We work here. We eat at these places. We send our friends.
1. Create Your Own Perfume at Lotte Mall Tây Hồ
We are biased — this is us. But we are also honest: making your own perfume is one of the most unusual things you can do in Hanoi, and almost nobody knows about it until they arrive.
NOTE – The Scent Lab runs a 90-minute perfume workshop at Store 410, 2nd Floor, Lotte Mall Tây Hồ (272 Võ Chí Công, Tây Hồ). You sit with a workshop instructor, explore 30+ professional-grade fragrance ingredients — including Vietnamese specialties like lotus, agarwood, and cinnamon — and blend your own Eau de Parfum from scratch. No experience needed. You leave with a bottle you made yourself and a formula card stored by NOTE for reordering so you can reorder.
Hanoi customers tend to take longer choosing their base notes. Something about the city’s pace gets into the blending process — unhurried, deliberate, contemplative.
What makes it a hidden gem: the intersection of creativity, culture, and personal discovery. You are not watching something. You are creating something — a scent that captures your Hanoi journey in a bottle you will carry home. It is the souvenir that smells like your trip, because you built it from the same ingredients Hanoi is made of.
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“We did a perfume workshop with Vy and it was lovely. She’s very knowledgeable, kind, and helpful. I’m so happy with how my perfume turned out!”
2. Cà Phê Trứng at Café Giảng (The Original)
Egg coffee exists in a hundred Hanoi cafes now, but Café Giảng invented it. The original location is at 39 Nguyễn Hữu Huân — up a narrow staircase, through a doorway you might mistake for a residential entrance. Inside: wooden benches, low ceilings, and the scent of roasted robusta mixed with whipped egg yolk and condensed milk.
The story: in 1946, when fresh milk was scarce in wartime Hanoi, barista Nguyễn Văn Giảng substituted whisked egg yolk. The result — cà phê trứng — became a Hanoi icon. Today, his grandson runs the cafe. The recipe has not changed. The coffee is served in a small cup nestled inside a bowl of hot water to keep the egg foam warm.
Why it is a hidden gem: because the original is easy to miss, the copies are everywhere, and the experience of drinking it in the actual birthplace — cramped, unpretentious, surrounded by locals — is entirely different from ordering it at a rooftop bar.
3. Phùng Hưng Mural Street
Between Phùng Hưng Street and the Long Biên railway bridge, a series of murals painted under French-era arches tells the story of old Hanoi. Vietnamese and Korean artists collaborated on this project, and the paintings depict scenes that no longer exist: street vendors with carrying poles, old tramways, the original Long Biên market.
Most tourists walk directly to Long Biên Bridge and miss these entirely. The murals are best visited in early morning light, when the paint glows and the arched recesses frame each scene like a gallery. It is free, quiet, and photogenic in a way that requires no filter.
4. Ngọc Sơn Temple — But at Dawn
Everyone visits Ngọc Sơn Temple on Hoàn Kiếm Lake. Almost nobody visits it at 7 a.m. Our Hoan Kiem Lake walking guide covers this area in detail. The difference is everything.
At dawn, the temple is nearly empty. Incense smoke curls through doorways without competing with camera flashes. The red Thê Húc bridge reflects in still water. Elderly Hanoians practice tai chi on the lake’s perimeter, and the only sound is birdsong and the soft clap of wooden sandals on stone. The temple houses a preserved giant tortoise (rùa Hoàn Kiếm) — the last of its kind from the lake.
The hidden gem is not the place — it is the timing. Hanoi’s best-known landmark becomes its most peaceful when you arrive before the rest of the world does.
5. Đường Tàu (Train Street) — The Residential Version
The famous Train Street near Phùng Hưng has been closed to tourists multiple times due to safety concerns. But the railway continues through Hanoi, and in quieter neighborhoods — particularly around Khâm Thiên and Lê Duẩn — the tracks still run between houses where residents live their daily lives meters from passing trains.
There are no tourist cafes here, no Instagram setups. Just laundry hanging across tracks, children playing, and the unmistakable rumble that clears the path twice daily. It is raw, real, and exactly the kind of Hanoi that disappears when a place becomes a “destination.”
6. West Lake Cycling Loop at Sunset
West Lake (Hồ Tây) is Hanoi’s largest lake — roughly 17 kilometers around — and cycling its perimeter at sunset is one of the city’s great underrated experiences. You can rent a bicycle from shops along Thanh Niên road for around 50,000 VND.
The route passes through fishing villages that feel impossible this close to a capital city, past lotus ponds (stunning in summer), along tree-lined sections where frangipani drops petals onto the path, and through the Quảng An flower market area where vendors prepare arrangements for the next morning. The light over West Lake at golden hour turns the water copper.
Our workshop at Lotte Mall is right on this route. Some guests cycle the lake, stop for a perfume workshop, and continue — the best kind of accidental itinerary.
7. Bát Tràng Ceramic Village
Thirteen kilometers southeast of central Hanoi, Bát Tràng has been producing ceramics for over 700 years. This is not a tourist market — it is a working village where kilns fire daily, artisans throw pots by hand, and you can join a workshop to paint and glaze your own piece.
The village smells of wet clay and wood-fire smoke. Narrow alleys between family workshops reveal rooms stacked floor to ceiling with drying bowls, vases, and the distinctive blue-and-white pieces that have been traded across Asia since the 15th century. Prices are a fraction of Hanoi retail. The experience — watching a 70-year-old craftsman shape a perfect bowl in 30 seconds — is worth the trip alone.
8. Long Biên Market (3 a.m.)
Long Biên wholesale market operates between 2 and 6 a.m. It is not comfortable. It is not convenient. It is spectacular.
Under industrial lights, trucks unload produce from farms across the Red River Delta. Mountains of lotus flowers in summer. Towers of pomelos. Rivers of herbs — rau mùi (coriander), rau răm (Vietnamese mint), húng quế (Thai basil) — releasing an intensity of green fragrance that no daytime market can match. Porters balance impossible loads on shoulder poles, moving through the chaos with the precision of choreography.
This is the supply chain that feeds Hanoi. Seeing it is understanding something fundamental about the city — that its beauty is built on labor that happens while you sleep.
9. Bookworm Bridge on Phố Sách (Book Street)
Hanoi has a dedicated book street: 19 Tháng 12 (December 19th Street), near Hoàn Kiếm Lake. On weekends, it transforms into an open-air reading room — bookshelves line the pedestrian zone, families sit on benches reading, and small publishers display editions you will not find in airport bookshops.
The hidden gem within the hidden gem: the Vietnamese-language poetry collections. Even if you cannot read Vietnamese, the covers are beautifully designed, the paper quality is extraordinary, and they make genuinely uncommon gifts. Pair one with a custom perfume from NOTE and you have a gift that engages two senses — scent and literature — in a way nothing mass-produced can.
“Vy gave us a great experience. I learned so much about making perfume and how the notes work together. Now I have a signature scent.”
10. Quán Bia Hơi Corner — Not Tạ Hiện
Every guide sends you to Tạ Hiện for bia hơi (fresh beer). It is loud, fun, and overpriced by local standards. The actual hidden gem is any bia hơi corner in a residential neighborhood — Đội Cấn, Kim Mã, or even the small joints near Lotte Mall in Tây Hồ.
Bia hơi costs around 5,000-8,000 VND per glass (roughly USD 0.20-0.30). It is brewed fresh daily, served at room temperature or slightly cool, and tastes like bread and sunshine. The food is better at local spots too — nem chua rán (fried fermented pork rolls), lạc rang (roasted peanuts), and whatever the owner decided to grill that afternoon.
The experience is the point: sitting on a tiny plastic stool, surrounded by Vietnamese conversations you do not understand, drinking the cheapest beer in the world, watching a city live its evening. No reservation required. No English menu. Just point and smile.
How to Find Your Own Hidden Gems in Hanoi
The pattern is simple: go where the tourists are not, at the time they would not go, and stay longer than seems reasonable.
Walk into alleys. Accept invitations. Follow interesting smells. Hanoi is a city that rewards patience and curiosity — and the best discovery is always the one you did not plan.
Our workshop is the same way. Most guests did not plan to make perfume in Hanoi. They stumbled on us — through a Google search, a friend’s recommendation, a list of unusual things to do. And 90 minutes later, they walked out with something they did not know they wanted: a scent that smells like every hidden gem they found along the way.
“Such a fun experience — learned so much about perfume and the staff were so patient and knowledgeable, especially Sophia. Now have a great keepsake from our Hanoi trip!”
Reserve your spot online — instant confirmation, no deposit required. Pay by credit card, bank transfer, or cash when you arrive at the studio.
Book Your Perfume Workshop in Hanoi →
These are just a few of the experiences travelers rave about. See what others say on TripAdvisor, Klook, and Google Maps.
Curious what a workshop looks like? Follow @note.workshop on Instagram for photos and visitor stories.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best hidden gems in Hanoi?
Hanoi’s best hidden gems include creating a custom perfume at NOTE – The Scent Lab in Lotte Mall, drinking the original egg coffee at Cafe Giang, cycling West Lake at sunset, visiting Long Bien wholesale market at 3 a.m., and exploring Bat Trang ceramic village. The key is going beyond the Old Quarter tourist circuit.
Is Hanoi worth visiting beyond the Old Quarter?
Absolutely. Tay Ho (West Lake) district offers lakeside cycling, local bia hoi corners, and the NOTE perfume workshop at Lotte Mall. Bat Trang ceramic village is a 30-minute drive. The real Hanoi reveals itself when you explore neighborhoods where daily life — not tourism — sets the pace.
Where can I do a creative workshop in Hanoi?
NOTE – The Scent Lab at Lotte Mall Tay Ho offers a 90-minute perfume-making workshop using 30+ ingredients including Vietnamese lotus, agarwood, and cinnamon. Bat Trang ceramic village offers pottery painting. Both are hands-on, creative, and produce a unique souvenir you make yourself.
What unusual things can I do in Hanoi in 2026?
Create a custom perfume at NOTE workshop (90 minutes, Lotte Mall Tay Ho), visit Long Bien market at 3 a.m., cycle the 17-kilometer West Lake loop at sunset, explore Phung Hung mural street, and drink egg coffee at the original Cafe Giang. These experiences go far beyond typical Hanoi sightseeing.
Is there a perfume workshop in Hanoi?
Yes. NOTE – The Scent Lab operates at Store 410, 2nd Floor, Lotte Mall Tay Ho, 272 Vo Chi Cong, Tay Ho, Hanoi. The 90-minute workshop lets you create a custom Eau de Parfum from scratch. Rated 4.9 by 500+ travelers. Book at workshop.thescentnote.com.
How do I get to Lotte Mall Tay Ho from Hoan Kiem Lake?
Lotte Mall Tay Ho is approximately 20 minutes from Hoan Kiem Lake by taxi or Grab (around 60,000-80,000 VND). You can also cycle along West Lake — the scenic route takes about 30-40 minutes and passes through charming Tay Ho neighborhoods along the way.
